Walking meditation 3

A lone butterfly visits the treetops.

A baby snail smiles at us waving her feelers, she is carried off to safety.

Walking meditation 2

Mindful walking in the morning is fascinating. One gets to experience many wonders. Let these wonders come without any seeking.

A rainbow greets you and me this morning.

A spider spins new web after the storm.

 Numerous communities of ants move themselves across the paths of humans.

A family of three squirrels dart around the branches of a large tree.

Swallows and song birds fill the air with movement and music.

Clean cool air fills us up and refreshes from within.

Dew drops shimmer from the tips of leaves.

Bare feet touch the stony path that lay untrodden over night.

The sun rays break through the foliage.

Walking meditation 1

“Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.”

-- Thich Nhat Hanh

Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?” But his disciples said to him, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’" And he looked around to see who had done it. 
-- Mark 5:30-32

Walking around the garden this morning, I saw ripples in a stagnant fountain. The ripples called out for my attention and I found a winged insect struggling.

One would have missed you easily, furthermore this was not my usual path for the past week. Little winged being, it is amazing to think what brought us to meet this cool clear Sunday morning.

Looking about, a palm branch had fallen nearby. The leaves are long and slender, and would make a nice big life raft for you. 

You climbed aboard and breathed. Sufficiently dry, you regained freedom in flight.

Love

For those who are in love with another, fell out of love, seeking love, or in a different state of love.

Notions of love and experiences of love are so fluid.
Some think love is like a flower but it can be a thorny bush.
Some think love is like a rainbow but it can be thundery storm.

So what exactly is love?

Holding on to the past is not love, doubting about the future is not love. Perhaps love is simply to live life fully.

I am of the nature to grow old.
There is no way to escape growing old.
I am of the nature to have ill health.
There is no way to escape ill health.
I am of the nature to die.
There is no way to escape death.
All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change.
There is no way to escape being separated from them.
My actions are my only true belongings. 
I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. 
My actions are the ground upon which I stand.
-- The Buddha's Five Remembrances, by Thich Nhat Hanh
 

A matter of justice?

I was preparing to drive off after the lights turned green at a major road junction. As usual some drivers from the opposite direction sped past to make sure they could skip waiting for the next green light

A cyclist came after these cars, attempting to do the same. The car on my left moved forward and I heard a bang. Fortunately the cyclist escaped injury.

If there was injury or death, one could say it was mainly the cyclist's fault because he rashly ran the red light. This seemed obvious, or is it?

There is much to be said with many social constructs guiding my cognitive process. For example:

• The cyclist broke the law and thus was in the wrong, endangering others and himself in the process. 
• The cyclist was rash and did not consider how vulnerable he is against a moving car.
• This is a law abiding country which makes life efficient and safe for all.
• The driver should have given way since he was at no risk from danger to himself.
• The driver should have been more compassionate knowing the cyclist is at higher risk of injury and death.
• Laws make life easier for all but laws can be flexible to accomodate human mistakes.

How easily I ended up analysing and evaluating what happened and comparing the cyclist with the driver, and even with myself and society.

We should practice so that we can see, Muslims as Hindus and Hindus as Muslims. We should practice so that we can see Israelis as Palestinians and Palestinians as Israelis. We should practice until we can see that each person is us, that we are not separate from others. This will greatly reduce our suffering.

 -- Thich Nhat Hanh
 

To keep ourselves and others safe, here are two gathas for driving:

Before starting the car

I know where I am going.

The car and I are one,

if the car goes fast, I go fast.

This car is my legs.
It goes where I choose.
When I drive with awareness,
Everyone lives in safety.

Communion - A reflection on All Souls' and All Saints' Day

In most Christian versions of the Apostles' Creed, the "communion of saints" refers to the relationship between those present here, those who have died, and those yet to come. How does this relationship become real between the living, the dead, and the unborn? Is this something that requires a leap of faith?

Walking slowly in the moonlight through the rows of tea plants, I noticed my mother was still with me. She was the moonlight caressing me as she had done so often, very tenderly, very sweet... wonderful! 

Each time my feet touched the earth I knew my mother was there with me. I knew this body was not mine alone but a living continuation of my mother and father and my grandparents and great-grandparents. Of all my ancestors. These feet that I saw as "my" feet were actually "our" feet. Together my mother and I were leaving footprints in the damp soil.

