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Touching the Earth: Living Interbeing and Non-Death
When one of the two departs before the other, the practice begins right now: living the present moment in mindfulness allows us to touch the nature of no-birth and no-death of the other, thus avoiding fear and loneliness. Each day, by observing trees, clouds, and friends, we will see that the loved one is never truly absent, but manifests in a thousand forms.
The mudra Bhumisparsha, “touching the earth,” reveals two dimensions of our being:
- The historical dimension, where we see ourselves as born from ancestors and carrying a lineage (the first touching of the earth: to reconcile with and accept, both genealogically and spiritually, our parents, grandparents, and the whole lineage, both positive and negative).
- The ultimate dimension, where we realize that we are waves and water, trees and forest, clouds and sky (the second touching of the earth: to recognize our interbeing with all beings—humans, animals, plants, minerals—and to come into contact with both known and unknown bodhisattvas).
For wisdom to arise, right concentration must be directed toward these three natures:
- impermanence
- non-self
- interbeing
Through these simple and concrete practices, fear dissolves and true happiness arises.
