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The Orange Meditation, Crossing to Freedom
I am going to speak about the orange meditation. Imagine an orange in the palm of your hand and look at it with the “eyes of the Buddha”: mindfulness, attention, and concentration. The orange becomes a miracle of life—a fruit ripened by the sun, the rain, the clouds, and time—and a doorway to the kingdom of God, here and now. Eating the orange in mindfulness is to live each gesture as a celebration of freedom: without anger, without fear, joy and healing are revealed.
When suffering (anger, jealousy, fear) holds you back in hell, breathe deeply to cross the river of suffering and reach the shore of well-being: this is the paramita practice. You can do it alone if you have enough inner resources, otherwise ask for the help of a friend, a brother, a sister: the Sangha is the boat that carries us to peace. Taking refuge in the Sangha, in the Buddha, and in the Dharma is vital; it is the vessel that brings us to freedom.
Liberation also comes through chánh niệm (mindfulness): returning to the breath and walking in awareness unify body and mind, calm tensions, and transform suffering. The Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing (Anapanasati) proposes, in particular:
- Recognizing the in-breath and the out-breath,
- Following their length without judgment,
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Calming the whole body with each breath.
These exercises nourish niệm (mindfulness), định (concentration), and tuệ (wisdom), opening the way to healing, to joy, and to the realization of the kingdom of God in every moment.