-- Thich Nhat Hanh 

Perhaps what is needed is deep insight gained through experiencing our world as it is. 

不生不灭，无来无去，无同无异，无存在无不存在。 

-- 一行禅师 

Walking meditation

As I was walking yesterday, some spontaneous thoughts came to mind.

Still waters ...

Vapours rising ...

Clouds moving ...

Rain falling ...

It was a fusion of two sets of ideas:

1) Four element walking meditation
Earth - Feet feeling the ground. Soft, hard, rough, smooth
Fire - Lifting the feet. Lightness, ascent.
Air/wind - Movement
Water - Descent, heaviness, trickling down

2) Thay's (Thich Nhat Hanh) teachings

You are afraid that after we die we become Nothing. From Someone we become No one. From Being we pass into Non-being…

Now let us look deeply into the nature of a cloud.

In the morning when we look up in the sky, we see a cloud, and in the afternoon we look up and see that the sky is desperately empty.

And we conclude that the cloud has died. But it’s not possible for a cloud to die. A cloud can become rain or snow, or ice, but a cloud can never become Nothing. It is impossible for a cloud to die.

The cloud is just no longer in the form that you used to see, but it doesn’t mean that the cloud has disappeared. It is in another form now.

A cloud may manifest itself in the form of a cloud, but it may also like to manifest as rain or snow. And if you look deeply into your tea, you will see that your Cloud is in the cup!

Yesterday your Cloud was in a form of a cloud, but today it is in a form of Tea! Then when you drink your Tea mindfully and with wisdom, you will know that you are drinking your Cloud…

One form succeeds into another form.

So when you can’t see your Beloved Cloud in the sky anymore don’t cry…

Your Cloud has become the Rain falling into the ground joyfully and it is calling you: Darling… Darling… Can’t you see, I am here!.. Darling… Don’t cry, I am always here for you!…

Dazzlement and Mindfulness

A visit to the grand Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) and Universal Studios Singapore (USS) brought about a mix of thoughts and feelings. I wondered what I appreciated about these places and what brought discomfort.

They are beautiful places, showcasing the artistry and talent of many people across many cultures. There is much laughter, joy, and excitement in the air. It is a place to be dazzled.

And the discomfort sits on this point of dazzlement. Coincidentally, the origin of the word "dazzle" comes from "daze", which means to be stunned or overwhelmed. It is a place seemingly void of suffering with the senses overwhelmed with beautiful sights, wonderful scents, exotic foods, fancy goods, and exciting play. It is a place where mindfulness can be forgotten.

Leaving the place, it can bring lingering feelings of wanting more: another dish to taste, another ride to try, another photo to take, and so on. Fortunately, reality awakens us most of the time and brings us home to the present.

Fifth Mindfulness Training - Nourishment and Healing 

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I will practice looking deeply into my consumption of the Four Kinds of Nutriments, namely edible foods, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness.  I am determined not to gamble, or to use alcohol, drugs, or any other products which contain toxins, such as certain websites, electronic games, TV programs, films, magazines, books, and conversations.  I will practice coming back to the present moment to be in touch with the refreshing, healing and nourishing elements in me and around me, not letting regrets and sorrow drag me back into the past nor letting anxieties, fear or craving pull me out of the present moment.  I am determined not to try to cover up loneliness, anxiety or other suffering by losing myself in consumption.  I will contemplate interbeing and consume in a way that preserves peace, joy, and well-being in my body and consciousness and in the collective body and consciousness of my family, my society and the Earth. 

 

Interbeing: Christian - Buddhist

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 

-- John 14:6-7

 

Being a Christian, one of my major hurdles is the notion of exclusive salvation. Somehow there are many human traits projected onto the God of the Abrahamic religions. This to me seems to limit God as it contradicts the "infinity" of God which encompasses being eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, and of infinite goodness. This limitation has also inadvertantly cast an invisible barrier on my own openness and spiritual growth.

I have long held a hope since teenage years for a deeper experience and understanding, that frees God from mere human dogma and notions. I would say this journey of discovery has reached an interesting juncture. 

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you.

