DHARMA IN EVERYDAY LIFE

By Nhat Quan

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The river of consciousness, or wondrous reality, is a continuous flow of events from the past to the present, from the present to the future, or from the moment you are present to some near or distant future. According to the Buddha's teachings, to truly appreciate this wondrous reality, all you need is mindfulness.

In fact, the Buddha clearly explained why you need to practice mindfulness: to identify and eliminate the cause of suffering through the following methods:

- Maintaining mindfulness, living in the present moment, and simply paying attention.

On your spiritual path, you've probably heard these pieces of advice. And if you have experience practicing the Buddha's teachings, these words are a constant reminder from morning till night that you can find all that is true right here in this present moment.

But then one day, you sit reciting scriptures, trying to keep your mind calm so that your thoughts follow the words, and everything seems so sad. Suddenly, a question arises in your mind:

- What is so miraculous about this present moment?

You wander around trying to find an answer for yourself, thinking perhaps it's because the present moment helps you see the beauty you might have overlooked, or that you might achieve enlightenment, or simply find more peace and happiness. You don't know exactly how these things would happen if you knew how to live in the present moment! But you still think that if you can keep your mind present in the moment, things will get better. But better in what way? Well, it will be… better, happier.

Although you are very proficient in mindfulness practice, sometimes you are still unclear about why this present moment is so miraculous. But you shouldn't ignore it or settle for a vague answer. I think you should look deeper into that question, because if you don't understand this present moment clearly, you will easily give up your practice when the experience turns out differently from what you imagined. The wondrous truth is that every moment, every instant of mind and matter, is unfulfilled

This realization will startle you. For you have read that when you focus your entire mind on this present moment, you:

- Will see beauties you might have overlooked unintentionally?

- Will the plum taste sweeter?

- Will you see the swaying branches casting their light against a winter sky that is no longer gray?

But now, this realization confirms that this present moment is not as real as you thought. Then the plum will not taste sweeter. The present moment, in fact, is not wondrous at all!

In Zen Buddhism, there's a legend passed down:

- The deeper your mindfulness, the more capable you will be of seeing beauty in the most ordinary things.

With simple attention, even the soap bubbles in dishwashing water, when the bubbles sparkle in the sunlight, are a miraculously radiant reality. This is true, but this is only the beginning of mindfulness. The more mindful you become, the less attractive your sensory objects become. Eventually, you will no longer desire them. Because when you have strong concentration, it enhances your perception of color, sound, smell… But concentration alone is not enough to reach wisdom or enlightenment. Therefore, mindfulness is accompanied by clear awareness, different from ordinary seeing and knowing. Instead of merely seeing the more distinct characteristics of an object, mindfulness goes even further and sees the very individual aspects, the common characteristics of all things, whether good or bad. These are the three characteristics of:

- Impermanence, dissatisfaction, and non-self.

Therefore, in the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha taught:

- One must know the teachings of the Tathagata as a raft to cross the river.

If the true Dharma is abandoned, how much less so are the skillful means.

Therefore, although mindfulness helps you see the wondrous reality, you must transcend this wondrous reality to see the common characteristics of all things: impermanence, dissatisfaction, and non-self, to attain wisdom and enlightenment. 

With mindfulness, you see that all mental and physical phenomena that arise will pass away. This means you cannot change or hold onto them. These characteristics bring you dissatisfaction. Therefore, the more mindful you are, the more apparent this dissatisfaction becomes.

You need to untangle the knot, and you must patiently untangle it one thread at a time. So, you can begin by asking:

- What elements make up this present moment?

In Buddhism, there is a system of psychology called Abhidharma. According to Abhidharma, your daily experiences can be divided into very small units called moments of consciousness. These are the smallest units of consciousness, the microscopic quantities of the mental world. Each moment of consciousness consists of two parts:

- Consciousness and an object.

For example, let's talk about a table, a flower… But it's not really a table, a flower, but just an object of consciousness. Consciousness is always aware of something. When a patch of blue sky appears in your consciousness, a flash of awareness perceives that color. When a scent wafts on the breeze, a flash of perception receives that fragrance. There is only consciousness and the object, and nothing more. Your life is just a continuous stream of consciousness in which you are constantly aware of colors, smells, tastes, sounds, and sensations that follow one another without interruption. Beyond this process, nothing else happens.

