Twelve Links of Co-Arising

November 25, 2012. 99-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Upper Hamlet at Plum Village. The sangha is in the 90-day Rains Retreat (Winter Retreat). This is the sixth dharma talk of the retreat with the theme Are You The Soulmate of the Buddha? The talk was originally given in Vietnamese and this English translation is provided by Sister Chan Khong. Editor's Note: Thay repeats this talk in English on November 29 because of challenges with translation in this talk. Thay teaches from the Chandra Sutra. Sutra #262 from the Chinese canon. Analysis. What is the third seal (sometimes call signature)? Nirvana or suffering. People in the world are normally caught in one of two extremes: the view of being and the view of non-being. Since worldly people are caught in the objects of perception, their minds are bound. If someone does not accept, does not grasp, does not stand firm in these ideas, does not compare and measure a separate self that he is then caught in, then he will see that when the causes are sufficient for suffering to arise, suffering arises, and when the causes are no longer sufficient, suffering ceases (and in that there is no need for a self, and the ideas of being and non-being cannot be applied). With right view, we don't need self. We don't need a thinker. Nirvana is the cessation of all views. We have to be skillful when teaching the Dharma, and also skillful when listening to the Dharma. We then continue with Samyukta Agama #293 (Discourse on the Adaptation of Conditioned Genesis that Connects with Emptiness) on the 12 Links of Co-Arising. Download 20121125 from Plum Village Online Monastery on Vimeo.