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Don't Be a Drop of Oil in Water
Happiness is available right in the present moment when we are still breathing, still alive, and capable of getting in touch with the wonders of life such as the blue sky, the forest trees, or the song of the birds. Instead of running after the objects of our craving or being pulled away by the past and the future, practicing Happiness in the Present Moment helps us to stop, recognize our habit energy of running, and smile at it. Life is like a hundred-year-long picnic, where we need to find safety and protection right in every moment of daily life through the energy of mindfulness. Mindfulness is like an illuminating energy that helps us embrace our suffering and pain and to transform our mental formations, even if we may not fully understand its nature just as we do not fully understand the nature of electricity.
When eating a meal, we practice dwelling in peace to nourish both body and mind, while at the same time nourishing our ancestors and opening the way for the future generations within us. Instead of merely performing formal rituals like the first three spoons in the tradition:
- I vow to practice all good.
- I vow to put an end to all evil.
- I vow to save all beings.
We can practice the first four spoons of rice corresponding to the Four Immeasurable Minds:
- Loving-kindness: contemplating how to bring joy and happiness to the sangha.
- Compassion: contemplating how to alleviate and to transform the suffering of oneself and others.
- Joy: practicing joy and sympathetic joy with the achievements and happiness of oneself and others.
- Equanimity: practicing non-discrimination, treating everyone equally, and embracing everyone.
Every step taken also needs to carry the substance of freedom, solidity, and ease. We invest our entire body and mind into each step, without thinking, so that every step has the capacity to nourish us and the sangha. Living in a sangha requires absolute integration, like a drop of water merging into the river or a bird flying with the flock to be transported and to conserve energy. Sangha building is the most sacred work, where we contribute our solidity to increase the quality of the community, turning all activities from working meditation, sitting meditation, to chanting into opportunities to have true happiness.
Part of the following collection
Turning Work into Practice: Mindful Service and Sangha Governance