When your consciousness comes into contact with these objects through different sensory doors. For example:

- You come into contact with color through the door of your eyes. Mental objects are directly encountered through the door of consciousness. These include thoughts, ideas, emotions, and feelings. All that you perceive can only be found within these six objects. No matter how adventurous, daring, or bold your life may be, you cannot experience anything other than these six forms. And because mind and mental objects are the most fundamental units of life, nothing else can be present in this moment.

Understanding this, you might ask the next question: are these components themselves interesting and enjoyable? You often think that images, smells, and sounds… can be very magical. And according to common perception, they truly are. You enjoy the aroma of tea or a red sunset over the mountains. But that joy is mixed with a touch of illusion. The reason you consider these sensory feelings pleasurable is that you haven't yet seen their true nature.

Take the example of a sunset. What happens when you see it?

Actually, you don't see it at all! When your eyes make contact with a visual form, you only see the color, not a three-dimensional object. In fact, that color, along with the consciousness that perceives it, vanishes in that very same instant, but you are not aware of it. This is because your illusion blurs the boundary between those two instants, making you feel as if it were a continuous experience. After the color is received, the next moment of consciousness recalls that image from memory and names it sunset. The whole process happens in a fleeting second. However, as soon as you name it, the initial image is gone. Sunset is a concept of the mind, not of your eyes. And then you accept this mental construct as a fixed reality. Without mindfulness, you would never be able to see this rapid transformation, just as you would try to separate two frames in a film playing on a screen.

This discovery might bring you disappointment, just as you would when you learn that the precious string of pearls you are wearing is a fake. Because the Buddha taught:

- All things are impermanent.

All forms change, and therefore they will bring you disappointment, even those that seem wonderful. Although the Buddha didn't explicitly state it, he also added:

- But some forms are truly miraculous.

Indeed, if all forms were to bring dissatisfaction, then what constitutes this present moment would also be the same. But then you might ask another question: if this present moment isn't miraculous, then what is the purpose of being present in it?

You should also remember that there is a difference between:

- This present moment is truly miraculous

And:

- It is truly miraculous that you are present in this present moment.

This is not a play on words.

First sentence:

- This present moment is truly miraculous.

This means that the pure sensations occurring in the present moment inherently possess a miraculous quality.

And second sentence:

- It is miraculous to be present in the present moment.

This sentence says that when you are present in the present moment, you are able to escape the suffering caused by clinging to those sensations.

In fact, the Buddha clearly taught why you need to practice mindfulness to identify and eliminate the cause of suffering. That cause is craving. When that cause is absent, suffering cannot arise. And then, as the scriptures say, you will experience a kind of happiness without a trace of anxiety. But not because the forms and sounds around you suddenly become permanent, miraculous, and yours. In fact, those sensations temporarily cease, and your consciousness comes into contact with a very transcendental object called Nirvana, an element no longer subject to conditions. And although it is an object of consciousness, Nirvana is the highest state of bliss. It is unconditioned and unchanging. Therefore, the present moment is miraculous because only in this very moment can you experience Nirvana, complete liberation from all suffering.

The Buddha advocated practicing mindfulness with the aim of allowing you to enjoy the warmth of soapy water or see a beautiful flower… And he also called it delusion when you accept what is impermanent and consider it valuable and beautiful.

But can your sensation be one of pleasure?

Yes, but that pleasure is not an endless source of happiness as you might imagine. In daily life, you often accept pleasant feelings, believing them to be stable and relatively long-lasting. But in reality, they are merely fleeting sensations that dissipate as soon as they form. Like cotton candy that melts before you even bite into it, these pleasures are not enduring enough to sustain happiness. However, because the allure of impermanence masks this, you react by grasping and pushing them away. And it is this clinging that causes your mind to be restless. Therefore, longing and expectation always create pain within you. Moreover, this yearning is completely futile. No matter how hard you try to grasp them, you cannot prolong the pleasure, not even for a single moment. Unpleasant feelings are the same; they also pass in an instant. But when you resist, the pain doubles. It's like trying to remove a thorn from your foot by using a second thorn to pierce your own flesh. If you can let go, your mind will not suffer.

