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Freedom in Each Breath: Mindfulness and the Three Complexes of Self
Sitting becomes a delight when you “just sit” without expecting anything. Bring attention to your in-breath and out-breath—body, breath, and mind unite—and you feel solidity, freedom, and nourishment. Mindful breathing awakens you to being alive; that simple awareness is already enlightenment. Mindfulness is also concentration: the object of your mindfulness (breath, a rose) becomes the object of your concentration.
Every moment of daily life can be lived deeply:
- Brush your teeth for two or three minutes, enjoying each movement so that toothbrushing becomes a source of happiness, solidity, and freedom.
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Boil water, make tea, spend time with your child—each activity is the most wonderful thing to do when done mindfully.
Life is available only in the present moment; past and future are just ideas. In this moment you find the kingdom of God, the pure land of the Buddha, solidity, freedom, nirvana, and love.
True freedom—and thus true happiness—comes from insight into no-self and interbeing. Three complexes that spring from clinging to a separate self are:
- complex of inferiority
- complex of superiority
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complex of equality
Letting go of the notion of self releases these complexes. Living with mindfulness, concentration, and insight nourishes us, transforms suffering into the “mud” that helps us bloom like a lotus.