Enlightenment is Real and Possible in Every Day Life
by Venerable Thich Chan Phap Kham
Venerable Thich Chan Phap Kham has been a student of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh since 1987. He was fully ordained as a monk in 2000 and has been a Dharma teacher since 2004. After his migration to the United States in 1979, he studied then worked as an electronics engineer for 14 years. From 1986-1997, he managed Vietnamese Cultural Society of Metropolitan Washington, an organization he founded to preserve and promote Vietnamese culture and values to Vietnamese-American youth in the Washington DC area. Since 2005, he has been a member of a team of Plum Village Dharma teachers responsible for training about 400 novice monks and nuns in Vietnam and teaching the Art of Mindful Living in Southeast Asia.
Thay Phap Kham visited Malaysia with a delegation from Plum Village in November 2008 where he led a retreat on the theme "Be Still and Know" at the Jin Loong Shan Temple, Rawang, Selangor. He gave a short interview to Mr Canon Yeo and Ms Loh Yit Phing of Eastern Horizon. Both Canon and Yit Phing are Dharma practitioners who have studied and practiced in the tradition of Thay Thich Nhat Hanh for many years.
What is the difference between samatha meditation and vipassana meditation?
To be still is samatha, and to "know" is vipassana. Consider a pond of clear water being walked over by a herd of buffalos. We can no longer see the bottom of the pond because the water becomes muddy. After the buffalos left the pond, and if we let the water stands still, all the mud will settle at the bottom and the water becomes clear again, then we can see the bottom of the pond. Samatha is to stop, to be still. When we are anxious or angry, these are unpleasant feelings. The feelings create a restless energy in us, waiting to be released. Wrong perceptions and unwholesome mental formations are manifested in our mind, preventing us from being able to see things clearly. This is similar to the muddy water preventing us from seeing the bottom of the pond. Going back to our breath - being aware of each in breath and each out breath - help transform the restless energy created by anger and anxiety into breath energy. This process helps calm our mind and body, similar to letting the mud settle in the pond. When the water becomes clear, we see things clearly. This is vipassana. We are able to see things as their suchness - the way they really are - when our minds are calm.
How and when can we practice both samatha and vipassana meditation?
We can practice samatha (stopping) and vipassana (contemplation) in every moment, in every activity in our life. Stopping and contemplation is possible when we are at peace. When a mother hears her baby cries, she may be irritated at first, but she also wonder what makes him cry. So she goes back to her breath, holds the baby and comforts him. This is samatha meditation. Being calm, she discovers that the diaper is wet and the child cries because he is itchy. This is vipassana meditation. Then she changes the diaper for him. The irritation has been transformed into love. This is an example of samatha and vipassana meditation in daily life. We can practice meditation any time, any where - not only in the meditation hall. The most essential element for meditation - our breath is always with us. We can make every breath a mindful breath.
Enlightenment is real and possible in everyday life. Enlightenment must have the capacity to transform and heal our sufferings, to bring happiness to our lives. We can measure how enlightened we are by the way we respond to criticisms, whether we are able to say "I am sorry" when we are wrong, or able to accept other's ideas.
We do not need to look for authoritative spiritual figures to verify our enlightenment. Only we know whether we are happy or not. Only we know what is best for us. After missing the "correct answer" to "What you are doing?" some practitioners wished that Thay would ask the question again so they could answer it "correctly." Our family members, our friends, our colleagues ask that question to us everyday, in many different ways. Once several brothers in Dharma were doing walking meditation in the Solidity Hamlet of Deer Park Monastery. Walking passed the office where I was working, they looked into the window and waved their hands. I looked out, smiled and waved back, then stopped what I was doing, and joined them for the walk.
How is gatha used in daily life in Plum Village?
Gatha is a short verse to help us practice mindfulness in our daily life. The "Turning on Water" gatha:
Water flows from high in the mountains.
Water runs deep in the Earth.
Miraculously, water comes to us
And sustains all life.
reminds us that we are fortunate to have water to use. In many places, having access to clean water is really a luxury. The World Health Organization estimated that in 2005, there were 5,000 children dying every day due to causes related to not having access to clean water. We will die if there is no air to breath in five minutes, no water to drink in at about seven days, and no food to eat in about 40 days. This realization tells us to protect our environment. Just a simple gatha like this makes us realize the importance of natural resources. We are practicing mindfulness meditation here.
We have been giving teachings in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. We are planning to come to Malaysia yearly to teach. If we are fortunate, we hope to invite Thay Thich Nhat Hanh to come to Malaysia in 2010 to teach the Dharma. So let's hope this will materialize.
