Chapter 14, titled "Detachment from Forms to attain Tranquility," stands as one of the most vital and profound chapters within the Diamond Sutra. Its full name conveys that by letting go of all phenomenal forms and delusive thoughts, one can attain the state of ultimate stillness and cessation (Nirvana).

Wherever coming, why did Venerable Bhaddiya keep saying, “Oh, peaceful indeed”? The other monks looked around, seeing only a quiet forest, a tree bottom, or an empty hut, and could not understand. They assumed Bhaddiya was recalling his luxurious royal life. This shows the worldly habit of common people projecting on their own subjective thinking.

Both "The Mu Koan" (in Japanese Zen Buddhism, especially the Rinzai school) and the "No-Talk" Technique (belonging to the Sunyata Meditation of Venerable Thich Thong Triet, a modern Vietnamese tradition rooted in Abhidharma and Nikāya) aim for a common goal: the direct realization of the Awareness Nature beyond words and concepts. However, their methods and psycho-cognitive contexts fundamentally differ.

A person’s life is also like a constantly flowing stream, never stopping. Everything, health, youth, happiness, loved ones, all flows forward in a one-way direction: birth-aging-sickness-death, or in another way: arising-existing-decaying-disappearing. This one-way path means that once something has passed, it never returns exactly as it was.

Because of inner speech, the Mind never truly rests, even during sleep. Inner speech is the very fuel of liking (craving), disliking (aversion), and of various addictive passions, traditions, and attachments to family, society, and so on. It is the root of Suffering (delusion), for it is precisely what gives rise to psychosomatic illnesses, causes conflicts with others, and creates imbalance with the living environment.

For a long time now, the pepper tree has reminded me of the art of living, " adapting to situations yet staying unagitated." Its trunk is sturdy and solid, standing tall against the vast sky. Despite wind and rain, the trunk does not shake. This tree surely has a hard inner core. In the Buddhist discourse “The Simile of the Heartwood”, the Buddha compared the ultimate goal of virtuous life to mind liberation, which is similar to the heartwood of a tree, its most valuable part. The heartwood lies hidden deep inside the trunk, hard to see and find. Mind liberation is also abstract, difficult to seek and attain.

This presentation compares the 'No-Talk' technique, from the Sunyata Meditation lineage taught by Venerable Thich Thong Triet, with Chapter 9: The Dharma-Gate of Non-Duality in the Vimalakirti Sutra, to clarify the similarities in their practice content and the state of mind that both methods aim to achieve.

Since the time we’ve been in this world, through countless lives, it remains faithful, side-by-side to us to remind of good and wholesome things. Many times, we might betray it or neglect it. But it keeps loyal to us. Who’s it? It’s the Knowing, the Mind. Thus, my friends, remember to live every moment fully with this silent, true-blue and crystal-clear ride-or-die companion.