Infinite Space and Infinite Time | Sr Chan Duc 20201006 LH

There is also the aspect of aimlessness.
Sitting in order to sit.

Just sitting.

In 2004,

we had an autumn retreat.

And during that retreat,

Thay would introduce
sitting meditation every day.

And he would give about
anything between 2 and 5 minutes

guidance
before the sitting meditation began.

And I remember in particular
one guidance that Thay gave.

"The place where I am sitting now,

countless living beings
have been born in this place,

and countless living beings
have died here.

Maybe millions of years ago,
an Enlightened One also sat here.

And in the future,

countless living beings
will be born in this place I am sitting,

and countless living beings will die here.

And maybe in the future, an Enlightened
One will also sit in this place."

This guided meditation
goes a bit like that.

And that is really to put us in touch with
infinite space and infinite time.

When I first came to Plum Village,

Thay didn't sit at the bell

or at the top of the sangha.

Thay, just like everybody else,
Thay came in and sat

where Thay felt like sitting.

One day,

I was with my eyes shut
and I was sitting like this,

and I felt somebody come
and sit next to me.

And then I felt

infinite space and infinite time.

I looked and it was Thay
sitting next to me.

And then, another day
when I wasn't sitting next to Thay,

but I saw Thay come in
and I saw Thay sit.

And Thay looked

exactly like Thay was dwelling
in infinite space and infinite time.

This is something we can all do.

It is something called aimlessness.
We don't have any aim, we just

come in to the meditation hall

and we sit in order to sit.

We just allow ourselves that

awakened nature in ourselves

to be completely aimless and to enjoy
infinite space and infinite time.

That guided preface

about all the living beings
who have been born, and have died here

can be helpful for you to touch
infinite space and infinite time.

Sitting in the historical dimension,

is there any place
that is not the place of Enlightenment?

(Vietnamese)

Birth and death are endless.

And this present moment
is the only, only moment.