Thich Nhat Hanh on Loneliness

Last Update: 2019/12/31

Thich Hhat Hanh is a great Zen master still alive today. His voice has a calming effect on my emotions. He has helped me overcome difficult times in my life, and he will continue be an important teacher to me. Here is one lecture given by him explaining how to deal with loneliness. The lecture was given in winter 2012 or 2013. I transcribe the lecture down below.

Last time we spoke about home. And, we know that once we are home, we no longer feel lonely. I feel at home, warmth, comfortable, safe, fulfillment. So home is a place where loneliness disappear. But where is home? And buddha said it very clearly, that home is in us, and there is an island that we had to go back to. The island of self. This is a practice not a theory. Loneliness is the ill being of our time, we feel very lonely even if we are surrounded by many people. We are lonely together. There is a vacuum inside of us. We don’t feel comfortable with this kind of vacuum. So we try to fill it up by connecting with other people. We believe that when we can connect with other people, the feeling of loneliness will disappear. And technology supplies us with many devices in order to connect. Stay connected. We always stay connected, but we feel lonely and continue feeling lonely. We check emails several times a day. We send emails several times a day. We post messages several times a day. We want to share. We want to receive. We are busy during the whole day in order to connect, but that does not help with reducing the amount of loneliness. This is what happens in the present moment, in modern civilization. Our relationship is not good. We are not in good relationship with our partner, with our brothers, with sisters, with our society. We feel very lonely. We have used technologies in order to try to dissipate the feeling of loneliness. But we do not, we have not succeeded. In tradition of plum village on a cushion, that is to connect with ourselves. Because in our daily life, we are disconnected with ourselves. We walk but we don’t know we are walking. We are there but we do not know we are there. We are alive but we do not know we are alive. We are losing ourselves. We are not ourselves. And that is happening almost all day long. The art of sitting down is art of revolution. You sit down, and you cut down. You cut off that state of being: losing yourself, not being yourself. And when you sit down you connect with yourself. You don’t need an iphone or computer to do that. You just need to sit down mindfully and breadth in mindfully. In a few seconds, you connect with yourself. What is going on with your body, with you feelings and your emotions. What is going on in your perception, and so on. You are already home, and take care of your home. You have left home for a long time. Your home has become a mess. So going home, means to sit down and be with yourself, and connect with yourself, and accept the situation as it is: yes but I accepted it. Because I have left home for a long time. I have allowed things to happen like that at home. So now, I’m home and I will rearrange everything. With in breadth, mindful breathing, i begin to smile at everything. I go tidy up everything, and allow my body to release my tension while I breathe in and breathe out. Buddha told me how to do that, how to breath in and how to release my tension in my body. I’m aware of my feeling of loneliness, of sickness, of fear, of anxiety. I smile to the feeling of loneliness sickness anxiety. I say “my dear, loneliness, I know you are there, I’m home to take care of you”. And you make peace with your loneliness, you make peace with your fear. There is wounded child in you. You recognize her, you recognize him, and you embrace him or her tenderly in your arm. That is the art of going home, and taking care of home. Everytime you make a step, whether you are breathing in or breathing out, that is going back to yourself. Every step you bring home to the here and now. So that you connect with yourself. Your body your feelings. That is a real connection. You don’t need a lot of technology to do that. It is revolution. It is a way to heal ourselves, and our society. We are losing ourselves, and we are lost. We have to find ourselves again. We have to go home.

