Remembering the Seed | Thich Nhat Hanh (short teaching video)

I remember, in the retreat organized in Rome,

there were about 70 children.

And they were given homework to do during the retreat and after the retreat.

The day before, Thay went to a grocery store nearby and bought a bag of corn.

Seeds of corn.

People usually buy them to make popcorn, but Thay did not intend to make popcorn.

Thay bought a bag of it; there were about 1,000 grains of corn inside.

And in the morning of the fifth day, Thay offered each person one grain of corn, children and adults alike.

They were supposed to bring it home and plant it in a pot.

They would have to make sure to come and check the seed of corn every day and give it some water.

And 10 days after planting, they might already see a young corn plant with two or three leaves.

And they should come and talk to the corn plant.

The first question they may ask the corn plant is this one: "My dear little corn plant, do you remember the time you were a tiny seed?"

We ask the young corn plant.

The young corn plant may have forgotten.

And the young corn plant may look up, very surprised, "Me? A grain of corn? I don't think so!"

You know, corn plants don't speak English like we do here.

They don't speak Italian either.

But they have their way of talking, their way of communicating.

If you are very attentive, you can understand what it tries to tell you.

So the corn plant will look up very surprised and say something like: "Me? Lived as a grain of corn? I don't believe it!"

Then you have to help her,

because you know. You have planted the seed of corn.

You have come every day and watered the seed of corn.

You know very well that is the truth!

And you try your best to help the young corn plant to remember.

"Listen, my dear. I remember very well the time when you were a tiny seed of corn Thay had given it to me during a retreat, and I planted you in this pot.

And I have waited several days before you sprouted and put forth the first leaf.

So I know very well that you had been a grain of corn."

So with your help, the corn plant will be able to remember and acknowledge the fact that she had been a grain of corn before.

And if you do better, when you look at the corn plant, even if you don't see the grain of corn anymore,

you know that the grain of corn is still there somewhere.

The grain of corn has not died.

If the grain of corn had died, the corn plant could not have been there.

So you know that somehow, somehow the grain of corn is still alive in the corn plant.

And if you look deeply into the corn plant, you can still see the grain of corn in it.

It doesn't have the form of a grain anymore, but it's still alive.

You see it is in the corn plant.

And you know very well that the corn plant is a continuation of the grain of corn.

You are intelligent enough to know it, that the corn plant is a continuation of the grain of corn.

And you tell the corn plant,

"I know the grain of corn in you is not dead. It's still alive! You don't see it, but you have come from it, and when I look at you, I see the grain of corn in you."

If you are a practitioner of meditation,

you can see very well the seed of corn present in the plant of corn.

And when you look at yourself, into your body, what do you see?

You don't believe that at one time in the past you were a tiny seed also.

You were a very tiny seed in the womb of your mother, and much smaller than the grain of corn.

And you don't remember that.

So Thay is helping you to remember the time you were a very tiny seed in the womb of your mother.

And you are a continuation of that seed.

If you look deeply, you still see that seed in you, still alive!

When you practice meditation, you can see many things that other people cannot see.

Do you remember that wonderful time you spent in the womb of your mother?

Maybe you have a vague memory of that time.

It's so comfortable there.

It's not too hot. It's not too cold. The temperature is just right, and it's very soft.

You spent about nine months in that wonderful abode.

In Vietnamese and Chinese we call that place in the womb of your mother "the palace of the child."

子宮 means the palace of the child.

It's such a wonderful, comfortable place to be in.

The most wonderful thing is that you did not have to worry about anything there.

You did not think of the past or the future, you didn't even think about eating or drinking because

everything was done by your mommy.

She drank for you, she ate for you, she breathed for you.

You did not have to do anything at all.

And your father was taking good care of your mother.

It is possible for us to remember that time when you were a tiny seed in the womb of your mother.

The day when your mother was aware that you were there inside of her, she was so happy.

