Good morning. Welcome all of you to the meditation practice on Saturday. Time for us to practice right now. I ask you to sit down, relax, and together let’s begin.

Peaceful and happy and enjoy our lives. Let’s put your right hand on top of your left hand and sit down and relax. For those that this is the first day that you are watching this video on YouTube, or on Facebook, we welcome you. Ask all of us knowing that life is very busy. Nothing will be ended. Things continue to happen every day. It is very hard for us to stop. Meditation is the special moment for us to rest, and to return back to who and how we are to enjoy our life. To recharge more energy to be ready to move on. 

Let me introduce again our meditation method. It is focused on the mindfulness breathing technique and the special mantras which help us to connect with all the Buddhas, all the enlightened ones, and receive a very special energy from the buddha.

The first mantra is Mu A Mu Sa which means meditate on compassion. This mantra is very powerful. No matter who we are, that we create a lot of evil or negative or wrong things. We are still able to connect with the Buddha and receive the compassion energy in order to activate our own compassion energy within. The second mantra is, Na Mo Ta Mo Ta Mo Da Ra Houng, which means wisdom. The wisdom to see through all of the impermanent suffering and ego. That means the “I”, non-self.

The third mantra is the awakened mantra: Ma Sa Op Ue.

By reciting these three mantras with the breathing techniques, it empowers ourselves. All of us will fill with the energy from the Buddha, which is transmitted to us physically, mentally and spiritually. If today is the first day that you are here, just try it out and know it for yourself. After that, if you have any questions, or go to our website, Xa Loi Temple.com 

Let’s begin.

Breathe in, expanding our belly, hold it there for three seconds, concentrate on the heaven gate point, breathe out, chanting the mantra and receiving the energy.

Mu A Mu Sa, Na Mo Ta Mo Ta Mo Da Ra Houng, Ma Sa Op Ue.

You just keep doing meditation. We breathe in and breathe out. Slowly. And relax. Watching your breathing, watching your thoughts, observing the energy. Allow the energy to transmit to yourself and purify it, and transform it with the three mantras you just chanted. These three mantras are very powerful. We all receive good energy within. The vibration will be increased every second that you are with the empty mind.

We are talking about today, “Depart from Delusion”. Delusion is part of our lives. We all have it. Also, we have the wisdom too.  We suffer because we don’t want to depart from the delusion. We hold on to that too much. What trick the delusion blows up is our anger. Buddha thought anger we become more deluded and use up more of our energy. Anger does not mean totally bad. But if you know your anger very well by being in touch with it, following it, watching it. You will be able to transform your anger into a good way. That is why we have to learn mediation to see how the anger slowly comes out. We don’t destroy our anger. We need to transform it. It is a powerful energy. If we can transform it and guide it to the right direction we could do better things with our lives.

Anger is very easy to blow up because we always think whatever we say, whatever we think, whatever we do is absolutely correct and right. We want other people to listen and follow. Slowly we dictate to others to follow things the way we want. If not meeting up with our expectations or what we desire, then we suffer. If we want to drink tea, and somebody says stop drinking tea, water is much better, we become upset right away because we get used to drinking tea. What we get used to we feel so comfortable we have no more time or the intention to investigate if it is good or not for our health. We just do it and repeat it. That is one of the things that we know is easy for us to get angry. What you get used to mostly makes you feel comfortable not just one time, but because you repeat it, and you are training yourself to get used to it. The first time isn’t usually comfortable. Beginning we are all very empty. We take in slowly and get used to and feel comfortable. Until the time we cannot break through.

So we forget there is the wisdom within us. We use our anger to protect our right to whatever we think is best for ourselves only. Therefore we push ourselves back further to the darkness. Apart from delusion does not mean to step away from delusion, but recognize the delusion and recognize how delusion tricks us with expectations. We do have a plan or dream, but the dream is to be with the nature of all. The dream which forces others to be with us is different. So when we are expecting others to follow us, to copy exactly what we think or want, it is very easy to get angry. That means we create more delusion for ourselves.