There is an illusion of connection. We think that with that technology. But you cannot really connect. How can you connect with other people when you cannot connect with yourself. So the teaching of the buddha of going home to the island of self, is the way to heal our society, to heal ourselves. So with the art of breath in, you go inside. The way out, is in. when you take a step, you go in yourself. Because the step brings you home to the here and now, help you to connect with your body. Your body is your breathing. Your body is your feet, your body is your lungs. You are home, because your body is home. When you spend two hours with your computer, you forget entirely that you have a body. Without your body, how can you be alive. In plum village, many of us program a bell of mindfulness in our computer, and every fifty minutes we hear the bell. And we stop working. We stop working. We stop thinking. We go back to our inbreath. We enjoy breathing in, we connect with ourselves. And we smile again. We become alive again. We know that we have a body which is a wonder. Our body is a wonder. Connect, is first of all, connect with body. Whether is a feeling of sickness, or anger, or loneliness, it is us. We connect with our inbreath. With that mindful inbreath, we connect with our feelings. We smile to our feelings. We say “don’t worry. I’m home. I will take care of you.” and you embrace your feelings with tenderness, whether it is fear or anger or loneliness. Warm up ourselves with that kind of practice. This is an art of going home truly, and you don’t need technological device to do so. Be at home for yourself. The Buddha said “be an island unto ourselves”. Taking refuge in the island of self. That is the practice recommended by the Buddha. So when you walk from the parking lot to your office. Why don’t you go home with every step. Why do you continue to think, to worry, to suffer. Every step can bring you home. You walk like a buddha, you walk like a free person. That is possible. You recover yourself. You connect with yourself every step. And the freedom is possible. You are liberating yourself. You are not losing yourself anymore. You connect with your body. You connect with your feelings in every step. And every step brings you freedom. And if you can find a home to yourself. You can help your partner to find his or her. He is lonely also. He is looking for some warmth, some safety. That is why once you have gotten home, you can go to the partner. You can go to the other person. Since you have a home, you are in a position to help him to have a home also. And you are confident. Because you know how to connect with yourself, how to have a home for yourself. So that the confidence in you, will inspire him or her to do the same. She can find a home in you. She will lean on that to build a home in her. But before you can go to him or her to help, you have to help yourself, and you have to connect to yourself. When you have been able to connect with yourself, and the next step is possible, will be successful to connect with other people. Without the first step, the second step is not possible. And you don’t really need a iphone or something like that. You need an eye to look at him with compassion. Even if she is not in the same town, you can connect with him with her easily. Because you are already yourself. You are already home. And whatever you said, whatever you think, will help her to recover herself. And she is able to go back to herself. And your relationship becomes a real relation. Because both of you have home. That is why when you come together, you find home in each other at the time as in each of you. This is collective home for both of you. There is home here, there is home here, and there is a collective home here. And it is the base for everything. If you want to help society, if you want to help the community, and if you want to help your country, and then you have to base on this. When you have a true home, you have happiness, have safety, you have fulfillment. You are in a condition to go to the other, whether they are individual, or group of people. This is the way described by the buddha. Everything has to begin with yourself. And the teaching, and the practice is very clear. Every breath, every step, every sitting, every act like drinking, like cleaning. If down in mindfulness, help you to go home, to enjoy the wonders of life around you and in you. Your body is a wonder. And heal the clear stream of water, they are all wonder, they have the power to heal. Our brother fabilun* is summoning us, try to put these ideas into little page, and send to our friends so that they can practice during the christmas season. The practice of going home, to heal ourselves, and help heal the world.

Now we have to go back to the sutra. We know that 行 (formation). Formation is a buddha technical term to designate everything like flower, marker, a book, a person, a tree. Everything is a formation. We don’t say things, but we say formations. Sometimes we call them dharma (法). Entities. essences. The cloud is a dharma. The cloud is a formation. The rock is a dharma. The rock is a formation. As far as teaching concern, the dharma should be in capital letter the D. but dharma mean things, formations. The word formation is a good word, because everything has to lean on other things to be form. Formation is called composite things. Aggregation of coming together many elements. But there are many ways to look at things. Those do not have insight. They call them ordinary people (凡人) who do not have insight. Ordinary people see formations as having their own nature,solid, permanent as self, as essences. They see see formations as self. They see that there is action, and there is actor. And there is person who receive the fruit of the actor. Ordinary people who have not got an insight. They believe in formation as separate entities, permanent having self. They believe there is an owner of the body and mind, there is an actor, and there is a feeler, and there is receiver of the fruit of their action. And also look at the formation like that, they see the things in terms of being (有) and nonbeing (无). They look at things as actor and receiver. They also see birth and death. So this is the historical dimension. We see that there is birth and death, being and nonbeing, actors and receivers, and all these phenomenon that exist outside of each other having separate own nature. That is conventional truth. But when we look more deeply, we touch the ultimate truth, which is of the nature of no birth no death, no being and nonbeing, no actor no receiver, and finally no formation. And this sentence, this utterance of buddha can be found in itivuttaka, and also in udana. And sentence is like this, there is the born, the becoming, the doing, the formation, but there is also no born, no becoming, no acting, no formation. If there was no born no becoming, no acting, no form, is not there, and there is no escape for what is born, what is acting, what is form. That sentence is utterance of the buddha, and they can be found in both scriptures, itivuttaka and udana. In Chinese scripture, we found it again in dhammapada. So if you base on this, we can set up five kinds of nidanas. First of all, there is ignorance. And because ignorance, you see the world as formation. Formation as self and essence. That is why you can see the owner and the actor and the receiver. As you see the permanent self, you see that he can be there, and he cannot be there. And you have the notion of being and nonbeing. You see things in being and nonbeing, you see also things in birth and death. You can set of five of nidanas, that are very harmonious. If there is no ignorance, you look at the world not in terms of self and separate entity. So pacification of formation, you see the formation not as self and permanent own being, but you see they as co-arising co-being, inter-being, inter-arising. You see in the light of co-arising. With ignorance, you see that as self and separated essence. With insight or right view, we see formation as leaning on each other in order to manifest. Sometimes we call them “basing on other things to arise” (依他起). So with ignorance, we see formation as self and essences. But with insight, we see them as co-arising entities. And then if you see them as co-arising entities, you don’t see them as in terms of actor and receiver anymore. No self. There is a rain, but you don’t need a rainer to bring the rain. And then, when you see them as self, you see them in terms of being and non-being. But when you have seen no self, and then you transcend also the notion of being and nonbeing. So over here, with the ignorance, “to be or not to be” is a question, but over here, “to be or not to be” is not a question anymore. Because you see the world not in terms of being and nonbeing. And this is the teaching of kachayana* sutra. Kachayana sutra states very clear: right view is the view dismisses the notion of being and nonbeing. As you touch the nature of no being and no nonbeing, you touch the nature of no birth and no death. And when you see the nature of no birth and no death, there is no longer any samsara. No samsara to get out. Here (nidanas) you see there is samsara. Samsara is a notion not a reality, because you are caught in ignorance. That is why you see formation as having self and essence. That is why you see self and nonself. That is why see being and nonbeing. But with right view, you look and you see very thing lean on each other in order to arise. You see the true nature of emptiness. And you see there is no self at all. There is no being and nonbeing. There is no birth and no death. And you don’t any samsara to get out. If there is a sumsara, then you have to struggle to get out. If there is no sumsara, there is no need to get out. No samsara is nirvana. So with wrong view, you see things in this view (nidanas), and you are caught in samsara. With right view, you suddenly, you don’t make any move, and you are not in samsara. It is not a problem of traveling from samsara to out of samsara. This is a problem of knowledge, salvation by knowledge, by insight. And it is why we have to look at nidanas in as in terms of epistemology. And the twelve nidanas that you used to see a lot in the sutra, they are not expressed in terms of epistemology. Their aim is to explain samsara. Their aim is to express the continuation of death and birth. It’s Buddhism, but you have put things at the right place.

