True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart by Thich Nhat Hanh

Author:Thich Nhat Hanh
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Love & Romance, Social Science, Philanthropy & Charity, Religion, Zen, General, Family & Relationships, Buddhism, Rituals & Practice
ISBN: 9781590309391
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Published: 2011-10-10T15:00:00+00:00

Coming to Life Again

WITHOUT MINDFULNESS, WE LIVE LIKE the dead. And every time mindfulness is born, we are born again into the country (Pure Land) of Buddha, on Buddha’s earth, into the Kingdom of God. In the Psalms, we read the following: “Thou art my son; today have I begotten thee.” This is the voice of the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, you come to life again every moment. Mindfulness is the practice that consists in bringing the body and the mind back to the present moment, and every time we practice that, we come to life again.

If we take a look around us, we see people who are living like dead people. Albert Camus says that there are thousands of people moving about around us carrying their own corpses. Thanks to the practice of mindfulness, we come to life again immediately. Being alive is being in the present moment, in the here and now, and that is possible through mindful breathing. In Buddhist meditation, we practice resurrection every moment: “Breathe, you are alive.” The Holy Spirit is is present with our mindful breath: “Give us this day our daily bread.” This is the very practice of living in the present moment, this day. We must not lose ourselves either in the past or in the future; and the only moment in which we can touch life is the present moment. In Christianity, we find the same teaching as in Buddhism.

When we practice walking meditation, each step brings us back to the present moment. When we walk without mindfulness, we sacrifice the present moment to some destination somewhere—we are not alive. And speaking of destinations, we may as well ask ourselves, what is our final destination? The cemetery, perhaps? In that case, why are we in a hurry to get there? Life does not lie in that direction. Life is here, in each step. For this reason, we must walk in such a way that life arises out of each step, and this is what we do in our community in Plum Village. Not only when we practice formal mindful walking, but throughout the day. When we have to go somewhere, even if it’s only a few yards away, we walk in the style of walking meditation.

One week of practice with us is enough to create good habits, and when you go home, you will be able to continue with them. From your house to the subway, you can practice walking meditation, you just allow yourself a little bit more time so you can walk like a person who is free, so you can walk in such a way that the Kingdom of God is possible in the here and now, in such a way that peace and joy are possible today, in such a way that the Pure Land is available there under your feet.

Every time I go to the airport, I allow myself an extra hour so that I can practice walking meditation at the airport. You have to do some organization in order to make meditation possible in your everyday life.

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