The Three Elements of Meditation

---

This is the translation of an article written based on the transcript of a Dharma Espresso episode in Vietnamese - a short speech given by Venerable Hằng Trường on May 23, 2026.

---

Good morning everyone, this is Dharma Espresso for today.

This talk is for those who are practicing meditation with me.

I have established a method that is very easy to practice and extremely effective. This method is completely based on cultivation according to the philosophy of the Avatamsaka Sutra (Huayan Sutra).

According to this philosophy, when sitting in meditation, we must remember three very important elements:

1.        The first element is nurturing the non-outflow seeds.

2.       The second element is creating a space that helps the non-outflow seeds develop easily, helps dissolve karmic forces, and prevents interference or destruction from outside forces (both visible and invisible).

3.    The third element is transforming and dissolving karmic obstructions and bad habits within the Five Skandhas body.

An example of these three elements:  A fertile field, with heavy heads of ripened rice.

A beautiful rice field is the result of planting and cultivation. Because the field was fully sown and carefully tended, it now yields an abundant harvest of grain. Likewise, if we wish to attain the Bodhisattva path, or become a sage, a Bodhisattva, or a Buddha, we must ask ourselves: how should we practice, and what should we plant in order to achieve such results?

1.      To attain enlightenment, one must plant the seeds of enlightenment.

According to the cultivation method of the Avatamsaka/Hua Yan Sutra, we must sow the non-outflow seeds. These non-outflow seeds are found within the 42 seeds of luminosity mentioned in the Avatamsaka Sutra: A, Ra, Pa, Ca, Na, …

If we plant and cultivate these non-outflow seeds, then in the future, they will grow into the Bodhi tree — the non-outflow state. This is the direction of our practice.

Hence, we must sow the non-outflow seeds, also called developing the Bodhicitta system. Non-ouflow is Bodhi, wisdom, awakening.

2.      Creating a favorable space for the non-outflow seeds to grow.

When we sow rice seeds into the field, there may be harmful insects, lack of rain, lack of water causing the soil to dry out, or insufficient sunlight and fertilizer that affect the growth of the seeds.

To minimize any harms, we must choose a suitable place. Sometimes, we even need to fence, separate, and protect our field from others. We must also create the proper conditions for the seeds to grow: we need to know how to enrich the soil and provide sufficient water, fertilizer, and light. At times, the neighboring field may be poor, while our own field flourishes abundantly. A field is a space where favorable conditions come together to support the growth of the seeds.

When we contemplate the Bodhicitta system, these non-outflow seeds must exist within our own space; they cannot remain floating outside — for example, visualizing them on a tree, or on a mountain in front of us, and so on. Hence, establishing boundaries — or creating this spiritual space — is extremely important. This space creates the conditions for the non-outflow seeds to arise. When we sit in meditation, we call this space the “ego bubble,” and we 'purify the boundaries' i.e. we establish a protective boundary to define its scope. Once that defined space is purified, demons, disturbing words from others, and karmic obstacles we created in the past naturally remain outside the ego bubble.

Defining the spatial boundary of the ego bubble is very important. During practice, we sit inside that bubble, and everything that happens within it becomes something we may be able to manage.

3.      The third element is the farmer — the one who plows, sows the seeds, nourishes, and takes care of the field.

If the farmer is not diligent, does not plow the field, does not fertilize it, does not provide enough water, but instead lets elephants trample the land, fails to sow seeds, and allows weeds to grow everywhere, then by the end of the season, there will be no harvest at all. The farmer must have the mind and intention to cultivate, must know how to sow seeds, how to reduce obstacles to the plants’ growth, and how to nourish the field so that it becomes fertile.

In spiritual practice, the farmer is like our physical body — the body of the five skandhas.

Do we know how to sit relaxed and unmoving, breathing gently so that the seeds may sprout? If we do not know this, then no matter how long we sit in meditation, the seeds will not grow.

Sometimes we sit and feel energy moving through the body, creating pleasurable sensations, and we forget that we are supposed to sow the non-outflow seeds. Or we may sit so relaxed, still, and light that we no longer want to contemplate the seeds or recite mantras because doing so feels heavy and tiring. This is like a farmer working enthusiastically in the field but forgetting to sow the seeds — in the end, there will be nothing to harvest.

We need to use the body of the five skandhas to contemplate and build the Bodhicitta. We do not practice merely to attain stillness, peace, serenity, pleasure, or the absence of thoughts and delusions. Therefore, if we do not contemplate or recite, but only sit relaxing and breathing deeply and gently, then we are like a farmer who forgets to sow the seeds.

In summary, the Hua Yan Hands and Eyes method of cultivation requires three elements:

1.        Sowing the non-outflow seeds — called cultivating the True Mind.

2.        Creating a space in which the non-outflow seeds can develop.

3.      Training the five skandhas' body in a way that supports the growth of the non-outflow seeds.

Thank you everyone for listening.