You can also go from the other direction, and it still works wonderfully. You begin from here (birth, being, …) because of ignorance. You see the world as birth and death. If fact, birth and death are only notions. You see the cloud. you see that cloud cannot die, cannot disppear altogether. The cloud can only become snow or rain. So cloud cannot really die. The cloud is no born from nothing. The cloud is continuation of water, vapir and so on. So if you look on the surface, you see the cloud as having birth and death. But when you look deeply, you see the nature of no birth and no death of the cloud. Because of ignorance, you see birth and death. And because you see birth and death, you see being and nonbeing. And because you see things as being and nonbeing, you see as self and doer. I’m not you. Father is not son. And when you see, you see self like that (actor), you see formation as self. You see things as permanent formations as self and essences. This world you live in, having birth and death, having being and nonbeing, having self and permanent entities, they are construction of your mind, and you suffer, you go up and down, because of these notions. That is why you suffer samsara. According to sutra, you can begin with birth and death, being and nonbeing, doer and receiver, and formation. But you can do the other way. because of ignorance, there is this world of mental construction. And in the world of mental construction, you see self, you see being and nonbeing, you see birth and death, and you saffer sumsara. And what wonderful is that the six nidanas, they injunct (connect) each others not only in a linear way, but also like this. Because of ignorance, you see birth and death, and as you see things in birth and death, your ignorance becomes stronger. This, first and second, and second with third, and the third with the second. The first not only produces the second, but the first also produces the third. And the third produces the first. And the same thing is true for the forth, fifth, and the sixth and vice versa. One thing, one of nidanas, contributes and strengthen to form other nidanas. So we are not in linear structure. This is more of buddhism insight. Because according to buddhism insight, there is no first cause. The notion of first cause is contradictory to itself. Because we need a cause for everything. It would not be satisfied if there is something without cause. So the first cause is absurd. In buddhism, every cause is at the same time an effect. Like the cloud, is a continuation condition of the vapor, it is an effect. But it is also the cause of the rain. So cause must be effect at the same time.

