The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh

Author:Thich Nhat Hanh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony
Published: 2015-07-21T16:00:00+00:00

In the Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters, the Buddha says, “My practice is non-action, non-practice, and non-realization.”4 It means that what we seek does not lie outside of ourselves.

Any teaching that does not bear the mark of the Three Dharma Seals, the Four Holy Truths, and the Noble Eightfold Path is not authentically Buddhist. But sometimes only Two Dharma Seals are taught — suffering and nirvana. Sometimes Four Dharma Seals are taught — impermanence, nonself, nirvana, and suffering. But suffering is not a basic element of existence. It is a feeling. When we insist on something that is impermanent and without self being permanent and having a self, we suffer. The Buddha taught that when suffering is present, we have to identify it and take the necessary steps to transform it. He did not teach that suffering is always present. In Mahayana Buddhism, there is also the teaching of One Dharma Seal — the seal of the True Mark. The teachings of one, two, and four Dharma Seals were all introduced after the Buddha passed away.

We practice the Three Dharma Seals to realize liberation. If you memorize a 5,000-page book on the Three Dharma Seals but do not apply the teachings during your daily life, that book is of no use. Only by using your intelligence and putting the teachings into practice can they bring you happiness. Please base your practice on your own life and your own experiences — your successes and your failures. The Buddha’s teachings are jewels, but we have to dig deep in order to touch them fully.

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