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As a practitioner we should be able to generate a feeling of joy and to learn how to generate a feeling of joy anytime we want to. As a practitioner we should be able to generate a feeling of happiness when we want to. We learned that from the Buddha. He gave us very clear instructions as to how to do that; to generate a feeling of joy, to generate a feeling of happiness.
As a practitioner we should also be able to handle a painful feeling or a painful emotion. We know how to recognize it, to embrace it tenderly, and finally to transform it. And the Buddha also gave us instructions as to how to handle a painful feeling or a painful emotion; how to bring relief; how to transform the pain inside of us; and then help the other person to do the same.
As a good practitioner we should be able to listen with compassion to the suffering inside of us and the suffering inside of the other person. We should be able to use the kind of speech that is called, Loving Speech, and the practice of Compassionate Listening in order to restore communication and bring about reconciliation.
A retreat of five days is enough time for us to learn these things. We have the time to go home to ourselves and recognize the good things in us, and learn how to allow them to grow. We also have the time to recognize the negative things in us and learn how to embrace it and to help it to transform. Five days is a lot.
During this retreat we shall practice sitting together, breathing together, listening to the bell together. We will also practice walking mindfully together. We shall do a lot of walking from outdoors to the meditation hall, from the meditation hall to the dining hall and our practice here is to enjoy every step. And everyone of us whether we are monastic or lay practitioner we do the same.
We are determined to walk in such a way that each step can generate the energy of solidity and freedom, and peace and joy. We have to master the practice of mindful walking. We arrive with every step in the here and the now, so that we can get in touch with the wonders of life that are all around us and inside of us. We need some training, and we can rely on the collective energy of the sangha in order to do that.
This Flower Belongs to God’s Kingdom
Look at this flower. This is a wonder of life. This is a manifestation; a wonderful manifestation. To me, this flower belongs to the Kingdom of God or to the Pure Land of the Buddha. Just think about it. If this beautiful flower, if this wonder does not belong to the Kingdom of God what should it belong to?
And with mindfulness and concentration we can touch the flower in depth and while doing so touch the Kingdom of God, the Pure Land. According to this teaching and this practice, the Pure Land is now or never; the Kingdom of God is now or never.
The Kingdom of God or the Pure Land is not an idea; it is a reality.
And you yourself, with your body - you belong to the Kingdom, you belong to the Pure Land. You are a wonder also; your eyes, your ears, your nose, your tongue, your body, your mind - all are wonders. And you belong to the Kingdom.
We should not allow the energy of fear, anger, violence and separation to overwhelm us and not allow us to get in touch with the Pure Land of the Buddha, or the Kingdom of God that is available in the here and the now.
The Kingdom of God is Available 24 Hours a Day...
To me, this beautiful planet is the Kingdom, is the Pure Land. We should not look for the Kingdom elsewhere, we should not look for the Pure Land elsewhere. It is right here and right now and we belong to the Kingdom. This planet is not small, and many stars have made their contributions. We are a product of stars.
And the practice allows us to go home to the here and the now so that we may have a chance to touch the wonders of life that belong to the Kingdom, or the Pure Land of the Buddha. And walking meditation is a wonderful way to get in touch with the Kingdom of God.
There’s a French writer, André Gide has said that, “God is happiness.” I like that kind of definition. Many other people have said that God is love, or eternal life. But André Gide said God is happiness. And he also said that, “God is available 24 hours a day.”
Happiness is possible if you know how to touch God, to touch the Buddha, to touch the Kingdom of God, to touch the Pure Land of the Buddha. And I want to add one sentence, “If God is available 24 hours a day, His Kingdom is available 24 hours a day.” And it is possible with mindfulness and concentration to get in touch with the Kingdom. If we know how to do walking meditation, one single step is enough for us to enter the Kingdom.
You don’t need to die in order to the Kingdom. In fact, if you wait until you die - it may be too late.
The Kingdom is available in the here and the now, and if you can bring your attention to your in-breath and out-breath, breathe in mindfully, breath out mindfully and make a mindful step you enter the Kingdom right away.
