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Fourteen Verses on Meditation

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Fourteen Verses on Meditation

article

Fourteen Verses on Meditation

Like the two wings of a bird,
the practices of stopping (Shamatha)
and looking deeply (Vipashyana)
rely upon each other
and belong together, side by side.
The practice of shamatha is to stop,
so that I may recognize and touch,
nourish and heal,
settle down and concentrate.
The practice of vipashyana is to look deeply
into the nature of the five skandhas,
so that I may develop understanding
and transform suffering.
My breathing and my steps
enable me to generate the energy of mindfulness,
so that I can be aware of and touch
the wonders of life within and around me.
Calming body and mind,
receiving nourishment and healing,
protecting my six senses,
I maintain concentration.
Looking deeply into the heart of reality
to see the true nature of things,
practicing vipashyana enables me to let go
of everything I am searching for, my desires, and my fears.
Dwelling peacefully in the present moment,
transforming habit energies
gives rise to understanding,
freeing me from afflictions and pain.
Impermanence is one with non-self,
Non-self is one with interdependent origination,
is one with emptiness, is one with conventional designation,
is one with the middle way, is one with interbeing.
Emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessness
liberate me from suffering,
so that in my daily practice
I am not caught in mere intellectual understanding.
Nirvana is nonattainment.
Sudden or gradual enlightenment are not different.
True realization is to live in freedom
right now in this moment.
The essential sutras, such as the
Discourses on the Full Awareness of Breathing
and the Four Establishments of Mindfulness,
show me the path to transform body and mind, step by step.
The Mahayana sutras and teachings
open many fresh, wide gateways
allowing me to enter the depths of the stream
of meditation flowing from the Original Source of the Buddha’s teachings.
Not discriminating
between the practice offered by the
Tathagata and that of the ancestral teachers,
the Four Noble Truths perfectly interwoven
should serve as the foundation of an authentic transmission.
Supported by the Sangha Body
my practice flows easier,
allowing me to swiftly realize
my great determination to love and understand all beings.

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From time to time we offer multi-week courses related to mindfulness, the teachings and life of Thich Nhat Hanh, and a variety of similar subjects. Please see our schedule of upcoming courses.

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Take the Deer Park Monastery and Plum Village community with you wherever you go. The Plum Village app is designed to cultivate mindfulness, compassion, and joy through guided meditations, deep relaxations, practice poems, bells of mindfulness, and other practices — all through a mobile device.

Turn Your Inbox into a Dharma Door

Subscribe to our Coyote Tracks newsletter on Substack to receive event announcements, writing, art, music, and meditations from Deer Park monastics.

Support Deer Park

Donations are our main source of support, so every offering is greatly appreciated. Your contribution helps us to keep the monastery open to receive guests throughout the year.

Donate

Like the two wings of a bird,
the practices of stopping (Shamatha)
and looking deeply (Vipashyana)
rely upon each other
and belong together, side by side.
The practice of shamatha is to stop,
so that I may recognize and touch,
nourish and heal,
settle down and concentrate.
The practice of vipashyana is to look deeply
into the nature of the five skandhas,
so that I may develop understanding
and transform suffering.
My breathing and my steps
enable me to generate the energy of mindfulness,
so that I can be aware of and touch
the wonders of life within and around me.
Calming body and mind,
receiving nourishment and healing,
protecting my six senses,
I maintain concentration.
Looking deeply into the heart of reality
to see the true nature of things,
practicing vipashyana enables me to let go
of everything I am searching for, my desires, and my fears.
Dwelling peacefully in the present moment,
transforming habit energies
gives rise to understanding,
freeing me from afflictions and pain.
Impermanence is one with non-self,
Non-self is one with interdependent origination,
is one with emptiness, is one with conventional designation,
is one with the middle way, is one with interbeing.
Emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessness
liberate me from suffering,
so that in my daily practice
I am not caught in mere intellectual understanding.
Nirvana is nonattainment.
Sudden or gradual enlightenment are not different.
True realization is to live in freedom
right now in this moment.
The essential sutras, such as the
Discourses on the Full Awareness of Breathing
and the Four Establishments of Mindfulness,
show me the path to transform body and mind, step by step.
The Mahayana sutras and teachings
open many fresh, wide gateways
allowing me to enter the depths of the stream
of meditation flowing from the Original Source of the Buddha’s teachings.
Not discriminating
between the practice offered by the
Tathagata and that of the ancestral teachers,
the Four Noble Truths perfectly interwoven
should serve as the foundation of an authentic transmission.
Supported by the Sangha Body
my practice flows easier,
allowing me to swiftly realize
my great determination to love and understand all beings.