-- John 14:16-17

 

With the energy of mindfulness, we can see deeply. With the Holy Spirit, we can see deeply. Mindfulness is the energy of the Buddha. The Holy Spirit is the energy of God. They both have the capacity to make us present, fully alive, deeply understanding, and loving. That is why in our daily life, we should live mindfully, we should live with the Holy Spirit so we can live every moment of our daily life deeply. If we do not live each moment deeply, there is no way we can touch the ultimate dimension, the dimension of the noumena.

-- "Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers" by Thich Nhat Hanh

To touch the ultimate dimension, to know God, this is possible through Jesus who tells us the Holy Spirit is already within us. Practicing mindfulness has helped unravel this buried treasure, by allowing me to let go the layers of notions accumulated through human history, the history of religions. It has become unnecessary to speak of God, indeed the name of God is "unspeakable".

Strangely, YHWH, the Hebrew proper name for God, is also known as the Breath of Life. Try pronouncing it purely without any vowels ... 

Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.

Breathing in, I see myself as a flower.
Breathing out, I feel fresh.

Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain
Breathing out, I feel solid.

Breathing in, I feel myself as still water.
Breathing out, I reflect things as they are.

Breathing in, I see myself as space.
Breathing out, I feel free.

Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I know that I am breathing out.

As my in-breath grows deep,
My out breath grows slow.

Breathing in makes me calm.
Breathing out brings me ease.

With the in-breath, I smile,
With the out-breath I release.

Dwelling in the present moment,
I know this is a wonderful moment.

Feelings come and go, like clouds in a windy sky
Conscious breathing is my anchor. 

-- Basket of Plums: Songs in the Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh

The question about seeking answers

Recently I met a person who asked the spouse: "Tell me why you married me?" Often I hear similar questions like "why do you love me?", "what do you like about me?", "what do you see in me?", "who am I to you?", and so on.

These questions are probably fine once in a while but when one hears it often then perhaps doubt has arisen. Sometimes the doubt about an other has a basis and the spouse takes courage to bring it up for clarification. At other times, it can arise from the concept of "self" in terms of: self-doubt, lack of self-confidence, self-loathe, and so on. Such types of doubt require more than just answers from the spouse or a loved one.

So when someone asks "why do you love me?", it might be worthwhile to address the significance of the answer to that "self" who asked: How does it matter to your self in seeking that answer?

Succumb Not to the Rain 不怕雨 不怕風

Just learned about this inspirational poem while reading "A Buddhist Kaleidoscope: Essays on the Lotus Sutra" (edited by Gene Reeves).  I found the below well written translation off the Internet. 

This poem resonated with me in many ways. How does it resonate for you?

雨ニモマケズ Succumb Not to the Rain "不怕雨 不怕風"
(Japanese > English > Chinese)

雨ニモマケズ (雨にも負けず)
Succumb not to the rain
不怕雨

風ニモマケズ (風にも負けず)
Succumb not to the wind
不怕風

雪ニモ夏ノ暑サニモマケヌ (雪にも夏の暑さにも負けぬ)
Succumb not to the snow nor to the heat of summer
不怕大雪不怕炎炎夏日

丈夫ナカラダヲモチ (丈夫な体を持ち)
Be strong in body
身子結實骨子硬

慾ハナク 決シテ瞋ラズ (慾はなく 決して怒らず)
Unfettered by desire, not enticed to anger
沒有慾望 絕不生氣

イツモシヅカニワラッテヰル (いつも静かに笑っている)
Cultivate a quiet joy
臉上總是恬靜地笑著

一日ニ玄米四合ト (一日に玄米四合と)
Every day four bowls of brown rice
一天四合糙米淡飯

味噌ト少シノ野菜ヲタベ (味噌と少しの野菜を食べ)
Some miso and a few vegetables to suffice for the day
幾匙味噌少許粗菜