The purpose of walking meditation is to enjoy walking in the Kingdom of God. It depends on your way of walking if the place that you walk is Hell, or the Kingdom. It depends. Everything depends on you.
And the Buddha proposed many kinds of exercises so that you can bring your mind back to your body, and become fully present in the here and the now with freedom. Freedom from anger, despair, hate, from worries. Without that kind of freedom we cannot touch the Kingdom. And the energy that helps us to become free from the past, from the future, from these worries and fears can be generated by our practice - namely the energy of mindfulness, of concentration. And everyone of us is capable being mindful and of being concentrated.
Drinking My Tea Mindfully
When I drink my tea, I might like to choose to drink it mindfully because that is my practice, my joy. When I drink my tea I do not think of anything. I focus on the tea - on the fact that I enjoy drinking some tea. I do not get lost in my thinking about the past, about the future, about my projects. I allow myself to be available in the here and the now. And if I am truly in the here and the now, something else will also be in the here and the now; and that is Life, that is the wonders of Life. In this case, my tea. I am Real, and the tea is Real. And I enjoy drinking my tea. I belong to the Kingdom of God, the tea also. And happiness is possible.
That practice is called “mindfulness of drinking” and everyone of us is capable of drinking his or her tea or a glass of water mindfully. When we walk, and if we are aware of every step that is called “mindfulness of walking”. When we breathe in and focus our attention on our in-breath and do not think of anything else, that is “mindfulness of breathing.”
Mindfulness is always mindfulness “of” something, or “in” something.
And the Buddhist practitioner lives his or her life in such a way that every moment of their daily life can be a mindful moment. In that moment, the practitioner is truly there - body and mind united - fully present in the here and now and he is ready to get in touch with the wonders of life inside of him, and around him.
On Mindful Walking...
Walking can be slow or normal. Suppose you have five minutes alone, you might like to try slow walking - alone. You can walk as slowly as you want. You may like to take one in-breath and just take one step. You are fully aware of your in-breath and you are aware of the step you take. And you may like to say, “I have arrived.”
“I have arrived” means I have arrived in the here and the now. Because I know that life is available only in the here and the now. And I can get in touch with the wonders of life only in the here and the now.
The Buddha also said that the past is already gone, and the future is not yet there. There is only one moment when you can truly live your life - that is the present moment. So every step, every breath can bring you home to the present moment, to the here and the now - so that you can truly life your life.
So when I make a step and say, “I have arrived,” it means that I concentrate fully on that step and the step brings me home to the here and the now. And if my mindfulness and concentration is powerful enough, I can arrive 100% in the here and the now. Dear friends, if you feel that you have not arrived 100% in the here and the now, don’t make another step - stay there! Surrender yourself! Bring in and out again until you arrive, 100%.
Many of us have the habit of running all our lives. We are not comfortable in the here and the now. We believe that happiness is impossible in the here and the now. That is why we tend to run into the future and to look for some more conditions of happiness. That’s why we always sacrifice the present for the sake of the future.
But in this teaching and practice, when you go home to the here and the now, with mindfulness you can recognize that you already have more than enough conditions to be happy - right here and right now. More than enough conditions to be happy. We don’t need to run into the future. And that kind of Insight helps you to stop completely in the here and the now and enjoy yourself, enjoy life, enjoy the wonders of life that are available in the here and the now. And that is what it means by, “I have arrived.” It means I am not running anymore. I have run all my life. It’s time for me to stop, and live my life properly.
“I have arrived,” is not a declaration. It is a realization. And if you are mindful enough, concentrated enough, you arrive with one step in the here and the now and you touch the Kingdom, you touch the Pure Land.
I recommend to my friends not looking for the Kingdom of God or the Pure Land in the future. It is right here, right now.
“I have arrived.”
And when you feel that you have truly arrived 100%, then you smile - a smile of victory! And you make another step, and you say, “I am home. I am comfortable in the here and the now. It is my true home. I have arrived. I am home.” And walking like that can be very nourishing, and very healing. There are those of us who just practice walking and heal ourselves.