Fourteen Verses on Meditation

Turn Your Inbox into a Dharma Door

Fourteen Verses on Meditation

Like the two wings of a bird,the practices of stopping (Shamatha)and looking deeply (Vipashyana)rely upon each otherand belong together, side by side.

The practice of shamatha is to stop, so that I may recognize and touch,nourish and heal,settle down and concentrate.

The practice of vipashyana is to look deeplyinto the nature of the five skandhas,so that I may develop understandingand transform suffering.

My breathing and my stepsenable me to generate the energy of mindfulness,so that I can be aware of and touchthe wonders of life within and around me.

Calming body and mind,receiving nourishment and healing,protecting my six senses,I maintain concentration.

Looking deeply into the heart of reality to see the true nature of things,practicing vipashyana enables me to let goof everything I am searching for, my desires, and my fears.

Dwelling peacefully in the present moment,transforming habit energies gives rise to understanding,freeing me from afflictions and pain.

Impermanence is one with non-self,Non-self is one with interdependent origination, is one with emptiness, is one with conventional designation,is one with the middle way, is one with interbeing.

Emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessnessliberate me from suffering, so that in my daily practiceI am not caught in mere intellectual understanding.

Nirvana is nonattainment.Sudden or gradual enlightenment are not different.True realization is to live in freedomright now in this moment.

The essential sutras, such as theDiscourses on the Full Awareness of Breathingand the Four Establishments of Mindfulness,show me the path to transform body and mind, step by step.

The Mahayana sutras and teachingsopen many fresh, wide gateways allowing me to enter the depths of the streamof meditation flowing from the Original Source of the Buddha’s teachings.

Not discriminatingbetween the practice offered by the Tathagata and that of the ancestral teachers,the Four Noble Truths perfectly interwovenshould serve as the foundation of an authentic transmission.

Supported by the Sangha Bodymy practice flows easier, allowing me to swiftly realizemy great determination to love and understand all beings.

Explore Online Courses

Plum Village App

Turn Your Inbox into a Dharma Door

Like the two wings of a bird,the practices of stopping (Shamatha)and looking deeply (Vipashyana)rely upon each otherand belong together, side by side.

The practice of shamatha is to stop, so that I may recognize and touch,nourish and heal,settle down and concentrate.

The practice of vipashyana is to look deeplyinto the nature of the five skandhas,so that I may develop understandingand transform suffering.

My breathing and my stepsenable me to generate the energy of mindfulness,so that I can be aware of and touchthe wonders of life within and around me.

Calming body and mind,receiving nourishment and healing,protecting my six senses,I maintain concentration.

Looking deeply into the heart of reality to see the true nature of things,practicing vipashyana enables me to let goof everything I am searching for, my desires, and my fears.

Dwelling peacefully in the present moment,transforming habit energies gives rise to understanding,freeing me from afflictions and pain.

Impermanence is one with non-self,Non-self is one with interdependent origination, is one with emptiness, is one with conventional designation,is one with the middle way, is one with interbeing.

Emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessnessliberate me from suffering, so that in my daily practiceI am not caught in mere intellectual understanding.

Nirvana is nonattainment.Sudden or gradual enlightenment are not different.True realization is to live in freedomright now in this moment.

The essential sutras, such as theDiscourses on the Full Awareness of Breathingand the Four Establishments of Mindfulness,show me the path to transform body and mind, step by step.

The Mahayana sutras and teachingsopen many fresh, wide gateways allowing me to enter the depths of the streamof meditation flowing from the Original Source of the Buddha’s teachings.

