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Stopping and Touching
Listening to a Dharma talk with your whole body and mind, like the earth receiving the rain of the Dharma
When listening to the Dharma, sit upright, listen with your whole being—without thinking, without comparing, without judging—so that the “Dharma rain” can deeply penetrate and nourish the seeds of love, understanding, forgiveness, and joy that are already present within us. Using only the intellect, we can receive very little of the Dharma; instead, let your mind rest, let your heart be as spacious as the open sky, so that the Dharma can naturally permeate every cell of your body and mind.
Today’s teaching introduces the four kinds of nutriments and the principle of mindfulness in receiving them:
- Edible food – physical food taken through the mouth; we need to be mindful whether it nourishes our body and mind or creates toxins.
- Sense impressions – the contacts made through the six sense organs (eye-form, ear-sound, nose-smell, tongue-taste, body-touch, mind-objects), which determine the quality of our “mental nutriments.”
- Volition – the will, intention, or desire that arises in our mind when we come into contact with forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and objects of mind.
- Consciousness – our mind consciousness (vijñāna), which needs to be nourished by understanding, love, and forgiveness; otherwise, it will be filled with anger, fear, and anxiety.
Mindfulness in eating and daily activities helps us choose wholesome edible food and sense impressions, protects the “allies” in our body (the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys), and nourishes loving-kindness and lasting peace. When going to the market, cooking, setting the table, or coming into contact with forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and objects of mind, each is an opportunity to light up mindfulness, to care for body and mind as a solid boat sailing on the vast ocean of the six sense organs.