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The Awareness of Body Helps Us Recognize Feelings and Emotions
Orientation in Plum Village begins with “How to Enjoy Your Time in Plum Village,” teaching you again and again even if you know how to sit, breathe, walk, listen to the bell, eat, play, hug, and enjoy breakfast and Dharma discussion. Monks, nuns, and lay people take joy in every activity—washing dishes, gardening, driving—always smiling and breathing, learning to play and have fun together. A 15–20-minute film is planned to guide late arrivals through sitting, breathing, walking, and enjoying Plum Village, with Sister Dedication helping to produce it.
Walking meditation is practiced “in such a way that every step brings us pleasure and joy,” as if in “the kingdom of God, in the pure land of the Buddha.” Children often use two words only:
- Breathing in and making a step, say “Yes,”
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Breathing out and making a step, say “Thanks.”
You may match one, two, or three steps to “Yes,” and two, three, four or five steps to “Thanks,” always extending the out-breath longer than the in-breath to nourish lungs and spirit. Steps become solid, free, healing, and allow you to touch “the wonders of life” inside and outside, profiting from the freshness and innocence of children’s presence.
In the sutra on mindful breathing the Buddha gives sixteen exercises of mindful breathing. The first four are:
- Be aware of your in-breath and out-breath, identifying each.
- Follow your in-breath and out-breath all the way through.
- Be aware that your body is there.
- Release the tension in your body.
Mindfulness (Smṛti) carries concentration (Samādhi) and together they bring insight (Prajñā), liberating us from fear, anger, hate, doubt, and despair and enabling us to help others as bodhisattvas.