Saturday, 21 July 2018

When you look deeply at the flower...

Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment

Thich Nhat Hanh a Zen monk, in his supremely edifying book, titled, You are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment, shows us how the path of mindfulness and insight can wake us from the corpse-like stare of self-absorption, heal our emotional wounds and improve our relationship with others, connect us with love and wonder to this beautiful universe in which we live, and, finally, help us escape the bonds of birth and death altogether, a wonderful practice based on nonviolence and nondualism.

We can love our bodies, our emotions, and our minds even though they may cause us trouble.

In Buddhist meditation, you do not turn yourself into a battlefield, with good fighting against evil.

Both sides belong to you, the good and the evil. Evil can be transformed into good, and vice versa. They are completely organic things, he observes.

He uses the illustration that if you look deeply at the flower you will see that there is compost in it, made of garbage.

Through such rich and accessible metaphors, we learn that the key to happiness is learning how to turn garbage (negative emotions like depression, fear and grief) into flowers (happiness, joy and unconditional love).

Just as the flower needs compost, so too do we need pain to grow.


In his words, “there is no path to the cessation of suffering without suffering.”

Both the beauty and the debris are there in a unity. Everything can be transformed from one thing to another.

We like the way this Buddhist teacher counsels us to treat our bodies with tenderness by sending them energy and appreciation such as "My heart, I know you are there for me, and I want to be there for you, too."

The same can be said for other body parts as well.

Being present in the here and now is crucial and there are many practices which help us achieve this state, including meditation, walking mediation, gathas, stopping and deep looking, and working with a sangha.

And just because the emphasis is on the present doesn't mean that we cannot deal with the past or the future. We can correct the past and vow to take fresh steps into tomorrow by "beginning anew."

You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment also contains helpful and wise teachings on cultivating true love, the art of letting go, the practice of shining light, weathering emotional storms, understanding the three dharma seals (impermanence, non-self, and Nirvana), and becoming truly alive.

You Are Here explains that the simple act of being present is a necessary prerequisite for love.

In order to truly love ourselves, or others, we must be here now, in the present. Being present can be as simple as concentrating on our breath. Generating our own presence is the most precious gift we can offer society.

How trueyyy he is!

Thank you so much Thomas Sir for this rich and delightful recommend!

With special inputs from spiritualityandpracticedotcom
Image courtesy: quotefancydotcom

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