The Second Meaning of Hien

Hien: to see clearly what is happening in the present moment

This is the second meaning embedded in the Vietnamese word Hien and is essential to strengthening the seventh Mindfulness Training.

This teaching points to the Dharma door of living peacefully and joyfully by being fully in touch with whatever is happening in the present moment. We are aware, mindful, attuned to sense perceptions, awake, fully present. We touch and experience reality deeply. We practice seeing clearly and cultivating right view in accord with Buddhist teachings of the three seals—impermanence, non-self, and suffering. As we become more present, touch reality more deeply, and see more clearly what is actually going on, we grow in realization of the seventh Mindfulness Training: “Dwelling happily in the present moment.”

Personal Reflection:

🔹  How is my present-moment awareness deepening and clarifying?

🔹 What is my experience of the present moment? How often am I present to what I’m doing when I’m doing it, and how often is my mind elsewhere—e.g., thinking about what’s next rather than fully experiencing what’s going on as it’s going on? Am I generally experiencing routine activities such as brushing my teeth or walking down the hallway fully as I’m brushing or walking?

🔹 What am I seeing when I consider the question, “Is it true?” in relation to my perceptions or views?

🔹 How is my understanding of self changing? My attachment to self and self-cherishing loosening?

🔹 What wholesome and unwholesome seeds arise for me, and how do I respond?

🔹 What habits or lingering reactivities get in the way of my dwelling happily in the present moment?