Whenever animals in the forest are wounded, they rest
The wisdom of stopping and healing is still alive in animals, but we human beings have lost the capacity to rest.
Your breathing is a stable, solid ground where you can take refuge. No matter what thoughts, emotions, and perceptions are going on inside you, your breath is always there, like a faithful friend
We already have calmness in us; we just need to know how to make it manifest.
To meditate means to pay full attention to something. It doesn’t mean to run away from life. Instead it’s an opportunity to look deeply into ourselves and into the situation we’re in.
Meditation has two aspects. The first is stopping
We come home to the present moment where life is available
the practice of concentrating, so we can live deeply each moment of our life and touch the deepest level of our being.
If you can stop and establish yourself in the here and the now, you will see that there are many elements of happiness available in this moment, more than enough for you to be happy
When you walk in the garden, you may see that a tree is dying and so you feel sad
If you look again, you can see that the garden is still beautiful
LOOKING DEEPLY: THE SECOND ASPECT OF MEDITATION
To be mindful is to be truly present with your body and your mind, to harmonize your intentions and actions
Our mind is with our actions.
joy needs to be cultivated and practiced in order to grow
When we practice together as a community, our practice of mindfulness becomes more joyful, more relaxed, and steady
Mindfulness of breathing can help us relax and bring peace to our body. We take care of our body first. We can take care of our mind later.
You can’t heal your body if you don’t pay attention to it
When we hear the bell, we breathe in and we breathe out, and we take in that beautiful sound. That’s it. If we don’t have a bell, we can use another sound—a phone ringing, an airplane passing overhead, the chime of a clock, a timer on the computer, or the natural sounds around us.
Each of us has a physical body, as well as feelings, perceptions, thoughts, emotions, and a deep consciousness. These comprise our territory
Instead of surveying our territory, we escape and take refuge in some form of consumption
You might think that not doing anything is a waste of time. But that’s not true. Your time is first of all for you to be—to be alive, to be peace.
Mindfulness requires that we bring all our attention to whatever we’re doing
To be mindful is already to be awakened
If we want to reduce stress and tension, we need to be aware that we’ve been running a lot
True happiness should be found in the here and the now.
It’s important to be able to see the wonders of life around us and to recognize all the conditions for happiness that already exist
We don’t need to become overwhelmed by these unpleasant emotions.
if we distract ourselves with other things while walking, we can’t practice mindfulness; we can’t enjoy the present moment. We’re missing out on life
We have to relearn the art of resting. Even when we have a vacation, we don’t know how to make use of it
Letting go is a practice; it’s an art. One day, when you’re strong enough and determined enough, you’ll let go of the afflictions that make you suffer.
ideas are born from feelings, emotions, and past experiences, from things we’ve seen and heard
With the energy of mindfulness and concentration we can look deeply and discover the roots of the idea
insight can help us release the object in our mind.
Even in a busy marketplace, we can smile and breathe in peace, dwelling in the island of ourselves.
Real solitude means we’re not carried away by the crowd, by sorrows about the past, by worries about the future, or by strong emotions in the present. We don’t lose our stability and our peace
Our practice is to learn to take care of the present moment
Taking good care of the present moment, we may be able to change the negative things from the past and prepare for a good future
If there’s a painful feeling in us, we use mindfulness to embrace our feeling so that we can get relief
You have to train yourself, to learn how to go home to the present moment, to the here and now, and to take care of that moment, to take care of your body and your feelings in this moment
We don’t need to go to China to enjoy the blue sky. We don’t have to travel into the future to enjoy our breathing. We can be in touch with these things right now.
LETTING GO OF STRESS Stress accumulates in our body. The way we eat, drink, and live takes its toll on our well-being
When you have trouble sleeping, follow your breathing in and breathing out. Bring your awareness to the different parts of your body in turn, and allow them to relax.
Do not squander your life.” Our lives are made of days and hours, and each hour is precious
The sitting and the walking can be extended to the non-walking, non-sitting moments of our day. That is the basic principle of meditation
When we practice sitting or walking meditation, it’s easier to be mindful and concentrated
If you’re rested and relaxed, all living beings will profit from your relaxation and energy
Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is a wonderful moment
Smiling means that we are ourselves, that we have sovereignty over ourselves, that we are not drowned in forgetfulness
While I sit here, I don’t long to be somewhere else; I’m not pulled away by the future or by the past. I sit here, and I know where I am
We tend to be alive in the future, not now
The only moment to be alive is in the present moment.
We have to believe in our body’s capacity to heal itself
we practice mindful breathing and put our trust in the healing power within us. We call this the island within ourselves in which we can take refuge. It is an island of peace, confidence, solidity, love, and freedom
THE WAR INSIDE
We run away from ourselves and don’t attend to our body, feelings, or states of mind. We have to go home
An internal war facilitates other wars. We’re afraid of going home because we lack the tools or the means for self-protection
If you get caught in a storm, it’s important to stay calm and not panic
When you’re calm, truly your own island, you will know what to do and what not to do.
