Mindfulness as Medicine by Sister Dang Nghiem
Author:Sister Dang Nghiem [Nghiem, Sister Dang]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781937006952
Publisher: Parallax Press
Chapter Five
REVERENCE AND RESPECT
Reverence is the nature of my love.
—From a calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh
When we realize that we’re the product of all of our ancestors, human and non-human, that have come before us, we see that nothing about us is uniquely our own; everything has been transmitted to us, and we feel deep reverence for all life, including ourselves, and we wish to protect ourselves and our ancestors. We practice reverence in our mindful thoughts, speech, and actions.
Often I would see retreatants bowing deeply and solemnly as they enter or exit the meditation hall, and before they sit down on a cushion or a chair in the dining hall. Children would stand quietly to look at a flower on the sidewalk and teenagers would sit contentedly underneath a tree. A young man shared in a Dharma sharing, “I was passing a tree today. I looked at it for a while, and for the first time I realized that this tree gives me life and comfort. So I sat down in its shade for a while.” When the mind is free from the replay of incessant thoughts and perceptions, we’re fully present for what is—a flower, a tree, a sunset, a space, a person—and we touch the immensity of it and we become in awe of it. In profound reverence, the thought of a separate self is also removed. The one who bows and the one who is bowed to become one and limitless. The truth of interbeing is fully experienced in thoughts, speech, and bodily actions.
MOTHER EARTH
Mother Earth is the great mother for all of us. She gives us birth, provides all of our basic needs, and she is there for us during our whole life and afterward. Taking refuge in Mother Earth and preserving her is nurturing and healing ourselves.
When I walk, I do my best to be in touch with Mother Earth and to receive her strength and tenderness. During many years of my life, I felt that my biological mother deserted me and abandoned me. She was violent to me verbally and physically, so it was difficult to feel nurtured by her. With the practice of returning to my roots, I have learned to be empathetic and grateful to my biological mother, and I have also discovered Mother Earth, who is also the mother of my mother. I have discovered how loving and inclusive Mother Earth is, and this daily awareness and nourishment helps heal me and my biological mother inside of me.
As monastic practitioners, we show our gratitude and reverence to Mother Earth in our way of walking gently and mindfully everywhere we go. We are also careful with the way we use Mother Earth’s resources. For example, we turn on the water slowly so that the stream of water doesn’t come out too forcefully and wastefully. Sisters use a cup to collect enough water to brush their teeth and wash their faces. Instead of letting water run freely from the showerhead, many of us collect water in a bucket and take a shower from it.
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