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Oui, Merci: Instant Happiness and Nirvana through Anapanasati
Enlightenment is Now or Never. In walking meditation say oui, oui (yes, yes) on the in-breath and merci, merci (thanks, thanks) on the out-breath, recognizing “so many wonderful things” – blue sky, hills, mother, father, Sangha – and each “yes” brings happiness. Mindfulness is to be mindful of what is there; awakening happens each time you see something positive and say, “This is a moment of happiness.” Saṃtuṣṭa (Sanskrit) or Tri túc (Chinese) means you already have enough conditions to be happy right here, right now.
The path of practice includes Exercises 9–16:
- Ninth: Liberating the mind – awareness of mental formations.
- Tenth: True right diligence – strengthen and gladden the mind.
- Eleventh: Concentration – to get insight and liberate from afflictions.
- Thirteenth: Contemplating impermanence.
- Fourteenth: Contemplation of no-craving.
- Fifteenth: Contemplating cessation – no birth, no death, no being, no non-being (Nirvāṇa).
- Sixteenth: Letting go of all notions.
Contemplation of cessation is at the heart of Buddhist meditation: by looking deeply – like a wave touching water or a cloud never born nor dying – you touch Nirvāṇa, the extinction of all notions of birth, death, being, and non-being. Continuous mindfulness and concentration lead to the insight (Right View) that underpins Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Diligence, and the new Five Mindfulness Trainings.
