The Self is Ever Changing

Summary

This talk, delivered during the winter retreat of 2012–2013 at the meditation hall of the Assembly of Stars in Low Hamlet, centers on the Three Jewels—Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—and explains them in a practical, relational, and deeply experiential way. The speaker begins by correcting the date and situating the audience in the retreat context, then introduces the day’s theme after a session of touching the earth. The talk repeatedly emphasizes that refuge in the Three Jewels is not an abstract doctrine but a living practice that can immediately bring clarity, confidence, energy, and happiness. The Buddha is presented first as both an external teacher and an inner capacity. Externally, the Buddha is described as Siddhartha, a human being who had wealth, reputation, and status but still suffered and therefore left his throne to seek true peace. Internally, the Buddha is the source of understanding and love present in every person. The speaker explains that the Buddha teaches only two essential things: how to understand more deeply and how to love more properly. Understanding oneself is presented as the foundation for understanding others. Without seeing one’s own suffering, weaknesses, stuck points, and strengths, one cannot truly accept oneself, and without self-acceptance one cannot accept parents, partners, or the world. Love without understanding is shown to create suffering rather than happiness. The Dharma is explained as the concrete set of practices the Buddha discovered and shared. The speaker stresses that prayer alone is insufficient; one must train. Practices such as mindful breathing, walking meditation, and returning to the present moment are described as ways to cross from the shore of suffering to the shore of happiness. The image of the raft and the other shore is used to show that teachings are means, not ends. The Dharma is also linked to the idea of a “Dharma body,” a body formed by practice, alongside the physical body and the Buddha body. Mindful eating, mindful walking, and compassionate listening are examples of how the Dharma becomes embodied in daily life. The Sangha is treated as indispensable. The speaker argues that no one can practice effectively alone, because practice needs support, reminder, and collective energy. The Sangha is compared to a river carrying a drop of water to the ocean, to the cells of the body working together, and to neurons communicating without a boss. A true Sangha is not merely a group of people or a formal institution; it must contain harmony, brotherhood and sisterhood, joy, deep listening, and the ability to help transform suffering. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of local Sangha building after retreats, warning that transformation gained at Plum Village can be lost without ongoing community support. The talk references the growth of Plum Village communities in many countries, including the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom, as evidence of the need for practice communities everywhere. A major portion of the talk turns to Buddhist philosophy, especially interbeing, emptiness, non-self, and the middle way. The speaker explains that reality has two levels: the conventional or relative level, where birth, death, existence, action, and formation appear; and the ultimate level, where there is no birth, no death, no separate self, and no fixed entity. Using examples such as a cloud, a river, a flower, and a torch circle, the speaker shows that phenomena are processes of co-arising and interconditioning rather than independent substances. Terms such as co-arising, interbeing, interconditioning, and interacting are used to show that nothing exists by itself. This teaching is connected to non-self: there is no eternal, separate soul, only a stream of changing conditions. The speaker also notes the historical development of Buddhist schools such as Sthavira, Sarvastivada, Mahasanghika, Pudgalavada, and Sautrantika, showing how debates about self, action, and emptiness shaped Buddhist thought over time. The talk also compares Buddhist ideas with Christianity, especially the Trinity, and with Western philosophy, including Descartes and Spinoza. These comparisons are used to clarify that Buddhist refuge is more concrete than abstract theological formulations, and that interbeing offers a non-dual way of understanding creator and creature, subject and object, and self and other. The speaker concludes by warning against dogmatism and attachment to concepts such as non-self or emptiness. Teachings are likened to a finger pointing at the moon: they are useful only if they help one see reality directly. The final message is one of letting go, practicing sincerely, and continuing to build supportive communities. The talk ends with a practical invitation to the sunflower family to write a letter and share their monastic experience, reinforcing the theme of connection, reflection, and ongoing practice.