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Cultivating Peace - Hong Kong
Mindful breathing brings us fully into the here and now. Breathing in, I know this is my in-breath. Breathing out, I know this is my out-breath. In ten seconds of practice—bell sound, mindful tea drinking, or three steps of mindful walking (“I have arrived… I am home”)—we return our scattered mind to our body, touch life deeply, and discover the “energy of mindfulness” that makes our breath deeper, calmer, and imbued with peace. Freed from regrets about the past and fears of the future, we can live in the Pure Land of the Buddha now, enjoying every blue sky, every child’s face, every moment as a miracle.
Mindfulness has two main functions:
- To awaken us to life’s nourishing wonders—every breath, every step, every cup of tea becomes an act of enlightenment.
- To recognize and transform our suffering. By stopping the habit of running, we learn to recognize “habit energies” (anger, fear, craving) and embrace them tenderly—like a mother holding her crying child—so they lose their power. Looking deeply into the roots of our pain (the second Noble Truth) reveals the path of transformation (the Fourth Noble Truth), enabling us to cut off the “food” that fuels suffering.
The Buddha’s concrete methods include:
• Śamatha (calming, stopping) and vipaśyanā (looking deeply) to restore harmony in body, feelings, perceptions, and consciousness.
• Mindful body contemplation: scanning thirty-six parts of the body with the “beam” of mindfulness to release tension and heal.
• Mindful consumption of the four kinds of “food”—edible food, sense impressions, volition, and dharma—to preserve peace in ourselves and our world.
All practice—breathing, walking, chopping wood, carrying water—becomes the living expression of awakening. Every moment is both practice and realization of the Dharma.