So now let us go to the twelve nidanas in many many sutras. Ignorance (愚明). Leaning on ignorance, there are formations (行). Leaning on formations, there are consciousness (我). Leaning on consciousness, there is name and form (各色). Basing on name of form, there is six organ (六入). Because of sense organ, we have the contact the touch (触). Leaning on touch, we have feelings (受). Leaning on feelings, we have craving (？). Because of craving, we are caught graspling (取). Because of grasping, we have being and becoming (有). Because of being, we have to suffer birth (生) again. Because we suffer birth, we suffer of old age and death (老死). So last time, there are many weaknesses in this kind of representing. First of all, it is presented linear way. It gave impress that the ignorance is the first cause. But everything here (other 11 nidanas) contribute to strengthen to make ignorance. It is better to follow this way (nonlinear way) to present the nidanas. Not only ignorance creates formation, but also formation the way we see things strengthens ignorance. The same thing is true for all nidanas. So the linear structure is not the best. And we know that in the light of co-arising, the notion of only cause is not acceptable, and the notion of first cause is not acceptable. Because when we observe things, we don’t see anything as first cause. Because everything is also an effect of everything else. So every demand, there is a safe first cause, is not consistent. It goes against our logic, our reason. And then if there is a first cause, there is a only cause, which is also an error. Because you observe things, you never see one cause can bring an effect. There is multitude of causes in order for something to manifest. So both notion of first cause and only cause should be removed, and presenting the twelve nidanas in a linear way can bring about this kind of misunderstanding. The second weakness of the set, is that presenting the set like this and we cannot explain samsara as formation in the original sense anymore. In the other set, we know that from ignorance, we see the world as formation, and formations are phenomenal world. They are physical formation and like tree and rock. There are mental formations like anger and fear. There is physiologic formation like body. And everything is a formation. Because of formation as a separate entity. This is very logic. Here (the twelve nidanas) you have to explain, that formation here is no formation, skandhas is something kind of impulses, kind of karma. Many teachers explains skandhas as in terms of mind, actions of the mind, actions of the body, actions of the body and actions of speech. But how can it be possible karma formation when mind and body and six organs only appear down here (twelve nidanas). So it is not logic that the formation is explained as karma as action karma comes first, and then the actions of mouth and body and mind comes much later. That is second weakness. Formation should be understood as darma, as phenomena, as composite things. If we understand formation as phenomenons, and then they include already the five skandhas. Because of consciousness is one of five skandhas. Organs, and name and forms also. The body also already belong to formation. The five skandhas form, feeling, perceptions, mental construction, consciousness (色,受,想,行,意). And formations here (formation in twelve nidanas) include mental formation. Formation here (name and form in twelve nidanas) is all kind of formation. Formation here include physical formation, mental formation, and physiological formation. That is why if we understand formations as all kinds of formations, and the consciousness already appears in here (formation in 12 nidanas). And feeling already appear here (formation in 12 nidanas). And 6 organs already appear here (formation in 12 nidanas). Also consciousness already is here (formation in 12 nidanas). So the formation here means the five skandhas. But the five skandhas look with ignorance. It is five padanas* skandhas. If we have right view, we don’t see them as upudakanada skandhas, but we see them as skandhas in the light of interbeing, inter-co arising. But because of ignorance, we see that the five skandhas as self and separated. So all these things, the third, the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth, and the seventh, are all contribute and included in the five skandhas and in the formation. And it is possible to remove them they are not necessary. They are all introduced [in] formation. And then the third weakness is that the feelings bring about craving. Because the feeling might bring the opposite. Because we can speak of feelings, we speak of three kind of feelings: pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling and notu* feeling. To describe feeling only as pleasant feelings is not correct. In fact, unpleasant feelings painful feeling is more numerous than the pleasant feelings. so It is wrong to describe to the feeling as the only pleasant feeling, and here the seven nidanas describe feeling as pleasant feeling. It is very clear because if it is painful feeling, people will not crave for it. That is weakness of this set. If it is painful feeling, and it will not lead to craving. It leads to aversion. It leads to the tendency to run away, to suppress, to destroy. Feeling is only a pleasant feeling, that is a mistake. And the forth [mistake]. We blame on the five skandha. We blame on our mind and body as the cause of craving, of grasping. But the great being buddha and buddisafa they also have a mind and body, but they have six sense of organ, but why they don’t produce craving and attachment. So that is not nice to blame everything on the body and mind, on the six sense bases. And here, it looks like the mind and body, six sense organs only bring about grasping and craving. And this is not fair. You blame everything on mind and body. Why mind and body of buddha generate the feeling of compassion, of detachment, of equanimity. Mind body [is] leading to attachment and suffering, naming to craving and attachment [, which is a mistake]. So in order to be fair, we have to mention all three kinds of feeling here. And we have to mention also not only the craving, but also aversion, hating. Because when you have a nice feeling you like it. But when there is painful feeling, you hate it. So it is not true that the feeling only gives birth to craving. And it is unfair all the suffering to five skandha. Five skandha are free, and they don’t produce these things like this. They produce these things only when they are attached. They are subjected to attachment. And as far as grasping, the nine nidanas is concerned, to say that is attachment is not complete. We have to say the opposite which is to release. Because we recognize something of producing suffering, we are capable of letting go. Letting go, should go with grasping, as a pair of opposite. It’s like craving