Mindfulness as a Way of Living

I was asked to contribute an article on mindfulness and had hesitated for some time. There is already much material both in print and online about what mindfulness is all about, so I was thoughtful over whether to add on to the buzz and possible confusion. The key reason being that mindfulness is not something we can write about. For example, it is futile for me to share what a durian fruit tastes like unless one tries it.

Thus I start with sharing what is not mindfulness. One of the first notions I had about mindfulness is that it is some form of meditation done in a graceful sitting posture with folded legs, like what we usually imagine when Zen is mentioned. This is only partially correct because mindfulness is practiced not only while sitting but also while eating, walking, washing the dishes, and even while taking a dump in the toilet. Mindfulness is bringing awareness into what we do in daily life, and sitting still is usually an easy starting point to learn this.

Mindfulness has gone through a process of popularization similar to what yoga went through. It is now known as an effective tool for stress reduction, depression, anxiety, pain management, and even sporting excellence. I came to know of mindfulness through a different doorway. As a counsellor I was keen on exploring philosophy and theology as a means to understand psychology and counselling theories. As a person I was also keen to know how humanity made sense of the world we live in. Raised as a Catholic, the reading journey brought me through familiar territory and also new ones that stretched my views on spirituality. At the end I see mindfulness as an ethical way of living, beyond being a tool. Mindfulness can help us gently put down our troubles, not to run away from it, but be better able to examine it up close and thus understand it.

In counselling work, it is very important for me to listen to clients. If I am occupied by my own thoughts and feelings I will miss much of what the person is conveying. In being mindful, I turn my mind and body into a refined instrument as I stay aware of how I am being affected by client's stories and emotions. I can make more informed decision then on how to go further. There is much more to mindfulness in how it brings about empathic listening and thus compassion into counselling. If I could not even tune in to my own thoughts and feelings, it would be a greater challenge to embrace another person's problems.

So mindfulness is pretty deep stuff in that it can be practiced in my work, my relationships with loved ones, friends, colleagues, and even in how we relate to society and the ecology of our planet. Like any journey, the path of mindful living has its ups and downs that contribute to enriching it. I invite you to experience the possibilities of mindfulness for yourself.

Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.  Breathing in, my breath grows deep. Breathing out, my breath goes slowly.  Breathing in, I feel calm. Breathing out, I feel ease.  Breathing in, I smile. Breathing out, I release.   Dwelling in the present moment. I know this is a wonderful moment.

In Out Deep Slow Calm Ease Smile Release Present Moment Wonderful Moment

Resolutions

It was my first time attending the Plum Village core sangha retreat and it was also my third retreat with the fourfold sangha.  Though I arrived prepared for the winter cold of Hong Kong, it still proved tough going for someone used to the habits of living in sunny Singapore.

The various bodily afflictions could be examined in detail while supported by the togetherness in mindful living.

Looking deeply into this body, I connect with the ailing bodies of my aged parents.

Knowing impermanence, fear disperses.

And this helped me set a resolution for 2014: I resolve to build up my body and mind so that I can better care for my parents.

Even when I walk through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me

-- Psalm 23:4

This verse came to mind as the community did a mindful walk late in the night of New Year's Eve. The community flowed as a river, a mighty river that was both calm and protective. This is a precious community, a precious body.

It is possible that the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community—a community practicing understanding and loving kindness, a community practicing mindful living. This may be the most important thing we can do for the survival of the Earth.

-- Thich Nhat Hanh

This affirms my other resolution: I aspire to be a member of the Order of Interbeing, to build up the sangha.

Watchfulness

What lies ahead? I have no idea what will appear in my life over the next few days in a retreat for my body and mind, but I do know it is a time for me to be watchful.

"Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him."

-- Luke 12:35-36

Are You Sure?

All of us are only human, and we have wrong perceptions every day.  Our spouse or partner is also subject to wrong perceptions, so we must help each other to see more clearly and more deeply.  We should not trust our perceptions too much -  that is something the Buddha taught.  "Are you sure of your perceptions?" he asked us.  I urge you to write this phrase down on a card and put it up on the wall of your room:  "Are you sure of your perceptions?"

