Touching Life – Come Home to Yourself

Summary

This Dharma talk, delivered on November 3, 2005 at the Dharma Nectar Temple in Lower Hamlet, Plum Village, explains the meaning of taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha as a lived practice rather than a doctrinal belief. The speaker emphasizes that the Buddha is not a deity outside the practitioner, but a human being who awakened through practice. Because every person has Buddha nature, each person also has the capacity to become mindful, understanding, loving, and awake. Taking refuge in the Buddha therefore means affirming one’s own potential for awakening and committing to the path of practice. A central theme is that mindfulness is the concrete expression of refuge. The talk repeatedly returns to ordinary activities—breathing, walking, drinking tea, preparing breakfast, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and watering the vegetable garden—as opportunities to generate mindfulness and dwell fully in the present moment. These activities are presented as spiritual practice in their most practical form. The speaker insists that spirituality is not abstract or separate from daily life; rather, it is revealed in how one breathes, walks, eats, and performs simple tasks with full presence. When a person is truly there in the here and now, they are free from being pulled by regrets about the past or anxieties about the future. The talk also explains that going back to oneself is the precondition for genuine contact with others and with the wonders of life. The speaker argues that many people try to “reach out” through television, telephones, books, or constant activity, but fail to make deep contact because they are not fully present. Mindful breathing and mindful walking are described as ways to return home to oneself, to the “island of self,” a phrase linked to the Pali teaching Atadipasaranam. This island is portrayed as a place of peace, safety, stability, and love within each person, where the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha, and one’s ancestors can be encountered. The speaker connects this teaching to the Buddha’s final instructions before parinirvana, especially his guidance in Vaishali to take refuge in oneself and not depend on anything outside. Community practice is another major focus. Living in Plum Village and practicing with the Sangha makes mindfulness easier because the collective rhythm of the community supports each individual. When everyone walks mindfully, eats mindfully, and practices together, the presence of others becomes a reminder and encouragement. The Sangha is described not as an object of belief but as a living refuge created by the practice of its members. In this way, taking refuge in the Sangha means becoming a beneficial element of the community and helping build a safe refuge for others. The speaker also highlights the healing and transformative power of mindfulness. The energy of mindfulness is compared to warmth that embraces cold air in a house, suggesting that mindfulness can gently hold and transform loneliness, sadness, fear, and despair. The practice is portrayed as enjoyable rather than burdensome. The practitioner is encouraged to savor each step, each breath, and each action, saying inwardly, “I have arrived” and “I am home.” This enjoyment is not superficial pleasure but a deep sense of being solid, free, and protected in the present moment. The talk concludes by expanding the meaning of practice beyond the individual. Every mindful step is said to heal not only the practitioner but also their parents, ancestors, children, and future generations. The speaker presents walking mindfully as a way of walking for the Buddha and for one’s lineage, linking personal practice to collective healing across time. The final teaching draws on the image of the wave and the water to explain the relationship between the historical and ultimate dimensions: one does not need to leave the world of form to touch ultimate reality, because the ultimate is already present within the historical. In this sense, every mindful breath and step allows the practitioner to touch both ordinary life and the deepest dimension of reality at once.