and hating. it should come as opposite. Like birth goes with death. Being should go with nonbeing, and so on. And next weakness is that being is named here as cause of birth and death and all ?. this is the most serious shortcoming. We blame everything on being. We blame if that we suffer because of being. It means that we should aspire to something else rather than being, and that is nonbeing. But we know that the purpose of practice is not to attain nonbeing. So this gives the most serious misunderstanding, that the aim of the Buddhists practice is to die forever, to attain nonbeing. Because they omit the opposite, they should mention also the being and nonbeing. If we have to forget the mention of the opposition: craving and hating, grasping and releasing, being and nonbeing. We should get out of is the notion of being and nonbeing. What what we should attain is not just being. And that is the whole difference, at least to many misunderstandings. Many western scholars, when they find these kind of text, they arrive with the conclusion that the buddhists’ aim is to erase the being. And they want to die forever. They don’t want to be reborn anymore. But the aim of the practice, it means ?. being should go with nonbeing, in order to not give the impression that Buddhism is looking for nonbeing, so they would not be born again. The buddist is afraid of being born, that is not true. Because we like to sing happy birthday to you. And what we don’t like is the notion of the birth and death. So that we have to bring death from here (death) to up here (birth), which is a pair of opposite. And the purpose of practice to transcend all these notions birth and death, being and nonbeing, grasping and releasing, craving and hating. Because we have seen the truth and that is why things cannot pull ourselves anymore, we have our freedom from all of these. If we don’t see birth and death, being and nonbeing, and then we have no age, no death, no birth, no suffering, no samsara. So this is sumsara. If you bring that (death and birth) up here (grasping and releasing), and we make the term as samsara. If we are free from birth and death, naturally we are free from samsara. The twelve might to called samsara. The eighth weakness of the set, is to give the impression that the buddist only likes one thing nonbeing. This is very serious. There are already five or six scholars on Buddhism who have arrived at this conclusion that nirvana is only eternal death. It follows maybe a period of twenty or thirty years when the saint is still alive. When the saint when the ala is still alive, he spends some nirvana. When he dies, he will die forever. And after he dies, he will die forever. And that is nirvana. And we found out that this set of nirvana aim at explaining samsara. The mechanism of recarnication rather than to help us to connect with the ultimate. The conventional, we look deeply in such a way we can connect with the ultimate. The teaching and practicing leading us to the ultimate dimension should be able to help, and not to stand on the way. so this way of presenting the twelve links can be useful elsewhere, but not in the middle path. Because this teaching does not help us connect the ultimate reality. Because it is against the middle path. The way it is presented, it is only one side. Craving without hating. Grasping without releasing. Birth without death. It has no epistemological purpose. This is not presented in the practice of looking deeply of meditation. Because we know that in Buddhism, salvation is not made by prayer, but by looking deeply. When you look deeply, you can the insight, you get out of the notion of birth and death, being and nonbeing, self, and phonomons as separate real entities. When you have seen that, the samsara just disappears. You don’t have to get out of samsara. There is no samsara at all. Why do you have to get out. Do you think that cloud has to struggle to get out of birth and death. It is now free of birth and death. We know that science has gotten a glimpse on that also. Because the first law of thermodynamics tells us that there is nothing born and nothing die. And the law of Conservation of energy and matter, tell us that you cannot create matter, you cannot destroy matter, you cannot create energy, you cannot destroy energy. Energy and matter their nature is no birth no death. But science has not made use of that insight in order to deal their sufferings, the suffering of scientists. If you work only with our mind, you can see that freedom is possible. Nirvana is possible. The realm of no birth and no death is there. But still we continue to suffer. Like someone have found a well so deep they know that is water. they can see the water. But they don’t have instrument in order to bring the water down here up here to drink. So all those scientists have agreed nothing born nothing die, but are still suffer of fear of birth and death, being and nonbeing. And that is why it is not a problem of concept, intellectualizing. The problem of meditation, live in such way wisdom become part of daily life. When you look at things like a cloud, like our partner, we have to see their nature of the nature of no birth and no death, no being and no nonbeing. If you continue like that, you would be freed from fear, from discrimimation, from anger and so on. That freedom from fear, anger and discrimination, is nirvana. And it is possible. The five mindfulness training are very concrete expression of the past. Fourth noble truth reflecting the insight of interbeing, the insight of no birth and no death. If you really try to live according to the five trainings. You can experience freedom, the nirvana every moment. It is like we step on a thorn, and we got the torn inside our fresh, we suffer. And we think there will be no peace unless we take it out. When we are able to get the thorn out, we feel wonderful. that is freedom. that is nirvana. Every affliction like anger and fear and loneliness, they are like thorns. We suffered because thorns are there. So if we can extract all thorns, we experience one freedom. And we have nirvana, that part of nirvana. So to remove affliction like fear anger despair loneliness is possible. If you are free and enlighten, that is nirvana. Don’t say that nirvana is something abstract, far away. And it is possible here and now. With every step, you make a mindfulness you get free. And that freedom is nirvana. Free from the past, free from the future, free from your worry. that is nirvana. So there are two kind of obstacles for nirvana. The first one is affliction. And the second one is our prejudices, our wrong perception. The perception of being and nonbeing, and self and no self. All these are obstacles for nirvana. As you remove one by one, afrision and our wrong perception, we enlarge our freedom. And that freedom is nirvana, in the here and now. And nirvana is not eternal death like people say.