There is a river of perceptions in you.  You should sit down on the bank of this river and contemplate your perceptions.  Most of our perceptions, the Buddha said, are false.  Are you sure of your perceptions?  This question is addressed to you.  It is a bell of mindfulness.
-- Thich Nhat Hanh 

An Aspiration

BECOMING A BUDDHA is not so difficult. A buddha is someone who is enlightened, capable of loving, and forgiving. You know that at times you're like that. So enjoy being a buddha. When you sit, allow the Buddha in you to sit. When you walk, allow the Buddha in you to walk. Enjoy your practice. If you don't become a buddha, who will?

-- Thich Nhat Hanh

Enjoy your practice. If you don't become a buddha, who will?

These words struck a chord with me since I read it some weeks ago. It also connected with thoughts and feelings I had after my retreat in Hong Kong some months ago.

On the bus trip to the airport, I met a Filipino lady who had also attended the retreat and so we sat together for the long ride. Much of what we talked about had faded but I was left with a curious interest about the Order of Interbeing (OI).

In looking into the topic of sangha building some days ago with the community present, I chanced on a casual conversation about how aspirants join the OI, and listened. The topics seemed to 'click' for me: sangha building and OI.

While sending the monastics home, there was no specific theme in the conversations and yet another monastic spoke of his hopes to see aspirants from Singapore so that by next year these aspirants could attend the retreat and become OI members.

These events somehow spoke to me. The contributing factors occurred much earlier in life. One might call it a divine culmination of factors, some might call it a calling.

Community Building

This is a summary cum reflection after a gathering today with my community of practice in mindful living.

"The Sangha is the community that lives in harmony and awareness"

This is a profound definition, because it put many concepts in a different perspective for me. 

Firstly that the community is a living community, in that it needs to be supported with material resources in order to continue. Sometimes we shy away from asking for such resources and that might lead to the community withering away.

A community is like a body made up of different organ systems which can be further broken down to cell level. Each individual cell knows its task and yet works well with other cells, such that they specialize in some form, for example, in a liver or heart. Other systems such as the autonomic nervous system keeps everything running. The body only lives well when all parts work together and each part is healthy.

Secondly, that harmony is only one wing that needs the other wing of awareness in order to carry the sangha towards a common direction. When there is only harmony, the community may grow towards an unhealthy state of being. Without awareness within the sangha, the harmony can also quickly weaken.

When one or a few persons are faced with problems of the sangha, they may choose to manage it on their own. In the long run, they may feel burdened and burned out. When such problems are shared and made aware to the sangha, the problem comes to its proper place for the sangha to examine. There is then wonderful opportunity for the sangha body to grow by experiencing big and small adversities together. The sangha needs the mud in order to bloom like a lotus.

Perhaps the essential element that unites the sangha body is practice, akin to the autonomic nervous system lying beneath consciousness that controls critical functions such as breathing. Without regular practice together how would harmony and awareness be present.

Conversely if some chose not to share the same practices, then it becomes difficult for them to remain as part of the sangha body. And if we decided to share the same practices, then we can and should make use of the richness of these practices to benefit ourselves and others.

"Dwelling in the refuge of the Sangha, shining light that supports me, keeping my practice free of obstruction."

"Taking refuge in the Sangha in myself, I aspire to help all people build fourfold communities, to embrace all beings and support their transformation."

What the Buddha Taught

FOR FORTY-FIVE years, the Buddha said, over and over again, "I teach only suffering and the transformation of suffering." When we recognize and acknowledge our own suffering, the Buddha -- which means the Buddha in us -- will look at it, discover what has brought it about, and prescribe a course of action that can transform it into peace, joy, and liberation. Suffering is the means the Buddha used to liberate himself, and it is also the means by which we can become free.

-- Thich Nhat Hanh