Our meditation is focused mostly on the energy. We don’t sit and produce or make it, but we sit down to receive it and awaken it.  Connect with it, Make a special motivation to be with all the Buddhas. All the Buddhas are the masters, our best friends, teaching us to empower ourselves to be stronger. You ask how do we depart from the delusion. Like a said, we don’t have to run away, escape or push it away. If delusion comes, you know that is your anger. Your anger raises up just because of your own expectation. Now we try to always maintain our peacefulness breathing techniques and be in touch with the Mu A Mu Sa which just means compassion and the wisdom Na Mo Ta MO Ta Mo Da Ra Houng, letting us know that everything is impermanent. Everything is always changing; it is never forever. Our desire is also the same. It is impermanent. So why hold onto it to make other people follow. We don’t have a permanent thought or action or associating. It is changing every second. If you sit down and meditate you realize that ourselves, every thing we do is changing. It is never still.

When we all know that is the way, the second mantra empowers us to see through to not create the I, I am, I this, I that, but there is no I. It doesn’t mean that there is no-one at all. No I means non attachment. When we have no attachments at all, and are just with the nature of all, we enjoy our lives very much. Our wisdom can break through, and our compassion energy can flow around to offer to all people to be happy.

I have been practicing for many years. I am no different from all of you. Very easy to get angry, deluded and greedy. The three poisons. However, I don’t escape or run away from those. I always watch it when it comes out by the wisdom eyes to see those feelings and sensations are impermanent. Always use the greater energy to observe it, to clean it up, to be with. Therefore, before when my anger came, I could not control it. Now it still comes, but I am more friendly and take charge of that anger energy and transform it right away from the beginning so I am more peaceful every day. Peacefulness is helping us to be more happy. That is real. If you are not happy sometimes it is just because you are not peaceful.

Mindfulness breathing techniques with the mantra Mu A Mu Sa helps us maintain the best energy to be mindful of our actions and thoughts and interactions with the environment. It need to be really active to practice, not just understand or remember. That is why we practice every Saturday in English. We do it every day in Vietnamese except Sunday. 

It is very good to get together with friends to practice. It is good courage to stand up and take the right action to practice. Many people practice mediation using many different methods always receive a good benefit. Our method is one of the Vietnamese traditions. It is very helpful to those who take the time to practice. It is very beneficial. 

We don’t have to run away from delusions, it is ok to get deluded and angry, it is ok that our anger is still around, we just transform it. We practice to transform it. It is not bad at all, but it is no good if allow the anger to take over and push us into more darkness. We will suffer. We need to make the choice to be happy and peaceful. Enjoy our lives with our loved ones and our families.

5 minutes a day of practice is very helpful. If you have an hour, that is the best of the best. So don’t run away from your anger. Don’t run away from your delusions. Stand still and say hello to your delusions and your anger. It is ok, I have my Mu A Mu Sa – compassion, Na Mo Ta Mo Ta Mo Da Ra Houng – wisdom, Ma Sa Op Ue – awakening.  These will make your life more joyful.

Remember meditation is just about life. A better, more peaceful, joyful, happy life. If that is what you would like to take on, just practice with me or anyone you get along with.

Let us return to the breathing techniques.

Buddha, may you bless all of us and help our family members who are sick, heal.. who suffer be happy. Guide us to know the right direction to return to the Buddha nature to be happier and more mindful in our life. Help us to depart from delusion by transforming our desires, our anger. 

Let’s breathe in, expanding our belly, concentrate on the heaven gate point, breathe out, sunken the belly, chanting the mantra:

Mu A Mu Sa, Na Mo Ta Mo Ta Mo Da Ra Houng, Ma Sa Op Ue. (7x)

Thank you. That is all we do every Saturday.  We always welcome you to practice with us on line or come to our temple in Frederick. You can reach me at 301-792-1095 or Su Co number 240-551-1923 or go to our website XaLoiTemple.com

Thank you have a good weekend.