Each step like that helps cultivate solidity, and freedom. True happiness is not possible without solidity, stability and freedom. And cultivating solidity is important. You are solid because you are well established in the here and the now. You are not being pulled away by the past or by the future. You do not allow regret and sorrow to pull you back to the past. Many of us live in the prison of the past, and do not have the capacity of “being there” in the present moment.
One step is enough to liberate us from the prison of the past, for us to be settled in the present moment.
Many of us are so afraid of the future. We have uncertainty, anxiety, and fear about the future. And that fear and anxiety does not allow us to be comfortable in the present moment. So the future is pulling us away from the here and the now.
To be solid means that you are well established in the here and the now - you are not being pulled either by the past or by the future. And that is what we call solidity. Every step should help us cultivate more solidity, and freedom also. There is no real happiness without freedom, and freedom here means freedom from the worries, the fear concerning the future. Freedom from the regret, the sorrow concerning the past. Freedom from fear, anger. Without that freedom we cannot enjoy the wonders of life in the here and the now.
Suppose we are standing in a group contemplating a beautiful sunset. It is so beautiful - the sunset. But if you allow yourself to be pulled away by the past, by the future, by your anger, by your fear the beautiful sunset is not for you. While other people are enjoying there you are standing there but you are not enjoying the sunset because you are not free. So your in-breath taken mindfully, your step taken mindfully helps you to be free, and the beautiful sunset is for you.
More On Walking Meditation...
When we walk as a group, and if we walk that slow we will create a traffic jam so we have to walk normally. Therefore, I propose that breathing in you take two or three steps, “I have arrived, arrived, arrived. I have arrived, arrived, arrived.” And when you breathe out you may like to take four or five steps because the out-breath is naturally longer than the in-breath. You might begin with two steps for your in-breath, “I have arrived, I have arrived”.. But when you breathe out let’s try three, “I am home, I am home, I am home,” and you enjoy.
You do not force yourself to do walking meditation. You should not suffer during walking meditation. If I suffer during walking meditation, I know that my practice is not correct. Each step should be nourishing and healing. Each step should be giving me more solidity, more freedom and more joy. And you do not need another teacher or a Buddha to tell you that your practice is correct or not. You feel wonderful, joyful, happiness, light, free - this means that your practice is correct.
The same thing is true with your in-breath and out-breath. If you suffer while you breathe in you know that is not good practice. We should be able to enjoy your in-breath. We should be able to enjoy our out-breath. We are supported by the collective energy of the sangha, everyone is enjoying their in-breath, and out-breath, and their steps. And when 800 people walk together like that with every step solid and free, we generate a very powerful collective energy that will penetrate everyone for our transformation and healing. Practicing in sangha has that kind of advantage.
We can contribute. Everyone of us can contribute to the success of the retreat by our way of walking and breathing, because everyone in the retreat will be nourished and healed by the collective energy. And each of us can contribute our energy of mindfulness and concentration so that the collective energy will be powerful enough to help heal everyone of us.
So let us learn, and train ourself to walk in that way. Let us walk only in the Kingdom of God, not elsewhere. There is no day when I do not enjoy walking in the Kingdom of God or the Pure Land of the Buddha whether I walk at the airport, the railway station, or in the cities I always walk like that. Let us walk like a free person - like a Buddha.
Mindfulness Practices During the Retreat
So tomorrow, when we walk from our dorm to the meditation hall let us enjoy every step. We should give ourselves enough time so that we can enjoy every step. We don’t need to arrive at the meditation hall to practice meditation. In fact, when you brush your teeth you can start your meditation right away. Brush our teeth mindfully, and make it a joyful moment; mindful tooth brushing. I always enjoy brushing my teeth. I see that at this age I still have some teeth to brush - that’s wonderful.
So using the restroom, the toilet, you can do it mindfully. Imagine that you need a restroom and there is no restroom around - but here there is a restroom. So just that helps you to enjoy. We can enjoy every moment. And meditation can take place at every moment; when you take your shower, when you put on your shirt, when you comb your hair. Every moment can be a mindful movement, and you are always in meditation.
