Going Home by Thich Nhat Hanh

Author:Thich Nhat Hanh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2010-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

MAKING THE CHILD STRONG

We have to learn the way. In the Buddhist tradition, we learn about how our mind functions. Studies of the mind are very important in Buddhism. If you read the sutras spoken by the Buddha, you know about the Buddha’s knowledge of mind. His insight as to how our mind operates is very basic for the practice of the Dharma. Mindfulness helps us to recognize every mental formation that manifests in our daily life, and mindfulness takes care of all of them, whether they are positive or negative. There is no fight in a practitioner. Practicing Buddhist meditation does not transform our person into a battlefield, the good side fighting the evil side.

Non-duality is the main characteristic of Buddhist teaching and practice. The moment you know about this form of practice, you are already more peaceful. You can embrace your suffering and your negative energies in a very tender way. We learn within Buddhism that the negative is useful in making the positive. It’s like the garbage. If you know how to take care of the garbage, you will be able to make flowers and vegetables out of it. Garbage can be made into compost, and compost is essential for flowers and vegetables. So you embrace everything that is in you.

The encounter between Buddhism and Christianity that has taken place and will continue to take place in the twenty-first century is something very exciting. The coming together of practitioners in the Buddhist and Christian traditions will bring about very wonderful things, and both traditions can learn a lot from each other. As I see it, if there is a real encounter between Buddhism and Christianity, there will be a very drastic change within the Christian tradition, and the most beautiful jewels in the tradition will be able to emerge. If we can bring into Christianity the insight of interbeing and of non-duality, we will radically transform the way people look on the Christian tradition, and the valuable jewels in the Christian tradition will be rediscovered.

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