THICH NHAT HANH ON MINDFULNESS

'Taking even one step in mindfulness can benefit all beings on Earth.'

- Thich Nhat Hanh.

This is one of my shortest blogs ... phew! I am about to leave for Tokyo, but I wanted to leave you with these wonderful words. They are written by that ever-so-inspiring Vietnamese Buddhist teacher, writer and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh who often reminds his listeners and readers that to live mindfully is 'to keep our appointment with life' which is available only in the present moment:

‘A person who practises mindfulness can see things in a tangerine that others are unable to see. An aware person can see the tangerine tree, the tangerine blossoms in the spring, the sunlight and rain which nourished the tangerine. Looking deeply one can see the ten thousand things which have made the tangerine possible … and how all these things interact with each other.’

Yes, mindfulness enables us to ‘touch’, indeed penetrate, the core of reality – the very livingness of life itself – and, in so doing, we come to appreciate not just the innate beauty but also the interconnectedness of all living things ... something Hanh refers to as 'InterBeing.'

Hanh writes that we are 'mindful' when we are 'deeply in touch with the present moment'. It is only then that 'our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love' ... which is a very good starting-point and foundation for, what for most of us is, the ultimate goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all.

See you in a couple of weeks.

Yours, in Gassho

IEJ