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The Bell Calling Us Back to Our Inner Island
The sound of the church bell ringing during walking meditation is a distinctive feature of Western culture, similar to the temple bell in the East, but it rings automatically by machine, not by the “old monks” pulling the rope. The absence of monastics means that each priest must look after at least ten churches, constantly running from one service to another; on the other hand, some Buddhist temples in Vietnam or America operate like service shops for peace offerings, without a practice program or the building of brotherhood.
The true path of monastic life is not about worrying over food, clothing, or a profession, but about seeking a beautiful path for oneself and for others.
- The island within: a place of refuge inside, our true home right in the present moment
- The Four Noble Truths – the Noble Eightfold Path begin the Dharma talk, and always end with an invitation to return to the island within
- When mindfulness listens deeply, the sound of the bell leads us back to the true home within
When the seed of “abandonment” or “hurt,” transmitted by our ancestors, arises and makes us want to leave the sangha, we need to:
- recognize that seed
- breathe in and out, holding and taking care of it
- discover the opposite seed – the aspiration to find our true home right now, in the sangha
- transform our mind so we can take root firmly in a shared true home, like the intertwined bamboo roots that nourish the entire bamboo forest above