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Be still and know
The human body in the lotus position is “one of the most beautiful positions,” offering solidity and ease. In Plum Village we practice a weekly Lazy Day—a “day in” without schedule—to reclaim our capacity to be truly lazy and rest, since our workaholic habits make idleness unbearable. Love is not best expressed through money but through our presence, freshness, peace and freedom, which we can cultivate by pebble meditation with four pebbles:
- freshness (a flower): “Breathing in, I see myself as a flower… Breathing out, I feel fresh,” restoring our “flowerness” to offer to those we love
- solidity (a mountain): “Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain,” to cultivate stability, handle emotions and become a refuge
- still water: “Breathing in, I see myself as still water… Breathing out, I reflect things as they are,” for peace, clear perception and wisdom
- freedom (spaciousness): “Breathing in… spaciousness,” so we can give space and freedom to ourselves and others
Our body and mind “inter-are”—like water and wave—and Buddhist teaching names eight consciousnesses: six sense consciousnesses (eye, nose, tongue, ear, body, mind), the seventh (manas) which seeks pleasure and runs from suffering, and the eighth (store consciousness, Ālaya-vijñāna) that functions even without mind and holds seeds (bīja) of mindfulness, concentration and insight. Mindfulness practice integrates mind consciousness into every action—breathing, walking, washing, cooking, driving—to transform manas’s craving and ignorance into insight, compassion and liberation.
