You Are, Therefore I Am

On August 2, 2013, a dharma talk was given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Upper Hamlet of Plum Village during the 2013 Summer Opening. This is the sixteenth talk of the summer and this is the final talk for the summer. The day begins a 17-minute teaching for the children on no coming, no going and no sameness, no otherness. He uses a picture of himself as a teenager to illustrate sameness and otherness. Is it the same person as a picture of him today? Thay also uses the flame of a match to illustrate. Is it the same? This is the nature of things and we can see this if we meditate. The teaching of the middle way is a very deep teaching. The day continues with the adults. The third pair of opposites is no birth, no death and the fourth is no being, no non-being. We can live with no fear if we remove these four pairs of opposites and have Right View. Removes discrimination and produces understanding and compassion.This is enlightenment. Awakening. You Are, Therefore I Am With Right View, we have an understanding and we generate Right Speech. Speech that is filled with understanding and compassion and restores communication. Right Action – thought, speech, and behavior. With Right View, we can also have Right Livelihood, Right Diligence, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration. A brief teaching on the Doors of Liberation – emptiness, signless meese, and aimlessness. These too can help remove fear, anger, and despair.