* means the word may or may not be a correct spelling.

? means having missing words that I could not hear/understand.

[] means the words/sentences contained in it, is interpolated, which are not said by Thich Nhat Hanh, but are implied in the sentences as they are understood by me.

中文翻译(Chinese translation)

释一行是一位在世伟大的禅师。他的声音有着平复我的情绪的作用。在我困难的时候，他帮助过我走出来。他会继续成为我重要的导师。他曾经讲过的一节关于如何面对孤独的课。这节课是冬天2012或者2013给的。以下是他的原话：

上一次，我们讲了“家”。我们知道，一旦我们回到了家，我们就不再感到孤独了。在家，我会感觉到温暖，舒适，安全。所以，家是一个让孤独消失的地方。但是，家在哪里？佛陀曾经讲地非常的明白，他说家在我们里面。我们一定要去一个岛。这是岛是自我。这是一种实践，不是理论。孤单是当今的问题。我们感到非常的孤单，即使我们和很多人在一起。我们一起在孤单着。在我们的里面，有块空缺。我们对这种空缺感到不舒服。所以，我们尝试通过和其他人链接起来着把它填上。我们相信，当我们能链接其他人，孤独的感觉会消失。科技带给我们很多设备让我们和其他人链接。保持链接。我们想要保持链接，但是我们还是感到孤独。我们每一天发好几次信息。我们想要分享。我们想要接受。我们一整天忙着去链接，但是这些不能帮助减少孤独的程度。这是现代文明发生的问题。我们之间的关系不良好。我们和我们的对象，父母，姐妹，社会的关系不良好。我们感到很孤独。我们已经用科技尝试着释放孤独的感觉。但是，我们没有成功。在plum village（在法国，释一行组建的一个乡村。释一行带领下的地方），坐在坐垫传统，那就是和我们自己链接。因为，在我们每一天的生活里，我们和我们自己失去了链接。我们在走路，但是我们不知道我们在走路。我们在那里，但是我们不知道我们在那里。我们活着，但是我们不知道我们活着。我们在失去自我。我们不是我们自己。这是一整天都在发生的事情。坐下来这艺术，是变革的艺术。你坐下来，你就剪断了。你剪断那种只去自己，不是自己的状态。你坐下来，你就和自己链接在一起了。你不需要一个苹果手机，或者电脑来做到这个。你只需要意识地坐下来，意识地呼吸。在几秒钟内，你和你自己链接。[链接到]你身体内发生的事情，和你的感觉，和你的情绪，和你的视角，等等。你已经在家里了，你还照顾好家。你已经离开家很久了，你的家已经很乱了。所以，回家，意味着坐下了，和你自己在一起，和你自己链接，接受现在的情况：对，但是我接受它。因为我已经离开家很久了。我允许那些那些事发生。现在，我回到家里，我会把一切都整理好一切。有着意识的呼吸，我开始对着一切微笑。我整理好一切，允许我的身体的释放我的紧张，同时吸一口气，呼一口气。佛陀曾经告诉我怎么做那些，怎么呼吸，怎么释放身体里的紧张。我意识到我孤独，病，害怕，焦虑的感觉。我对孤独，病，害怕，焦虑的感觉微笑。我说：“亲爱的，孤独，我知道你在那里。我在家照顾好你”然后，你和你的孤独和平共处。你和你的害怕和平共处。在你的里面，有个受伤的小孩。你认出啦他，你认出了她，你轻轻的抱着他（她）在你的怀抱里。这就是“回家”的艺术，然后照顾好家。每一次，你走一步，你不管是在呼气，还是吸气，这就是回归你自己。每一步，你把家带到了此时此地，所以你链接到你自己。你的身体，你的感觉。那时真实的链接。你不需要很多的科技来做到这个。这是一个变革。这是一种恢复自己，我们的社会的方式。我们在失去我们自己，我们迷失了。我们一定要找到我们自己。我们一定要回家。

