December 13, 2012. 95-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from New Hamlet at Plum Village. The sangha is in the 90-day Rains Retreat (Winter Retreat). This is the eleventh dharma talk of the retreat with the theme Are You The Soulmate of the Buddha?

After chanting, the dharma begins at 9-minutes into the recording. Loneliness is the ill being of our time. How can we return home? We have all these technology devices that help us stay connected and yet we still feel lonely. We have tried to use technology to dissipate our feelings of loneliness. But it has not worked. How can we connect with ourselves? How can we heal ourselves and heal society? Technology devices are not the answer. You don’t need an iPhone. The way out is the way in. Be an island unto yourself. The practice of going home is especially important during the Christmas season to heal ourselves and to heal the world.

We now resume the sutra commentary at 29-minutes. Formation is a technical Buddhist term to describe everything. Everything is a formation. Sometimes also called dharma. Do formations have their own nature; something that is permanent? No being and no nonbeing. No actor and no receiver. No formation. This teaching can be found in multiple sutras. From From this we can have the base of the nidanas. Co-arising. Is there Samsara? Thay gives a full teaching on the 12 nidanas.

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