Channel: Plum Village

Category: Education

Description: From Plum Village, France and Vietnam, we will spend time with the sangha at the Cremation Grounds, and we will have closing words from Plum Village, France. Commentary and translation is provided in English. Please see below for links to all the texts, poems, and songs from this ceremony. —Program— 00:00 Guided Sitting Meditation by Thay 29:50 Chanting - Opening Verse The Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore (Heart Sutra) plumvillage.org/library/sutras/the-heart-sutra Discourse on Taking Refuge in Oneself plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-taking-refuge-in-oneself 44:18 Touching the Earth: "True Happiness" (text below) 52:14 Thay reading his poem, "Looking for Each Other", which is then sung plumvillage.org/poems/#looking-for-each-other 01:09:45 Thay reading his poem, "A Teacher Looking for His Disciple" plumvillage.org/poems/#a-teacher-looking-for-his-student 1:19:40 Closing Ceremony from Plum Village, France, with final words and ceremonial drums *** Touching the Earth: "True Happiness" LORD BUDDHA, you and your Sangha are my teachers who have given me birth in the spiritual life and continue to nourish me every day. I am your disciple, your younger brother or sister, your son or daughter. I aspire to be your worthy continuation. You did not look for happiness in fame, wealth, sex, power, and luxurious food and possessions. Your great freedom, love, and understanding brought you happiness. Thanks to your great understanding, you were not obstructed by your own mind or your surroundings and you were not caught in wrong thinking. You did not think, speak, or do things which would bring about suffering for yourself or others. Lord Buddha, thanks to this great understanding, you had limitless love for all species. This love comforted, liberated, and brought peace and joy to countless beings. Your great understanding and compassion gave you great freedom and happiness. My deepest desire is to follow in your footsteps. I vow that I shall not seek happiness in the five sense pleasures. I shall not think that wealth, fame, sex, power, and luxurious food and material objects can bring me true happiness. I know that if I run after these objects of craving, I shall incur great suffering and make myself a slave to these things. I vow not to run after a position, a diploma, power, money, or sex. I vow that every day I shall practice to give rise to understanding, love, and freedom. These elements have the capacity to bring true happiness for me and for the Sangha body now and in the future. (FromTouching the Earth, Thich Nhat Hanh) Song: No Coming No Going No coming, no going No after, no before I hold you close to me I release you to be so free Because I am in you And you are in me (2x) ~ Thich Nhat Hanh Song: Happiness Happiness is here and now I have dropped my worries Nowhere to go, nothing to do No longer in a hurry Happiness is here and now I have dropped my worries Somewhere to go, something to do But I don’t need to hurry ~ Thich Nhat Hanh For resources to create your own intimate memorial ceremony at home, please visit: plumvillage.org/memorial-practice-resources Follow the live blog: plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/thich-nhat-hanhs-health Share your Gratitude: plumvillage.org/gratitude-for-thich-nhat-hanh