Mindfulness brings about concentration, and concentration brings about insight and wisdom
RELEASING TENSION
always start with mindfulness
We look deeply and see that, “Ah, I am tense because I’m carried away by my worry, anxiety, and plans.” Then we can make the determination not to be carried away like that.
He said that true happiness is a life with few desires, few possessions, and the time to enjoy the many wonders in us and around us
Desirelessness is the basic condition that makes possible the feelings of joy, peace, and ease that come with living a simple life. Simplicity means to have few desires, to be content with a simple life and just a few possessions. Desirelessness is the basis of true happiness, because in true happiness there must be the elements of peace, joy, and ease.
IDEAS OF HAPPINESS
In order to be happy, we need first of all to let go of our ideas of happiness. It’s difficult
Our idea of happiness is the main obstacle to happiness.
NO COWS TO LOSE
The Buddha turned to his monks and said, “Dear monks, you are very lucky. You don’t have any cows to lose.” A cow stands for something we need to let go of. Our idea of happiness is a cow
NAMING OUR COWS
Each one of us needs to sit down with a piece of paper and write down the names of all our cows
The truth is, if you let go of these cows, you will be lighter, and your happiness will be much greater. Let go so that happiness, joy, and peace can be possible
life is wondrous. If we only concentrate on breathing in and seeing that our body is a wonder, we can see that nothing else is really important. It’s only the peace in our body and in our mind that matters
OUR PEACE IS WHAT IS MOST PRECIOUS
FREEDOM IS A PRACTICE
If you want to be free, just concentrate on your in-breath and out-breath. Breathe in and out for three minutes, and in those three minutes you are free
When we’re anxious, worried, or angry, we can’t make good decisions. When we’re free, we make better decisions
DON’T BE TOO BUSY
Meditation shouldn’t be hard labor. The principle is to be ordinary, not to be too busy. We just live in a normal way. When we eat, we just eat; we don’t speak
COMPASSION FOR YOURSELF
so I won’t lose myself.
When we get angry, we have to produce awareness: “I am angry. Anger is in me. I am anger.” That is the first thing to do.
Breathing in, I feel my anger.
NO BLAMING
When you plant a tree, if it doesn’t grow well, you don’t blame the tree. You look into the reasons it isn’t doing well
We never blame the tree. Yet we’re quick to blame our child
Blaming has no good effect at all. Never blame, never try to persuade using reason and arguments; they never lead to any positive effect.
No argument, no reasoning, no blaming, just understanding
THE BREATH IS A BRIDGE
Our breath is like a bridge connecting body and mind. In our daily lives, our bodies may be in one place and our minds somewhere else, in the past, or in the future. This is called a state of distraction
When you begin to breathe in and out mindfully, your mind will come back to your body. You will be able to realize the oneness of body and mind and become fully present and fully alive in the here and the now
While you practice sitting, you enjoy sitting. While you practice breathing, you enjoy breathing
SETTLING DOWN
If you allow yourself to sit in a relaxed, peaceful way, it calms and settles your body and your mind
Our practice is to stop running, and to be aware that all the wonders of life are available in the here and now.
MEDITATIONS FOR RESTING AND RELAXING
INVITING THE BELL
When I want to invite the small bell, I hold it in the palm of my hand and I breathe in and out.
Body, speech, and mind in perfect oneness, I send my heart along with the sound of this bell. May all the hearers awaken from forgetfulness, and transcend the path of anxiety and sorrow.
LISTENING TO THE BELL
With the help of the bell, our mind is collected and brought back to the present moment. We stop our thinking and talking and come back to ourselves, breathing and relaxing
Your true home” means your own island, your solidity, peace, and joy. Listen, listen. This wonderful sound brings me back to my true home.
When we think too much, the quality of our being is reduced. Stopping the thinking, we increase the quality of our being. There’s more peace, relaxation, and rest.
EASING WORRY
” I always say that a smile
can be a kind of yoga practice, yoga of the mouth. You just smile, even if you don’t feel joy. And after you smile, you’ll see you feel differently. Sometimes the mind takes the initiative, and sometimes you have to allow the body to take the initiative.
COMPUTER MEDITATION
If you work on a computer, you might get so carried away by your work that you forget you have a body; you forget that you’re alive
So you may like to program your computer so that every quarter of an hour it offers the sound of the bell, enabling you to go back to yourself, to smile, and to breathe in and out before you continue working.
DEEP RELAXATION Deep relaxation is an opportunity for your body to rest, heal, and be restored