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Mindfulness in Each Step and Breath
Walking meditation is present in every step, whether we are walking up to Upper Hamlet or down to Lower Hamlet, or even going to the airport an hour early; all are opportunities to practice mindfulness, to maintain peace and happiness in each moment. Small actions such as drinking coffee, eating an apple, or picking a flower also become precious Dharma doors when we know how to slow down, to recognize the taste, the color, the fragrance, and to cherish the life unfolding right before our eyes. When picking an apple, we chew each bite at least fifty times, tasting the sweetness from April to September; when cutting a flower, we recite:
I cut a flower, a gift of earth and sky,
the flower is a Bodhisattva, beautifying life
and we place the flower in water to help it “live” longer, respecting the life of the flower.
Each day we are given twenty-four fresh hours; we can begin with four morning verses:
- Waking up with a smile
- Cherishing twenty-four bright hours
- Vowing to live fully
- Looking at life with eyes of love
Mindful breathing is the foundation to realize this intention. Through stages from mindfulness of breathing to contemplation of impermanence, non-self, non-greed, and cessation of wrong perceptions, we learn how to dwell in the present moment, to let go of mistaken notions about self and lifespan, to recognize the ontological ground of no birth and no death, transcending all delusive thoughts. The Sangha is the community that walks together; each person is both a practitioner and a witness to each other’s growth, helping to nourish the “teacher seed” so that our life of practice is always filled with peace and joy.