Create a Moment of Happiness

Summary

The talk is a Dharma teaching delivered in English at the Stillwater Meditation Hall in Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, on March 10, 2013. It is framed as preparation for an upcoming French retreat and later teaching travel to Asia, including South Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand. The speaker outlines several retreat themes proposed by Sister Hai Nghiem, including the possibility of happiness, the possibility of healing, coming home, and living as a river rather than a drop of water. These themes are presented as central expressions of Plum Village practice and as practical guidance for both monastics and retreat participants. A major emphasis of the talk is the role of the Sangha. The speaker explains that practice cannot be sustained in isolation and that the collective energy of monks, nuns, and lay practitioners is essential for transformation. The Sangha is described as a river that carries individuals, especially when their own mindfulness is too weak to embrace suffering alone. The talk repeatedly stresses that the most valuable gift the community can offer retreatants is not labor, but the living energy of peace, joy, brotherhood, and sisterhood. Cooking, washing, cleaning, and other service are important, but they are meaningful because they are done as practice and as an example for guests. The teaching develops a strong theme around suffering as something to be recognized, embraced, and transformed. The speaker calls this the “art of suffering,” contrasting it with the Dalai Lama’s well-known “Art of Happiness.” Suffering is compared to mud that nourishes lotus flowers: without mud, there can be no lotus, and without suffering, there can be no deep happiness. The talk distinguishes between large blocks of suffering and the “little miseries” of daily life, arguing that both can be handled through mindfulness. The speaker also links suffering to intergenerational transmission, noting that pain may come from parents and ancestors, and that transforming it is a compassionate act that prevents passing it on to children. Healing is presented as immediate and practical. The speaker insists that healing is possible in the retreat itself, not only afterward, and that “healing is the way.” The Five Mindfulness Trainings are described as a crucial foundation for stopping harmful actions and thoughts and for creating conditions for healing. The practice of stopping is central: stopping the internal “non-stop thinking radio,” stopping rumination, and stopping the habits that feed fear, anger, and despair. The speaker warns that people often live in mental noise, replaying the past and worrying about the future, which prevents them from truly living their lives. Mindfulness is also described as a way to reconnect with the body, feelings, and the wonders of life. The talk notes that many people have a body but do not really have access to it because they are lost in thought or absorbed by computers and mental busyness. The speaker recommends using a bell of mindfulness to remind practitioners to stop and return to breathing, the body, and the present moment. Breathing in and breathing out are presented as sources of delight, and walking meditation is described as a way to touch the earth, feel joy, and stop thinking. Sitting meditation is similarly reframed as a precious opportunity for nourishment rather than a passive wait for the bell. The talk also emphasizes that happiness can be created in ordinary moments. The speaker compares this to making soup: with the right ingredients, one can create a nourishing meal, and likewise one can create a moment of happiness through mindfulness, tea drinking, walking, or simply sitting and looking. The audience is encouraged to recognize the conditions for happiness already present in life, such as spring, sunshine, cherry blossoms, and the body itself. The overall message is that happiness and healing are not distant goals but immediate possibilities available through stopping, breathing, walking, sitting, and living as part of a mindful community.