After meditation or the dharma talk, when we go home to our dorm or to the dining hall we also enjoy every step. Let us contribute to the collective energy by our own practice. You are very kind to support us in the retreat.
“I have arrived, I am home. In the here, in the now. In the here, in the now, now, now.” These words are not thinking. They just help us focus our attention so that we can remain in the here and the now. In the beginning you may like to begin with the written two, three; two steps for your in-breath and three steps for your out-breath, but later on your lungs will tell you they want three steps for your in-breath and when you make three steps for your in-breath it’s normal to make five steps for our out-breath. Two-three; or three-five; or four-six; or five-eight.
There may come a time when we might make eight or nine steps for our in-breath and fifteen for our out-breath, that is possible. You can listen to your watch, and you can bring and count. You may like to begin with three seconds of breathing in and five seconds of breathing out; three-five, three-five. And you notice later on that you would like to make four for your in-breath and six for your out-breath. And there will be a time when your in-breath will last ten seconds, and your out-breath will last fifteen. It can arrive like that.
We never want to force, but we breathe in such a way we feel the pleasure of breathing. If your in-breath is short, allow it to be short. If it is long, allow it to be long. What is important is to be aware of it. To be it. To be with it. And remember please, that it’s not hard labor to breathe in and out, or to walk. In fact, it’s very pleasant. It is very enjoyable to breathe mindfully, to feel alive and to enjoy every step that we take.
The Practice of Noble Silence
During the retreat we have the opportunity to sit in groups in order to share our experience our understanding and our experience of practice. We are encouraged to share. But there are moments when we have to observe silence. That will be very helpful. Because we need silence in order to go deep into our practice. We need silence in order to support the practice of other practitioners. So noble silence is what we should observe that will help the quality of the practice.
Mindfulness of Serving and Eating
And at breakfast time, or lunch time we also practice mindfulness of serving and eating. We use the time in order to enjoy our in-breath and out-breath even if we are standing in line. We enjoy in-breath and out-breath and observe our body, our feelings and our surroundings. Every moment can be a moment of practice, and can be a joyful moment.
Let us learn to eat mindfully and joyfully. As a novice, I had to learn many short poems and practice during lunch. When you take the plate instead of thinking of this or that you just breath in, and you recite a short gatha, “this plate in my hand is empty now, but in no time at all it will be filled with good food.” And that poem helps us to recognize that there are hungry children and hungry people a little bit everywhere in the world, and if we can touch that reality compassion will arise in us.
Without compassion, happiness is impossible. And when we serve instead of thinking of this or that we focus our attention on our food that we serve. Where has it come from? Is this healthy food or not? Eating mindfully can help preserve our planet.
And after the Five Contemplations, we can share our meal together. When you pick up a piece of vegetable, like a piece of potato or carrot take half a second or one second to look at it and to see it as a wonder of life also. It has been sent to you to nourish you. It’s like an ambassador coming to you from the cosmos; recognize it as a wonder - that piece of carrot, or potato or string beans. Half a second is enough for that kind of recognition because mindfulness is the energy that helps us to recognize what is there, what is happening in the here and the now - that’s called mindfulness. And you put it in your mouth and begin to chew mindfully. Be sure not to chew your projects, your anger, your fear - just chew your carrot and get in touch with the wonders of the cosmos.
Eat in such a way that joy, brotherhood and freedom is possible during the whole time you are eating; freedom from anger, from fear, from the past, from the future. Because we are nourished by our brotherhood, sisterhood. And we get a nourishment not only from the food, but from the sangha, from the joy of practicing with the sangha. So eating is also a deep practice and let us practice mindful eating. The Buddha in his time always ate like that with his disciples.
Mindfulness Bell
Every time we hear the bell we do like other people around us - stop thinking, stop talking and focus our attention on our in-breath and enjoy breathing in and become awake, become a Buddha because a Buddha is someone who is mindful.
We part time are awake, are mindful. We are part time Buddha’s only so we train, so that we can be a full time Buddha. Every step, every breath, every movement should be in mindfulness and that brings more happiness, transformation and healing.
I know that it has been a long day and you need to rest so please rest well and we shall see each other in the morning for sitting meditation.
