This is the third talk offered by Thay in the second week of the Summer Opening Retreat, given in the Upper Hamlet of Plum Village on Sunday, July 20th, 2011. Thay begins with a story of creation: God said, "Let there be light," and the light said, "Wait." "What are you waiting for?" "I'm waiting for shadow in order to manifest." Light and darkness manifest together. There is no subject without object; the two have to manifest together. From that Thay continues into the Four Noble Truths: suffering, the creation of suffering, happiness, and the path to happiness. Thay teaches the Eightfold Noble Path, elaborating on Right Thought, Right Speech and Right Action as the development of skillful means with regard to the three types of karma: mind, speech, and bodily action. What we call death is not really death. Our karma (our actions) continue after we are no longer here in this bodily form. We continue right now in the present moment through our actions. There are two kinds of retribution for our actions: ourselves (our five skandhas), and our environment.
Video and audio published by the Plum Village Online Monastery: monks, nuns, and layfriends making content from Thich Nhat Hanh and the monks and nuns of Plum Village available on the Internet.
