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The Holy Spirit and the Energy of Mindfulness
"The Holy Spirit is the kind of energy that is capable of being there, of understanding, of accepting, of loving, and of healing. If you agree that the Holy Spirit has the power to be present, to understand, to heal, to love, if you agree about this, then you have to say it is the same thing as the energy of mindfulness. Where mindfulness is, there is true presence. Where mindfulness is, there is the capacity to understand. You have the capacity to accept, to become compassionate, to love, and therefore to touch the energy of mindfulness so that it may become manifest in you. The Buddha as a spiritual ancestor is manifest in you. You are able to allow the Holy Spirit to be in you, to guide you, to shine on you like a lamp. Jesus is then alive in you that very moment.
"It is possible to know the Buddha and at the same time know Jesus. There are people who have roots within both the Buddhist tradition and the Christian tradition. In my hermitage, I put a lot of Buddha statues on my altar, about ten or fifteen very small Buddhas one centimeter high and larger ones too. I also have a statue of Jesus as my ancestor. I have adopted Jesus Christ as one of my spiritual ancestors.
"During the Vietnam War I worked very hard in order to stop the killing. When I was in Europe and in North America I met with a number of Christians who really embodied the spirit of love, of understanding, of peace, of Jesus. Thanks to these people I have touched deeply Jesus as a spiritual teacher, a spiritual ancestor."
To Practice: Find a holy person from another religious tradition and give him or her a place of respect in your altar or in your heart.
Thich Nhat Hanh's hospitality to Jesus and Christianity.
Contemplation on Interdependence
Find a photo of yourself as a child. Sit in the full or half lotus. Begin to follow your breath. After 20 breaths, begin to focus your attention on the photo in front of you. Recreate and live again the five aggregates of which you were made up at the time the photo was taken: the physical characteristics of your body, your feelings, perceptions, mindful functionings, and consciousness at that age. Continue to follow your breath. Do not let your memories lure you away or overcome you. Maintain this meditation for 15 minutes. Maintain the half smile. Turn your mindfulness to your present self. Be conscious of your body, feelings, perceptions, mind functionings, and consciousness in the present moment. See the five aggregates which make up yourself. Ask the question, "Who am I?" The question should be deeply rooted in you, like a new seed nestled deep in the soft earth and damp with water. The question "Who am I?" should not be an abstract question to consider with your discursive intellect. The question "Who am I?" will not be confined to your intellect, but to the care of the whole of the five aggregates. Don't try to seek an intellectual answer. Contemplate for 10 minutes, maintaining light but deep breath to prevent being pulled away by philosophical reflection.
Counsel on contemplating our interdependence and connections.
Listening to Your Inner Child
Every one of us has a wounded child within who needs our care and love. But we run away from our inner child because we're afraid of the suffering. In addition to listening to others with compassion, we must also listen to the wounded child inside us. That little child needs our attention. Take time to go back and tenderly embrace the wounded child within you. You can talk to the child with the language of love. "Dear one, in the past, I left you alone. I've gone away from you for so long. I'm sorry. Now I have come back to take care of you, to embrace you. I know you suffer so much, and I have neglected you. But now I've learned the way to take care of you. I am here now." If we have to, we can cry with that child. Whenever we sit, we can spend time sitting and breathing with that child. "Breathing in, I go back to my wounded child; breathing out, I take good care of my wounded child." When we go for a walk, we can take the hand of our little child.
We should talk to our child several times a day for healing to take place. The little child has been left alone for a long time, so we need to begin this practice right away. Go back to your inner child every day and listen for five or ten minutes, and healing will take place.
Our wounded child is not only us; he or she may represent several generations of ancestors. Our parents and ancestors may have suffered all their lives without knowing how to look after the wounded child in themselves, so they transmitted that child to us. So when we're embracing the wounded child inside us, we're embracing all the wounded children of past generations. This practice doesn't just benefit us; it liberates numberless generations of ancestors and descendants. This practice can break the cycle.
Guidance on caring for and healing your inner child.
Mindful E-mailing and Calling
If you want to send an e-mail or call someone on the phone, you might want to recite the following verse to yourself before you begin to type or to dial the number:
Words can travel thousands of miles.
May my words create mutual understanding and love.
May they be as beautiful as gems,
as lovely as flowers.
A verse to help you cultivate mutual understanding in your communications.
Re-envisioning Garbage
In the garbage, I see a rose
In the rose, I see compost.
Everything is in transformation.
Impermanence is life.
A fresh view that transforms the things you discard.
Waking Up Practice
Waking up this morning, I smile.
Twenty-four new hours are before me.
I vow to live fully in each moment
and to look at beings with eyes of compassion.
A vow to live fully in each moment of the day.
Fostering Wholesome Speech
Practice renouncing a particular pattern of speech, such as the need to complain, express anger, repeat gossip, or indulge in memories. Start each day with a commitment to let go of of the impulse to use unwise speech. Try to make your speech unhurried, calm, and thoughtful, even in the face of provocation, so that in the renunciation of unhealthy speech, wholesome speech comes naturally.
Renouncing complaint, anger, gossip, or sentimentality.
Water Your Positive Seeds
Arrange things in your daily life so that you have time to water your positive seeds. Ask your loved ones to practice in the same way. Say, "Darling, if you really care for me, please water the good seeds in me every day. I am capable of loving, understanding, and forgiving and I need your help to practice these in my daily life. I promise to recognize the positive seeds in you, as well, and to do my best to water them every day." This is true love.
Asking for help to be loving.
Defusing Anger
There may be times when you are angry with someone, and you try everything you can to transform your anger, but nothing seems to work. In this case, the Buddha proposes that you give the other person a present. It sounds childish, but it is very effective. When we're angry with someone we want to hurt them. Giving them a present changes that into wanting to make them happy. So, when you are angry with someone send him a present. After you have sent it, you will stop being angry with him. It's very simple, and it always works.
Opening your heart through giving a gift.
Walking Meditation
Walking meditation is meditation while walking. We walk slowly, in a relaxed way, keeping a light smile on our lips. When we practice this way, we feel at ease, and our steps are those of the most secure person on Earth. All our sorrows drop away, and peace and joy fill our hearts. Anyone can do it. It only takes a little time, a little mindfulness, and the wish to be happy.
Letting our steps relax us and sorrows drop away.