アラユルコトヲ (あらゆることを)
To everything
事事

ジブンヲカンジョウニ入レズニ (自分を勘定に入れずに)
Without judging
不動心不動容

ヨクミキキシワカリ (よく見聞きし分かり)
Watch well and listen closely
事事要耳聞要目睹

ソシテワスレズ (そして忘れず)
Hold the learned lessons dear
然後刻印在我心中

野原ノ松ノ林ノ蔭ノ (野原の松の林の蔭の)
In a meadow, nestled in a pine grove's shade
在那原野地松林深處

小サナ萱ブキノ小屋ニヰテ (小さな萱ぶきの小屋にいて)
A thatch-roof house
蓋棟我棲身的小茅屋

東ニ病気ノコドモアレバ (東に病気の子供あれば)
If, to the East, a child lies sick
村東若有病痛的小孩

行ッテ看病シテヤリ (行って看病してやり)
Go forth and nurse him to health
讓我細心去照顧

西ニツカレタ母アレバ (西に疲れた母あれば)
If, to the West, an old lady stands exhausted
村西若有疲累的大媽

行ッテソノ稲ノ束ヲ負ヒ (行ってその稲の束を負い)
Go forth, and relieve her of burden
我去幫她背稻穀

南ニ死ニソウナ人アレバ (南に死にそうな人あれば)
If, to the South, a man lies dying
村南若有臨終者

行ッテコハガラナクテモイゝトイヒ (行って怖がらなくてもいゝと言い)
Go forth with words of courage to dispel his fear
趕去叫他不要怕

北ニケンクワヤソショウガアレバ (北に喧嘩や訴訟があれば)
If, to the North, an argument or fight ensues
村北若有爭執或口角

ツマラナイカラヤメロトイヒ (つまらないから止めろと言い)
Go forth and beg them, "Stop such a waste of effort and of spirit"
我去勸說無聊啊快住手吧

ヒド(デ)リノトキハナミダヲナガシ (日照りのときは涙を流し)
In times of drought, shed tears of sympathy
大旱時節我淚眼汪汪

サムサノナツハオロオロアルキ (寒さの夏はオロオロ歩き)
In summer's cold, walk in concern and empathy
冷夏之季我焦慮不安

ミンナニデクノボートヨバレ (みんなにでくの坊と呼ばれ)
Called a blockhead by everyone
大家罵我是個大傻瓜

ホメラレモセズ (褒められもせず)
Without being praised
雖然沒人會誇獎讚揚

クニモサレズ (苦にもされず)
Without being blamed
但也不會讓人傷腦筋

サウイフモノニ (そういう者に)
ワタシハナリタイ (私はなりたい)
This is my goal, the person I strive to become.
我 正是想當這種人

- 宮沢賢治 Miyazawa Kenji (08/27/1896-09/21/1933)

The Turtle and the Fish - Transcending diversity

There was once a turtle who lived in a lake with a group of fish. One day the turtle went for a walk on dry land. He was away from the lake for a few weeks. When he returned he met some of the fish. 

The fish asked him, "Mister turtle, hello! How are you? We have not seen you for a few weeks. Where have you been? 

The turtle said, "I was up on the land, I have been spending some time on dry land." 

The fish were a little puzzled and they said, "Up on dry land? What are you talking about? What is this dry land? Is it wet?" The turtle said "No, it is not," 

"Is it cool and refreshing?" "No, it is not", 

"Does it have waves and ripples?" "No, it does not have waves and ripples." 

"Can you swim in it?" "No you can't" 

So the fish said, "it is not wet, it is not cool, there are no waves, you can’t swim in it. So this dry land of yours must be completely non-existent, just an imaginary thing, nothing real at all." 

The turtle said that "Well, may be so" and he left the fish and went for another walk on dry land.

This is a rather famous tale which I am reminded of as I was reading the 2011 Fryer Award lecture by Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson. Hatred, anxiety, misunderstanding, and denial often arise out of ignorance. In counselling terms, one might call this a lack of empathy, a lack of connection with others. This can lead to conflictual divisions of "I" vs. "You", "Us" vs. "Others", "Right" vs. "Wrong".

Fortunately life is abundant with lessons for us, given freely but often missed unless we live mindfully.  One important knowledge imparted to me is that there are many sides to a person's life story. What we see or think we know can never encompass the whole person. The whole person includes much from their historical and social spheres (family, community, culture, traditions) as well as their inner life. This awareness has helped lighten my work, to be continually curious, to seek to understand, to maintain a sense of connecting.

Love of Nature

 

 Why do people generally feel good to be immersed in nature?
Perhaps because nature does not hide impermanence; nature demonstrates 
impermanence in all its glory.

This amazing cycle of growing, maturing, fruiting, withering, decaying, nourishing, ...
 
Urban landscapes hide impermanence; we have buildings and monuments that outlive the human life span.

Landmarks provide familiarity and stability, a kind of false assurance 
that all remains the same, all goes well.
Perhaps this also irks us, this predictability, this routineness.