Venerable Thich Thien Tri and Layman Tam Thuong Dinh Guide a Mindfulness Meditation Retreat

 Venerable Thich Thien Tri and Layman Tam Thuong Dinh Guide a Mindfulness Meditation Retreat

Tâm Nhuận Phúc: Viet Newspaper | Bodhi Media translated

Venerable Thích Thiện Trí and Layman Tâm Thường Định Guide a Mindfulness Meditation Retreat

Garden Grove, (VB). On Saturday and Sunday, April 1 and 2, 2023, at the Great Compassion Monastery in Garden Grove City, the Wisdom Foundation will host a retreat titled "The Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation Practice and How to Implement Mindfulness Skills into Daily Activities." This retreat's two lecturers are Venerable Thich Thien Tri and layman Tam Thuong Dinh. 

About sixty Buddhists participated in this two-day retreat in its entirety.

It is a good idea to invite two speakers to co-conduct a mindfulness meditation retreat; one monastic member and one layperson, because mindfulness has grown in popularity in the United States in recent years. Mindfulness transcends religion, becoming a way of life, a skill, and a psychotherapeutic technique that is extensively applied in numerous areas of life. Both Venerable Thich Thien Tri and layperson Tam Thuong Dinh have introduced mindfulness into schools, prisons, and numerous other aspects of American culture.

Regarding mindfulness, perhaps nothing is simpler to comprehend than the following passage from the Transformational Protection Sutta: Mindful walking, standing, and resting:

Enter and exit while chuckling and speaking with courtesy.

When the spirit is sad, angry, or anxious

Every step into the Pure Land may bring mindfulness back to the breath.

Everyone perceives the Dharmakaya...

Mindfulness meditation is simply walking, standing, lying down, and sitting like everyone else, with the exception that each of these movements is performed with complete awareness. Everything is merely a means, serving as an anchor to prevent consciousness from drifting into the past or future. Breathing is the most accessible and efficient anchor for concentrating the mind. Mindful meditation is merely existing with complete awareness in the present moment and in the present location. To do so is to make significant progress in meditation practice.

In accordance with the essence of mindfulness applied to daily life, Venerable Thich Thien Tri has provided very practical and straightforward guidance on mindfulness meditation. He employed a great deal of poetry and humorously recounted numerous life experiences to give the impression that the practice of meditation was simple.

Tam Thuong Dinh, also known as Phe X. Bach, is a secondary school teacher with a doctorate in education. He has frequently instructed teachers and students in California on the subject of mindfulness practice. He teaches mindfulness as a life skill, assisting students in overcoming periods of tension and depression, thereby preventing mental crises that could result in the worst-case scenarios. According to him, six of his high school students chose death to avoid life's crises during his teaching career. This social issue persists in the United States, even within the Vietnamese community in California.

Most Venerable Thich Thien Tri and layman Tam Thuong Dinh took turns instructing uncomplicated, accessible mindfulness practices. Tracing the five fingers while breathing is a technique to concentrate on the five in-and-out-breaths.

Walking meditation, also known as mindful walking, is a simple practice. In the past, many individuals have grown accustomed to walking slowly, counting each stride from the moment they lift their foot until they place it on the ground in front of them. During that day's practice session, everyone became more familiar with the new method of walking meditation, which consisted of strolling quickly while practicing mindfulness. If you walk quickly while focusing your attention on each step and remaining aware of your surroundings, then you are still practicing meditation.

During the Q&A session, numerous Buddhists inquired about how to apply mindfulness to daily difficulties. For instance, how to deal with adolescents who revolt against their parents, assist those in despair, or rage...  To overcome these obstacles, one must first understand how to employ righteousness. Use mindfulness to regulate your emotions and maintain a calm, clear mind. You must first assist yourself before assisting others. Next, we must approach every situation with compassion, loving others as we love ourselves. When favorable conditions can bring pleasure to others, only Buddhists can practice the bodhisattva path because they possess the necessary wisdom and compassion.

As a means of reviewing the teachings on mindfulness practices, the practice session also included singing meditation songs using basic, memorable chants.

The two-day retreat concluded with success. Some Buddhists could not contain their emotions as they described the benefits of this brief retreat. They claim to have gained many valuable insights through their daily mindfulness practice.

Nguồn: https://vietbao.com/a315431/thuong-toa-thich-thien-tri-va-cu-si-tam-thuong-dinh-huong-dan-thien-chanh-niem