Catholic Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, learned how to close a door mindfully from Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Here's the story.
One day when he was a novice monk, Thich Nhat Hanh was asked by his teacher to get an item for him. Out of great respect for his instructor, Nhat Hanh rushed out to do it but in his excitement at assisting his teacher, he mindlessly opened and closed the door. Actually, it slammed shut, loudly. His teacher called Nhat Hanh back: Please go out and close the door again, but this time, do better than you did before.” Nhat Hanh says that hearing this from the teacher made him realize his practice was lacking in mindfulness.”So, I bowed to my teacher and walked to the door with all of my being, every step with mindfulness. I went out and very mindfully, closed the door after me. My teacher did not have to tell me a second time. Now every time I open and close a door, I do so with mindfulness, remembering my teacher.” he says. Years later when he was in the United States, Nhat Hanh visited with Trappist monk Thomas Merton and related that incident to him. Rev. Merton responded: “I noticed that without you telling me. I have seen the way you close the door.” A month later when Merton was teaching monastery monks, he told them Nhat Hanh’s story gently reminding Catholic monks how to mindfully open and close a door. Whenever we experience a big setback, an embarrassing failure or deep disappointment two things happen. Confidence drops and fear rises. Rather than remain in that low state, the best course is in making a conscious effort to increase resilience and optimism. To do that speak this way to yourself: I can grow through this. I view this as a learning moment rather than a failure. I can get through this. I will not allow this to hold me back.
Using statements such as these are clear and strong indications that you are rising above the setback, failure and disappointment. In fact, you’ve already won the struggle. When I teach a friend how to practice meditation, I don’t call myself ‘teacher’ and my friend ‘student’. There is no transmitter and no receiver. We are one and the same. Together, we help each other. - Thich Nhat Hanh
What is called the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path begins with right view or right perspective. This is not simply having a correct view about life but about yourself as well. Buddhist teacher Robert Aitken explains it succinctly this way:
“You are probably all too aware of your faults and weaknesses. You get angry and your are lazy. But really, faults and weaknesses are just pejorative words for qualities of character. You have faults as the earth has faults – lines along which you expand and contract.” So ease up on yourself. Apply less judgment and more compassion toward yourself. Teaching is not done by talking alone.
It is done by how you live your life. My life is my teaching. My life is my message. - Thich Nhat Hanh As far as practice goes, you are not your neighbor. What works for her might not work for you. What works for you now may not work for you the next year. Keep it open. Robert Aitken
Several decades ago, Thai monk Ajahn Suwat was teaching a ten-day retreat at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, MA. Though an experienced meditation instructor, it was the first time he’d taught Westerners. After several days, Ajahn Suwat asked his translator:
“Why do the students seem so unhappy? They’re meditating. They’re here. But they seem so grim and not at all like they’re enjoying themselves.” After thinking about it, his translator responded: “They know how to meditate, but not how to practice dana (generosity).” Insightfully, the translator saw a direct link between the lack of happiness and the lack of generosity. Commenting on that incident, writer Ajan Pasanno adds: “One of the doorways out of suffering is generosity. It’s important to realize that dana is not just about material giving. It also involves service and keeping one’s eyes open for what needs to be done. How can I help? Who is in need of assistance? In order to feel comfortable helping others, we have to leap over the hurdle of self, of me and mine. Acts of service invite us to step out of the conditioned boundaries that we set up for our imaginary selves.” Bhante Gunartana, author and spiritual director of the Bhavana Society Monastery in High View, West Virginia. During a recent interview he was asked: “You spend every January and February in solitary retreat. What is that like and what are your days like?”
His answer is both inspiring and instructive: “During my annual seclusion period, I meditate at least two hours in the morning after I wake up. Then, after breakfast, I do a walking meditation in the meditation hall. Then, after lunch, again I walk outside for one-and-a-half hours. Then, I meditate for two to two-and-a-half hours until 5 or 5:30 p.m., when I take my evening medicine with my evening drink. After that, I meditate until I go to bed. Altogether, I’m meditating for six to seven hours, including sitting and walking meditation. Even when I’m in bed, I’m meditating until the moment I fall asleep.” Here's the way to apply his experience: can you spend a weekend following his pattern? Could you take a weekday off and follow his meditation pattern? Compassion is not expressed by “feeling the pain of others,” but rather by acting wisely to reduce their suffering. - Tashi Nyima
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Victor M. Parachin ...is aVedic educator, yoga instructor, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of a dozen books. Buy his books at amazon or your local bookstore. Archives
May 2024
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