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The Pure Land in the Breath and the Footsteps
The method of mindful breathing is a very important Dharma door. Each time we return to our breath in mindfulness, we restore our sovereignty, instead of being victims of distraction, of forgetfulness. We can practice pure breathing, simply living with the breath, or we can practice breathing while embracing another object—such as the sound of the bell, the song of a bird, or the blue color of the sky—whatever is happening in the present moment. We recognize what is happening, and if we continue, we can look deeply into the nature of that thing. This is meditation, this is vipassanā.
At Plum Village, mindful breathing is practiced together with gathas, a kind of guided meditation with a program and purpose. The four basic gathas used are:
- In, out, deep, slow
- Arrived, home
- I have arrived, I am home
- This is the Pure Land
This practice, called diligent practice, is applied in every moment, even while working (mindful service), transforming every task into a Dharma door of practice. During sitting meditation, the manual “Each Petal Opens” gives clear instructions for exercises, such as contemplating oneself as a five-year-old child to heal the wounds in the heart.
Walking meditation is a special practice to help us stop our rushing, our drifting. The goal is to arrive in the here and now, our true home. The practice is not to take us away from this world to another realm, because happiness is made of suffering. In the spirit of the Avatamsaka Sutra, deep contact with the here and now is contact with all. This world is the land where ordinary and noble beings dwell together, and if our mind is pure, this land is pure. This is the Pure Land. Thanks to the steps of walking meditation, we can heal our heart and the earth.