She bloomed like a flower, and love was born in her.

Although you have not learned English, she already talked to you in English.

She said something like, "Darling, I know you are there. I am very happy."

She was practicing the first and the second mantras.

Your presence brought a lot of joy to your mom and your dad.

You were very tiny, and yet you were the object of love.

And your mother was very careful.

She stopped drinking alcohol, she stopped smoking because she knew that doing so would harm you inside.

That was out of love.

And she didn't stay up too late in the night.

She tried to do things

gently,

and she cared about what she ate.

She selected only the good things to eat, because she knew that eating something that was not good for her, would not be good for you.

There was a lot of love, a lot of care from your mother.

And your father was equally happy, and he took good care of your mother.

He did not dare to say anything that would make your mother worry or angry,

because if your mother was angry, you inside would get angry also.

Out of love, your father was very mindful not to say or do anything that makes your mom suffer, because if he makes your mom suffer, he makes you suffer.

So the love was great,

and many of us do not remember that time.

The moment when you were born was a very difficult moment for you, for your mother, and for your father.

It took a lot of pain for her for you to come out.

When you came out, they cut the umbilical cord.

You had been connected to your mother by a long cord.

The air that your mother breathed came through to you through that umbilical cord.

The food that your mother ate went to you through that umbilical cord.

It's quite long, and

when you were born, they cut the umbilical cord.

And you had to be on your own from that moment.

You have to eat yourself. She cannot eat for you anymore.

You have to drink for yourself. She cannot drink for you anymore.

And you have to breathe for yourself.

She cannot breathe for you anymore.

It's so difficult for you, it's so difficult for her.

And it was a very dangerous moment. You had to learn how to make your first in-breath.

It's not easy for a child, for a baby.

There was some liquid in your lungs.

If you could not get it out of your lungs, you could not take your first in-breath.

So you try your best. If you did not succeed, you would die.

That is a very critical, difficult moment for you, for your mother, and so on.

But happily, you have survived.

You were able to expel the liquid from your lungs, and take in the first in-breath.

You don't remember that moment.

Thay is helping you to remember like you are helping the young corn plant to remember.

Although you have two arms, two feet, a mouth, and a nose,

you still need someone to feed you, to help you, to make you warm, to make you comfortable.

And that was provided by your mother and your father.

And what I would like to remind you today is that during the time you were in the womb of your mother,

your mother, from time to time, talked to you, and although you had not learned English, you understood.

There are other ways of communication.

Sometimes you would like to remind your mother that you were there.

So you gave a kick. It means, "Mommy, I'm here."

And she got the message.

She said, "Darling, I know you are there." Because sometimes she may forget.

And she got the message.

Because sometimes she may forget.

And when you have grown up to be a little boy or a little girl, you might want to do the same meditation practice that you wanted the little plant of corn to do.

You wanted the little plant of corn to look deeply and to see herself as a small grain of corn and to know that she is a continuation of the grain of corn.

And Thay wants you to know that you have come from a very small grain planted by your mother and your father.

And you are the continuation of that grain.

It means you are a continuation of your father and your mother.

You believe that your mother and your father are outside of you, but that is only part of the truth.

The truth is that your mother is in you, your father is in you in every cell of your body.

Wherever you go, you carry your father and your mother with you.

And when you smile, your father and your mother in you smile.

When you cry, your father and mother cry with you.

And when you are happy, your father and mother are happy in you.

And when you suffer, your mother and father suffer with you.

And if you practice better,

you see that not only your father and mother are in you, but all generations of ancestors are in you.

Every time you are able to take in one in-breath and feel happy, all your ancestors in you feel happy.

When you are able to make a step full of stability, freedom, and joy, all your ancestors in you rejoice.

So you are not practicing for yourself alone. You are practicing for your parents and your ancestors.

When you hear the small bell, please stand up and bow to the Sangha before you go out and continue this Dharma discussion.