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Don't Wander - Living Mindfully is Repaying the Teacher
At each Offering to the Hungry Ghosts ceremony on Saturday afternoon, the food and drink placed on the altar are not only to nourish the bodies of the hungry ghosts, but also to share love, understanding, and especially faith. When making the offering, we must contemplate whether the seed of the hungry ghost (feelings of hurt, resentment, the energy of wanting to wander…) still exists within us, because if our hearts are still full of resentment, we cannot help to ease anyone’s suffering. Offering to the hungry ghosts is also an opportunity to look directly into the hell of our own craving, to recognize and take care of those seeds, transforming them into a source of peaceful life.
Practicing “I have arrived, I am home” or “dwelling happily in the present moment” is the path to return to the Pure Land right in this very moment. All it takes is:
- one mindful breath
-
one mindful step
and we can touch our true home without having to chase after the five desires: - wealth
- sensual pleasure
- fame
- food
-
sleep
Most people wander in search of happiness outside themselves, but only when we dwell peacefully in the present moment, with a calm mind, can we realize the Pure Land, experience that “all is created by mind,” and bring peace and happiness to ourselves and to the community.