链接的幻象是存在的。我们认为科技可以[链接]。但是，你并不能真正地链接。你怎么能链接其他人，如果你不能够链接你自己。所以，佛陀的教育说回到回归自我的小岛，是恢复我们社会，恢复我们自己的方式。所以，吸气的艺术，你进去。出去的路，是进去。当你走一步，你走进你自己。因为，每一步，带你回归到此时此地，帮助你链接你的身体。你的身体是你的呼吸。你的身体是你的腿。你的身体是你的肺。你在家，你的身体是家。当你花了两个小时在电脑上，你完全忘记你有一个身体。没有你的身体，你怎么能活着？在plum village，我们中很多人写了一个程序。一个意识的的钟在我们的电脑里。每隔五十分钟，我们会听到这钟声。然后，我们停止工作，我们停止思考。我们回到我们的吸气。我们享受我们的吸气。我们链接到我们自己。我们再一次微笑。我们再一次变得有活力。我们知道我们有个身体，这是个奇迹。我们的身体是一个奇迹。链接，首先是链接身体。不过是病，生气，还是孤独的感觉，这是我们。我们和我们的吸气链接。带着有意识的吸气，我们和我们的感觉链接。我们向着我们的感觉微笑。我们说“不要担心，我们在家。我会照顾好你”。然后，你细心地拥抱着你的感觉，不管是害怕，还是生气，还是孤独。用这些练习，微暖我们自己。这就是真正回家的艺术。你不需要科技设备做到这些。为了你自己，回家。佛陀说“成为自己的小岛”。在自己的小岛里避难。这是佛陀推荐的练习。所以，当你从停车场到你的办公室。为什么你不每一步回到家里。为什么你要继续思考，担心，受苦。每一步能带你回到家。你像佛陀一样走路。你像自由人一样走路。这是有可能的。你恢复你自己。每一步，你和你自己链接。自由是有可能的。你解放你自己。你不再失去你自己。你和你自己的身体链接。每一步，你和你的感觉链接。每一步，带来自由。如果，你能给自己找到一个家。你可以帮助你的伙伴找到她/他的家。他也是孤独的。他也在寻找着一些温暖，和安全。你很自信。因为你自己怎么和自己链接，怎么为自己寻找一个家。那份你的自信，会给她和他带来一样的自信。她能够在你那找到家。她将会依靠着那，建起一个家。不过，在你帮助她/他之前，你一定要帮助你自己。你一定要自己链接。当你能和自己链接，下一步就有可能，你会成功链接其他人。没有第一步，第二步是不可能。你真的不需要一个苹果手机，或者其他的手机。你需要一双用着同心的眼睛看着他。即使，他不在同一个城市，你可以简单地链接到她或者他。因为你已经是你自己。你已经到家。然后，不管你说什么，你想什么，都可以帮助到她恢复。她能够回归自己。你们的关系成为真正的关系。因为你们俩同时有家。这就是为什么，但你们在一起，你在对方那里同时找到了家。这是你们共同的家。这里有家，那里有家。然后这里有个共同的家。这是所有的基础。如果你想要帮助社会，如果你想要帮助社区，如果你想要帮助你的国家，那么你一定要建立在这个的基础上。当你有了个真正的家，你有了幸福，你有了安全，你有了满足。你有了去别人那的条件，不管是个人，还是一个群体。这是佛陀描述的方式。一切都要从你自己开始。然后，教育，和练习是非常明确的。每一个呼吸，每一次坐下，每一个动作像喝，打扫。如果在意识中，帮助你回到家里，去享受人生的美妙在你身边和你里面。你的身体是一个奇迹。恢复清澈的水流，都是一个奇迹。他们有能力去恢复。我们的兄弟fbilun在召唤这我们，尝试的把这些想法记录到几页纸里，然后寄给我们的朋友。这样我们朋友可以在圣诞节练习。练习回家，恢复我们自己，帮助恢复世界。

