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Breathing to Heal
This title has been reviewed for accuracy.
Generating Compassion Through an Understanding of Our Suffering
Thầy reminds us of the first eight exercises in mindful breathing. Mindful breathing brings us home to our body and to a state of freedom. Mindful walking brings us to the here and the now. We can only transform and heal if our mind and body are in the here and the now.
- The first exercise is to be aware of our in-breath and out-breath, and the second is to follow the in-breath and out-breath.
- The third exercise is about being aware of our body, and the fourth exercise is about releasing tension in the body.
- The fifth exercise of mindful breathing is to generate joy, and the sixth is to generate happiness. All the conditions of happiness are available in the here and the now.
- The seventh exercise of mindful breathing is to become aware of painful feelings, and the eighth exercise is to calm the painful feelings. We do this by embracing the pain like a mother tenderly embraces an ailing child. These two exercises comprise the art of handling suffering.
Our suffering may carry the suffering of our ancestors, and we must listen to the suffering within us to understand and transform it. Looking and listening deeply is the act of meditation. By understanding suffering—ours and that of others—we’re able to bring compassion to it. When we understand our own suffering, it’s easier to understand the suffering in others and heal it.
The practice of compassionate listening and loving speech can open the heart and allow reconciliation to take place. We must practice mindfulness of compassion to be able to truly listen to another person, especially someone who triggers us.
Thầy ends with three moving accounts of reconciliation accomplished using awareness of suffering, mindfulness of compassion, and loving speech.
This talk was offered during the Spring Retreat in the year 2014. Thầy offered this talk at the Lower Hamlet, Plum Village, France.