Not discriminatingbetween the practice offered by the Tathagata and that of the ancestral teachers,the Four Noble Truths perfectly interwovenshould serve as the foundation of an authentic transmission.

Supported by the Sangha Bodymy practice flows easier, allowing me to swiftly realizemy great determination to love and understand all beings.

Explore Online Courses

Plum Village App

Like the two wings of a bird,
the practices of stopping (Shamatha)
and looking deeply (Vipashyana)
rely upon each other
and belong together, side by side.

The practice of shamatha is to stop,
so that I may recognize and touch,
nourish and heal,
settle down and concentrate.

The practice of vipashyana is to look deeply
into the nature of the five skandhas,
so that I may develop understanding
and transform suffering.

My breathing and my steps
enable me to generate the energy of mindfulness,
so that I can be aware of and touch
the wonders of life within and around me.

Calming body and mind,
receiving nourishment and healing,
protecting my six senses,
I maintain concentration.

Looking deeply into the heart of reality
to see the true nature of things,
practicing vipashyana enables me to let go
of everything I am searching for, my desires, and my fears.

Dwelling peacefully in the present moment,
transforming habit energies
gives rise to understanding,
freeing me from afflictions and pain.

Impermanence is one with non-self,
Non-self is one with interdependent origination,
is one with emptiness, is one with conventional designation,
is one with the middle way, is one with interbeing.

Emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessness
liberate me from suffering,
so that in my daily practice
I am not caught in mere intellectual understanding.

Nirvana is nonattainment.
Sudden or gradual enlightenment are not different.
True realization is to live in freedom
right now in this moment.

The essential sutras, such as the
Discourses on the Full Awareness of Breathing
and the Four Establishments of Mindfulness,
show me the path to transform body and mind, step by step.

The Mahayana sutras and teachings
open many fresh, wide gateways
allowing me to enter the depths of the stream
of meditation flowing from the Original Source of the Buddha’s teachings.

Not discriminating
between the practice offered by the
Tathagata and that of the ancestral teachers,
the Four Noble Truths perfectly interwoven
should serve as the foundation of an authentic transmission.

Supported by the Sangha Body
my practice flows easier,
allowing me to swiftly realize
my great determination to love and understand all beings.

Like the two wings of a bird,
the practices of stopping (Shamatha)
and looking deeply (Vipashyana)
rely upon each other
and belong together, side by side.

The practice of shamatha is to stop,
so that I may recognize and touch,
nourish and heal,
settle down and concentrate.

The practice of vipashyana is to look deeply
into the nature of the five skandhas,
so that I may develop understanding
and transform suffering.

My breathing and my steps
enable me to generate the energy of mindfulness,
so that I can be aware of and touch
the wonders of life within and around me.

Calming body and mind,
receiving nourishment and healing,
protecting my six senses,
I maintain concentration.

Looking deeply into the heart of reality
to see the true nature of things,
practicing vipashyana enables me to let go
of everything I am searching for, my desires, and my fears.

Dwelling peacefully in the present moment,
transforming habit energies
gives rise to understanding,
freeing me from afflictions and pain.

Impermanence is one with non-self,
Non-self is one with interdependent origination,
is one with emptiness, is one with conventional designation,
is one with the middle way, is one with interbeing.

Emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessness
liberate me from suffering,
so that in my daily practice
I am not caught in mere intellectual understanding.

Nirvana is nonattainment.
Sudden or gradual enlightenment are not different.
True realization is to live in freedom
right now in this moment.

The essential sutras, such as the
Discourses on the Full Awareness of Breathing
and the Four Establishments of Mindfulness,
show me the path to transform body and mind, step by step.

The Mahayana sutras and teachings
open many fresh, wide gateways
allowing me to enter the depths of the stream
of meditation flowing from the Original Source of the Buddha’s teachings.

Not discriminating
between the practice offered by the
Tathagata and that of the ancestral teachers,
the Four Noble Truths perfectly interwoven
should serve as the foundation of an authentic transmission.

Supported by the Sangha Body
my practice flows easier,
allowing me to swiftly realize
my great determination to love and understand all beings.