Our Appointment with Life

Summary

This talk, delivered at the summer opening in Plum Village on July 6, 2014, presents a foundational teaching on mindfulness in the Buddhist tradition. The speaker explains mindfulness as an energy that anyone can generate, an energy that allows a person to be aware of what is happening in the body, feelings, perceptions, mind, and the world. Mindfulness is framed as the capacity to return to the present moment, described repeatedly as the “here and now,” where life and its wonders are actually available. The speaker emphasizes that missing the present moment means missing one’s appointment with life, a central metaphor used throughout the talk to encourage listeners to stop chasing happiness in the future and instead recognize what is already present. A major theme is the intimate relationship between mindfulness, concentration, and insight. The speaker teaches that mindfulness naturally contains concentration, and concentration naturally gives rise to insight. These three energies are presented as the core of Buddhist meditation practice. Through simple practices such as mindful breathing, mindful walking, and mindful drinking of tea, practitioners can cultivate these energies in daily life. The talk highlights that mindfulness is not abstract or reserved for formal meditation sessions; it can be practiced while drinking tea, holding a cup, pouring water, walking, sitting, eating, and washing. The speaker repeatedly insists that these ordinary activities become deeply meaningful when performed with full awareness. The tea meditation example is especially important. By drinking tea mindfully, one can see the interdependence of all things: the water came from the mountains and the earth, and the tea contains a cloud that once floated in the sky. This leads to a teaching on non-birth and non-death. The cloud has not disappeared; it has simply transformed into rain, snow, ice, or tea. From this insight, the speaker extends the same understanding to the self, suggesting that one’s own nature is also beyond birth and death. This realization reduces fear, especially fear of dying or becoming nothing. Thus, mindfulness is shown to be a path not only to attention and calm, but also to existential freedom. Another major section of the talk focuses on joy and happiness. The speaker explains that joy is born from mindfulness, concentration, and insight. When a person breathes mindfully, they become aware that they are alive, and this awareness itself is an insight that can immediately generate joy. The talk encourages listeners to recognize the many conditions of happiness already available to them: having eyes in good condition, being able to see the sky, stars, flowers, rivers, people, and the beauty of nature. The speaker uses vivid examples, including an oyster that cannot see the stars, to show how fortunate human beings are. Happiness is not something to postpone; it can be cultivated right now by recognizing existing conditions of well-being. The speaker also references a French song asking why one should wait to be happy, reinforcing the message that joy can be available immediately. The talk also addresses suffering with equal seriousness. The speaker teaches that mindfulness, concentration, and insight are not only tools for happiness but also for handling pain, anger, fear, and despair. Suffering can be embraced tenderly, especially with the support of the Sangha, the community of practice. The speaker presents the “art of suffering” as a skill: if one knows how to suffer, one suffers much less. Suffering is not denied or avoided; instead, it is transformed through awareness and compassion. The speaker uses the image of mud and lotus flowers to explain that suffering can be useful, just as mud is necessary for lotus growth. In this way, suffering becomes the basis for understanding, compassion, transformation, healing, and happiness. Overall, the talk offers a practical and deeply spiritual vision of Buddhist practice. It teaches that mindfulness is the gateway to being fully alive, to touching the wonders of life, to generating joy, and to transforming suffering. The speaker presents these teachings as accessible to everyone through simple daily practices and encourages the community to continue learning together, noting that the next session will continue in French.