A close up of the last of the summerflower gardens.
A bit of wisdom from Thich Nhat Hanh's Touching Peace:
Our society produces millions of hungry ghosts, people of all ages -- I have seen some not yet ten years old -- who have no roots at all. They have never experienced happiness at home, and they have nothing to believe in or belong to. This is the main sickness of our time. With nothing to believe in, how can you survive? How can you find the energy to smile or to touch the linden tree or the beautiful sky? You are lost, and you live without a sense of responsibility...
Mindfulness is something we can believe in. It is our capacity to be aware of what is going on in the present moment. To believe in mindfulness is safe, and not at all abstract. When we drink a glass of water and know that we are drinking a glass of water, mindfulness is there. When we sit, walk, stand, or breathe, and know that we are sitting, walking, standing, or breathing, we touch the seed of mindfulness in us, and after a few days, our mindfulness will grow quite strong. Mindfulness is the kind of light that shows us the way. It is the living Buddha inside of each of us. Mindfulness gives birth to insight, awakening, compassion, and love.
Not only Buddhists, but also Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Marxists can accept that each of us has the capacity of being mindful, everyone has the seed of mindfulness in himself or herself. If we know how to water this seed, it will grow, and we will become alive again, capable of enjoying all the wonders of life...That is why if you ask me what I believe, I would say that I believe in mindfulness. Faith is the first of the five powers taught by the Buddha. The second is energy, the third mindfulness, the fourth concentration, and the fifth understanding. If you do not have faith, if you do not believe in anything, you are without energy...
It is not possible for us to throw away one thing and run after another. Whether our tradition is Christianity, Judaism, Islam, or something else, we have to study the ways of our ancestors and find the best elements in the tradition for ourselves and our children. We have to live in a way that allows the ancestors in us to be liberated.
2 comments:
I say to you in great awe and admiration~ good post. truth abounds.
peace and blessings.
And painfree braces ;-)
I like Thich Nhat Hanh a lot.
As to the last paragraph, I wonder what he would say to the many people who do not have a tradition running through the generations of their family.
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