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Island of Self
Excerpt from the Dharma Talk on November 6, 2005, by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
The Buddha said that there is a very safe place where we can return to anytime we want: that is the island of self. Within yourself, you have a safe island; if you return there, you will no longer be swept away by the storms of life. Attadipasaranam means to return and take refuge (saranam) in the island (dipa) of self. When you return to mindful breathing, you return to yourself, you touch the safe island within yourself, where your ancestors, homeland, and the Three Jewels—Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—reside. Breathing and paying attention to the breath is the beginning of returning. Return to the breath, to the body, to feelings, to perceptions, to mental formations, and to consciousness. These are the five elements that make up the self: body (form), feelings (sensation), perceptions (cognition), mental formations (volition), and consciousness (awareness). These five elements are called the five aggregates (skandhas). Mindful breathing unites body and mind; while breathing, all your body, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness return to touch that breath, just like when you sing a song and everyone in the family listens quietly! The breath will calm the body and mind, bring body and mind together, and create harmony among the five aggregates. At that moment, the island of self manifests as a safe refuge for all five aggregates.
The full verse is as follows:
Returning to take refuge in the island of self
Mindfulness is the Buddha illuminating near and far
The breath is the Dharma protecting body and mind
The five aggregates are the Sangha, diligently united.
Breathing in, breathing out
Is a fresh flower
Is a solid mountain
Still water reflects
Spacious, free.
As disciples of the Buddha, as his close friends, we listen to the Buddha’s words. We must know how to return to our own island of self. We will meet our spiritual and blood ancestors, we will meet the source of our roots, we will have peace, stability, and light. “Take refuge in the island of self, take refuge in the Dharma, do not take refuge in anyone else.” The Buddha had great compassion; he knew that many disciples would feel lost, so he taught this way.
My physical form is not something eternal. What is worthy of your refuge is your own island of self; it is always there for you, you don’t need to take a plane or a bus to reach the island of self, just through breathing and walking. This Christmas, if you buy a “sapin” tree to decorate, you should know that the homeland is not outside. It lies within your heart! And that homeland is not something you return to only after many years or by traveling far. If you know how, if you know how to use Mindfulness and Concentration, you can return in a single breath, in a single step. The homeland is not a place distant in space and time. The homeland can be present in the here and now if you know how to return.
(Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh)