"No mud, No Lotus"

Thich Naht Hahn has four words "No mud - No lotus" for his teaching on suffering. Thay explains:“It’s like growing lotus flowers. You cannot grow lotus flowers on marble. You have to grow them on the mud. Without mud, you cannot have a lotus flower. Without suffering, you have no ways in order to learn how to be understanding and compassionate.... Happiness is the lotus flower, and the suffering is the mud. So the practice is how to make use of the suffering, make use of the mud, to create the flower, the happiness, and this is something possible."- Thich Nhat Hanh

BREATHE

Breathe and you know…that you are alive.
Breathe and you know…that all is helping you.
Breathe and you know…that you are the world.
Breathe and you know…that the flower is breathing too.
Breathe for yourself…and you breathe for the world.
Breathe in compassion…and breathe out joy.
Breathe and be one…with the air that you breathe.
Breathe and be one…with the earth that you tread.
Breathe and be one …with the fire that glows.
Breathe and you breathe…the thought of birth and death.
Breathe and you see…impermanence is life.
Breathe for your joy...and to be steady and calm.
Breathe for your sorrow…to flow away.
Breathe to renew…every cell in your blood.
Breathe to renew…the depth of consciousness.
Breathe and you dwell…in the here and now.
Breathe and all you touch…is new and real.

- Thich Nhat Hanh

REFUGE PRAYER

At the foot of the Bodhi Tree,
Beautifully seated, peaceful and smiling,
The living source of understanding and compassion,
To the Buddha I go for refuge.
The path of mindful living,
Leading to healing, joy, and enlightenment,
The way of peace,
To the Dharma I go for refuge.
The loving and supportive community of practice,
Realizing harmoney, awareness and liberation,
To the Sangha I go for refuge.
I am aware that the Three Gems are within my heart.
I vow to realize them.
I vow to practice mindful breathing and smiling,
Looking deeply into things.
I vow to understand living beings and their suffering,
To cultivate compassion and loving kindness,
And to practice joy and equanimity.
I vow to offer joy to one person in the morning
And to help relieve the grief of one person in the afternoon.
I vow to live simply and sanely,
Content with just a few possessions,
And to keep my body healthy.
I vow to let go of all worry and anxiety
In order to be light and free.
I am aware that I owe so much to my parents, teachers, friends and all beings.
I vow to be worthy of their trust,
To practice wholeheartedly,
So that understanding and compassion will flower,
And I can help living beings
Be free of their suffering.
May the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha support my efforts..

-- Thich Nhat Hanh --

THE THREE JEWELS

I take refuge in the Buddha,
The one who shows me the way in this life.

I take refuge in the Dharma,
The way of understanding and love.

I take refuge in the Sangha,
The community that lives in harmony and awareness.

- Thich Nhat Hanh -

 

TWENTY-FOUR BRAND NEW HOURS

Waking up this morning, I see the blue sky.
I join my hands in thanks for the many wonders of life;
For having twenty-four brand new hours before me.
The sun is rising.
The forest becomes my awareness bathed in sunshine.
I walk across a field of sunflowers.
Tens of thousands of flowers are turned toward the bright east.
My awareness is like the sun.
My hands are sowing seeds for the next harvest.
My ear is filled with the sound of the rising tide.
In the magnificent sky, clouds are approaching with joy from many directions.
I can see the fragrant lotus ponds of my homeland.
I can see coconut trees along the rivers.
I can see rice fields stretching, stretching, laughing at the sun and rain.
Mother Earth gives us coriander, basil, celery and mint.
Tomorrow the hills and mountains of the country will be green again.
Tomorrow the buds of life will spring up quickly.
-- Thich Nhat Hanh --

Once upon a time there was a… beautiful river meandering through the hills, forests, and meadows. She started being a joyful stream of water, a spring always dancing and singing as she ran down from the top of the mountain. She was very young at the time, and as she came to the lowland she slowed down. She was thinking about going to the ocean. As she grew up, she learned to look beautiful, winding gracefully among the hills and meadows. One day she noticed the clouds within herself. Clouds of all sorts of colors and forms. She did nothing during these days but chase after clouds. She wanted to possess a cloud, to have one for herself. But clouds float and travel in the sky, and they are always changing their form. Sometimes they look like an overcoat, sometimes like a horse. Because of the nature of impermanence within the clouds, the river suffered very much. Her pleasure, her joy had become just chasing after clouds, one after another, but despair, anger,and hatred became her life. Then one day a strong wind came and blew away all the clouds in the sky. The sky became completely empty. Our river thought that life was not worth living, for there were no longer any clouds to chase after. She wanted to die. “If there are no clouds, why should I be alive?” But how can a river take her own life? That night the river had the opportunity to go back to herself for the first time. She had been running for so long after something outside of herself that she had never seen herself. That night was the first opportunity for her to hear her own crying, the sounds of water crashing against the banks of the river. Because she was able to listen to her own voice, she discovered something quite important. She realized that what she had been looking for was already in herself. She found out that clouds are nothing but water. Clouds are born from water and will return to water. And she found out she herself was also water. The next morning when the sun was in the sky, she discovered something beautiful. She saw the blue sky for the first time. She had never noticed it before. She had only been interested in clouds, and she had missed seeing the sky, which is the home of all the clouds. Clouds are impermanent, but the sky is stable. She realized that the immense sky had been within her heart since the very beginning. This great insight brought her peace and happiness. As she saw the vast wonderful blue sky, she knew that her peace and stability would never be lost again. That afternoon the clouds returned, but this time she did not want to possess any of them. She could see the beauty of each cloud, and she was able to welcome all of them. When a cloud came by, she would greet him or her with loving-kindness. When the cloud wanted to go away, she would wave to him or her happily and with loving kindness. She realized that all clouds are her. She didn’t have to choose between the clouds and herself. Peace and harmony existed between her and the clouds. That evening something wonderful happened. When she opened her heart completely to the evening sky she received the image of the full moon – beautiful, round, like a jewel within herself. She had never imagined that she could receive such a beautiful image.

There is a very beautiful poem in Chinese: “The fresh and beautiful moon is travelling in the utmost empty sky. When the mind-rivers of living beings are free, that image of the beautiful moon will reflect in each of us.” This was the mind of the river at that moment. She received the image of that beautiful moon within her heart, and water, clouds, and moon took each other’s hands and practiced walking meditation slowly, slowly to the ocean. There is nothing to chase after. We can go back to ourselves, enjoy our breathing, our smiling, ourselves, and our beautiful environment. -A Poem by Thich Nhat Hanh

Soul fever

All this while I sustained my body and mind,

Peace I was yet to find.
then one day chanced upon
A TV program early morn

Startled and awed

Truth dawned

The body like our clothes cover the soul

Our lives dont end it just changes role

Isn't it strange how we evolve

from naught

to what

Learning it all ......

Searching and learning along the way,

When realization dawns .... thats the day!!!