The 7th Nikāya Retreat

In the mind of spreading the Dharma as well as wishing to support monks and nuns to have a facility to organize retreats; on June 12th, 2022, the 7th Nikāya Retreat gathered in the ground floor of the C Building to listen to a Dharma talk preached by Junior Thich Minh Thanh, Abbot of Linh Quy Phap An pagoda.

Before the retreat, practitioners performed the rituals as paying homage to the Three Jewels, announcing rules; Junior Thich Minh Thanh, Abbot of Linh Quy Phap An had some encouragement to the ashram.

By the retreat's pure commandments, the Monk has taught these things to help an organization or ashram having peace, purity, harmony, delight, and happiness.

We need to practice a peaceful, calm mind that is contemplation of reality. When the mind is not cultivated, we are very vulnerable to each other. We need to practice a gentle mind in every gesture, action, word; practice thinking kindly, gratefully about the person we meet, learn to see the good points, the beauty of that person so that we are filled with love, gratitude, and the desire to repay. Anytime, anywhere, we always look back at our actual body and mind, especially in a state of discomfort and frustration - this is the time when we need to practice the most - to calm the whole body, control emotions, recognize the truth to get rid of suffering.

Next, the mass was divided into small groups to identify five aggregates under the guidance of the monk.

After the good mind meditation in the afternoon is the practice guide. The first step of practice is to bow to repentance, the Buddha, reveal the faults in the body and mind, wash it off, and no longer contain unwholesome things in the mind. We need to constantly see emotions in every small activity: walking, standing, sitting, lying down, ect,... to identify greed, anger, feelings, then clearly see this life without self, impermanence, suffering that let go.

After the period of metta meditation in the afternoon, it is instruction about cultivation and explanations of practice problems.

At the end of the day, the mass together paid homage to the virtue Sariputra Saint and dedicated merit.

Some images recorded: