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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.
Part of the following collections
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