Allowing our Root Wisdom to Shine Through | Dharma talk by Sister Hội Nghiêm - 2020.10.18

Each of us has a deep "root wisdom" in our consciousness which manifests when enough conditions are present. In this clear and moving talk, Sr. Hội Nghiêm asks, What obscures this wisdom? How can we live our daily lives so that this wisdom shines through ever more brightly?

In this talk, the fifth of our 2020 Autumn Rains Retreat focusing on "non-discrimination", Sr. Hội Nghiêm describes how our mind works according to the teachings of Buddhist psychology. She offers examples to show how each of the five aggregates that compose us-- body (form), feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness-- are made of each other and all that is. She describes how the seeds of both wholesome and unwholesome energies in our store consciousness manifest in response to being "watered".

Sr. Hội Nghiêm further explains the role of manas, which is characterized by the energy of grasping and the view that "this is me" or "mine" (or "not me", "not mine") and brings about suffering. She shares that we can use "later-acquired wisdom" and mindfulness to investigate our experience, "selectively water" the seeds in our consciousness, and transform manas. When manas is fully transformed, it becomes "Great Mirror Wisdom", able to reflect reality as it is and to allow our root wisdom to shine through.

Sr. Hội Nghiêm also answers a question (at ~59 minutes) posed by a viewer watching the talk online. When a loved one or we ourselves get sick and suffer a lot, how can we practice so that we have peace and are able to help the one we love? Sr. Hội Nghiêm offers a clear set of trainings and encourages us to put them into practice while we and our loved one are still well. In this way, we will have a firm foundation from which to meet difficulties like sickness when they arise.

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Видео Allowing our Root Wisdom to Shine Through | Dharma talk by Sister Hội Nghiêm - 2020.10.18 канала Plum Village