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Right Mindfulness: The Path of Love and Protecting the Earth
We have a mental formation called “attention” (manaskāra), which means to pay attention to objects that bring us benefit and happiness. When our attention is correct—appropriate attention (yoniso manaskāra)—we direct our mind toward positive elements such as the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha, joy, and happiness. On the other hand, turning our mind toward suffering, conflict, and anxiety is inappropriate attention (ayoniso manaskāra), which sows seeds of suffering in ourselves. Thanks to appropriate attention, we can generate right thinking (thoughts of love, understanding, forgiveness), right speech, right action, and right livelihood (especially through vegetarianism, using solar energy, and practicing “car-free days”) to protect ourselves, others, and the Earth.
Love and gratitude in family and couple relationships also need to be practiced with appropriate attention by writing down, recording, or reading again happy memories. According to Thay, there are three main kinds of love:
- Passionate love—intense but short-lived
- Gratitude—arising when someone has helped or sacrificed for us in times of danger
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Faithful love—loyalty, arising from gratitude and keeping the relationship from betrayal
When passionate love fades, gratitude and faithful love will nourish and sustain the happiness of the family.
In the Noble Eightfold Path, the remaining seven steps (right diligence—practicing the Four Right Efforts, right mindfulness, right concentration, right view) help us water wholesome seeds, remove unwholesome seeds, and realize that suffering is interdependent with happiness (no mud, no lotus). Thanks to non-dualistic right view, we understand that the world is not separate from our mind, and from there, we can transform suffering and develop insight.
