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Going Home to Your Conditions of Happiness
A day of mindfulness is an occasion to learn the art of mindful living, practiced by more than one thousand communities worldwide who spend one day together following a schedule very much like today’s:
- Chanting
- Dharma talk
- Silent picnic lunch
- Deep Relaxation and Touching the Earth
- Orange Meditation
- Mindful Movements
- Question-and-answer session
A Dharma talk is not for gathering ideas but for allowing the “rain of the Dharma” to water the seed of joy, peace, love, and compassion already in us—no thinking, comparison, or judgment, just openness. Chanting touches the seed of mindfulness and compassion (Avalokiteshvara) through collective energy. Each bell sound calls us back to our in-breath and out-breath, our true home in the here and now, to release tension and allow the Sangha’s energy to embrace our pain or to channel compassion to loved ones.
Mindful living means being fully present in every action—walking, breathing, eating, toothbrushing, driving, telephone use—so each moment becomes a meditation hall. For example, in telephone meditation one recites a four-line gatha during breathing in and out:
Words can travel hundreds of kilometers.
They can promote more mutual understanding and joy.
I vow that every word of mine will bring peace and joy.
I vow that every word of mine will be beautiful like embroideries and flowers.
Selective watering of positive seeds—joy, forgiveness, understanding—within ourselves and others brings healing, transformation, and true happiness.