The Buddha discovered that the happiest mind is one free from attachment. This is a very profound happiness, unlike anything you usually know. When someone asked:

- How can you find joy in nirvana, when there are no more beautiful forms or sounds?"

Venerable Sariputta replied:

- Absence of emotion is happiness in itself.

He meant that no pleasure can compare to this joy. The scriptures state:

"What people consider happiness, the enlightened ones consider suffering."

And this is not a new perspective, but an absolute reality. Although it may seem contradictory at first, you can only find true happiness when you first understand that the present moment of body and mind is unsatisfying. Through a process of cultivating wisdom, you can gradually let go of all attachments, the causes of suffering. When you clearly see the impermanence of sensations in body and mind, it will shatter all illusions, and from there, your attachments will completely cease. And at that moment, true happiness will naturally manifest. But if you keep busy searching for beauty in its sound and form, you cannot see its true nature.

Imagine that you and some people are trapped in a burning house. Burning wooden beams are falling from the ceiling. The best you must be aware of the danger and help each other escape, or would you just stand there trying to find the cause of the fire, where the fire came from? Similarly, I think you need mindfulness to clearly see the suffering and danger in the present moment and find a way out to escape your current painful situation. The burning house I'm referring to is the five aggregates:

- Form, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness.

Many people don't like to accept this view. But you shouldn't shrug it off and let yourself burn to death in that house of five aggregates. Not acknowledging the danger is very dangerous. Seeing it, you will find a way out.

Recognizing this is not a pessimistic attitude. Buddhists recognize suffering to transform it, not to be consumed by it. Fortunately, the Buddha showed you a path to liberation, the Noble Eightfold Path, and at the end of that path is certainly Nirvana. As a Buddhist, you are very happy to know that you can have a completely pure and flawless happiness. But only because your aim is still too low. Practicing mindfulness will lead you to happiness. But it's not because you clearly see the beauty of things in the present moment, such as:

- Forms, sounds, smells... Although that's true, mere attention doesn't reveal any brilliant essence, because in reality, no phenomenon has an essence. When the nature of phenomena is inherently unsatisfactory, you can't hope to transform them into happiness. It's like weaving a white carpet from black yarn. Therefore, the best way is to accept that practicing mindfulness won't make the plums sweeter, or the clothes you're wearing brighter. But when you are mindful, you'll care less about sweetness or brightness. When you have greater happiness, small pleasures will no longer matter. And this isn't a cold and indifferent attitude, but a true liberation. When you are free from attachment, you will not need any sound, sight, or touch to bring you happiness.

You may not understand it yet, but once you taste this freedom, you will cherish it more than any other joy you can imagine, whether it be the scent of a rare flower, the melodious notes of a piece of music, or the magical moonlight. You may still experience these joys and other pleasures. But you will not try to hold onto them when they leave, and you will not suffer the pain of loss.

And now the hardest question: do you truly want to break free from this vicious cycle of suffering? 

If you wish, practice mindfulness. But not to see the illusory beauty of soap bubbles, but, according to the Buddha's intention, to see your attachments until you taste the true fruit, which is Nirvana. And as our predecessors have repeatedly told you: When the object of your consciousness is Nirvana, this present moment will be wonderfully beautiful.

In short, the present moment in your life is full of countless colors, but no matter what the phenomena are, they are all suffering and dissatisfaction. As I have said before, as a Buddhist, you know how to face and transform things, not to be pessimistic or defeated. You can still experience these happinesses and other pleasures. But you won't try to hold onto them when you leave, so you won't experience the suffering of loss. Therefore, the best way is to accept that practicing mindfulness won't make plums sweeter or your clothes brighter. But when you are mindful, you become less concerned with sweetness or brightness. When you experience greater happiness, small pleasures no longer matter. And this is not a cold and indifferent attitude, but a true liberation. If you wish, practice mindfulness. But not to see the illusory beauty of soap bubbles, but, according to the Buddha's intention, to see your attachments until you taste the true fruit, which is Nirvana. And as our predecessors have repeatedly told you: When the object of your consciousness is Nirvana, this present moment will be wonderfully beautiful.

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