现在，我们一定要回到佛经。我们知道“行”（formation）。行，是一个佛教的专业名称。它象征着一切，比如一朵花，一把粉笔，一本书，一个人，一颗树。一切都是行。我们不说“东西”，我们说“行”。有时候，我们称它为“法”（dharma），个体，和本质。天上的云朵，是法。天上的云朵，是行。石头是法。石头是行。以教育来说，法应要是大写的。但是，法的意思是，东西，行。行，这个字，是个好字，因为所以的东西不得不依靠其他东西来生成。行，是叫做组合的东西。很多元素在一起组合。但是，世界存在着很多方式看东西。那些没有慧眼的人。他们称他们为凡人，没有慧眼的人。凡人看行，认为行有着自己的本质，坚固，和永恒，想自我一样，是本质。他们看行，就像他们看自我。他们看到，那里有个行动，一方是作者，另一方是受者。有一个人接受到另一个人行为的果实。没有慧眼的凡人，他们相信行是一个另外的个体，有这自我的永恒。他们相信，世界存在着身体和心神的主人，存在着作者，受者，存在着接受着行动果实的人。他们也看的行，像他们看东西，以“有”(being)和“无”(nonbeing)的角度。他们看到事物为作者，和受者。他们也看的生和灭。所以，这个是历史的维度。我们看到世界存在生和灭，有和无，作者和受者。我们看到这些现象都是存在在外界，有着不一样的本质。这是大家认同的真实。但是，当我们更仔细地看，我们接触到了最终的真实。这个真实的本质是，没有生，没有灭，没有有，没有无，没有作者，没有受者，最后没有行。这个句子，佛陀的话可以在如是语经，和自说经里面找到。句子是这样子的：存在着生，成为，做，和行，也存在着无生灭，无有无，没有行。如果，“没有无生灭，没有做，没有行”不在，那么就无法摆脱生的东西，做的事情，和行。这句话，是佛陀说的，可以在语经，和自说经里面找到。在中文的文档里，我们有在一次在法语经上面找到。所以，如果你建立在这个基础上，我们可以搭建起五个因缘。首先，第一个是无知。然后，因为无知，你看到的世界是行，像是拥有着自我和本质。因为你可以看到永久的自我，你看到他能在那里，他不能在那里。然后你有有无的概念。你看到的事物是有无，你也在事物里看到，生灭。五个因缘，非常的和谐。如果没有无知，你看到的世界就不是以自我和不一样的东西组成。所以，行的解放，你看到行就不是自我和永恒的个体，你看到的是同时产生，同时存在，互相存在，互相产生。带着无知，你看到的是自我和不一样的个体。带着慧眼或者正确的角度，我们看到的行是互相依靠才能展现出来。有的时候，我们称他们为“依他起”。所以，带着无知，我们看行为自我和本质。但是，带着慧眼，我们看到的是同时产生的个体。然后，如果你看它们为同时产生的个体，你不再以作者和受者的词语来看待它们了。没有自我。那里有雨，但是你不需要雨者来带来雨。当你以自我的角度看待它们，你以有无的词语来看待它们。但是，当你已经知道没有自我，那你也能过升华有和无的概念。所以，带着无知，“在不在这”是一个问题，但是，在这，[慧眼，]“在不在这”不再是一个问题了。因为你不以有无的词语来看待世界。这是kachayana?经的教育。kachayana经讲得非常明白：正确的视角，无视了有无的概念。当你达到无有无的本质，你达到无生灭的本质。然后，当你看到无生灭的本质，就不存在轮回了。没有轮回，需要[你]逃离。这里（因缘），你看到轮回。轮回是一个概念，而不是一个现实，因为你被困住无知中。这就是为什么你看到行拥有自我和本质。这是为什么你看到了自我和非自我。这是为什么[你]看到有无。但是，有正确的视角，你看到每个东西是依靠这对方才能产生。你看到空的真实本质。你看到世界上没有自我，无有无，无生灭。没有轮回需要逃离。如果轮回存在，你不得不挣扎着逃离。如果不存在轮回，那么[你]就没必要逃离轮回。没有轮回，是涅槃（西方极乐世界）。所以，带着错误的视角，你以这（因缘）来看待东西，然后你困在轮回中。带着正确的视角，突然，你不做任何行动，你不在轮回中。这不是从轮回走到一个非轮回的地方的问题。这是知识的问题。通过知识，慧眼，来拯救[自己]。这是为什么我们一定要以认识论的词语来看待因缘。在很多佛经上讲得12个因缘，不是用知识论来表达的。它们[那些佛经]是在解释回轮。它们的目的是在表达生灭的延续。这是佛教，你要把东西放着正确的地方。

你也可以从另一个方向出发，那也行。你从这里出发(生，有，等等)，因为无知的缘故。你看到的世界是生灭。实际上，生灭只是一个概念。你看到云，你看到云不会灭，不可以完全消失。云只能够变成雪或者雨。所以，云不可以真正地消失。云不是由无产生的。云是水，蒸汽，等等的延续。所以如果你只看表面，你看到的是有生灭的。但是，当你仔细地看，你看到，云是无生灭的本质。因为无知，你看到生灭。因为你看到生灭，你看到有无。因为你看东西是有无的，你看到了自我和作者。我不是你。父亲不是儿子。当你看，你看到自我是作者。你把行看成自我。你看到东西有着永恒的行，像是自我和本质。你生活的世界，有生灭，有有无，有自我和永恒的个体，这些是心神的结构，然后你痛苦，你往上，往下，因为这些概念。这是为什么你受轮回之苦。根据佛经，你可以从生灭，有无，作者受者，和行开始。但是你也可以从另一个方向出发。因为无知，有这种because of ignorance, there is this world of mental construction. And in the world of mental