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UCSC Retreat 1st Day - Orientation
There are countless wonders all around and within us—right here, right now—waiting to be discovered through simple mindfulness and concentration. By walking slowly, breathing in and out mindfully, and learning to look deeply at even a tangerine, we touch the miracle of life in our bodies, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. Mindful breathing brings us back to the present moment, reveals tension or pain in the body, and opens the door to compassion for ourselves and others.
Mindful walking, sitting, eating, bell practice, and “Lazy Day” each offer opportunities to cultivate stability, freedom, and insight. In walking meditation, each in-breath, out-breath, and step becomes an act of returning home to the here and now. Thay teaches a four-line walking poem to anchor this practice:
- I have arrived, I am home.
- In the here, in the now.
- I am solid, I am free.
- In the ultimate I dwell.
Through the collective energy of the Sangha—whether in the meditation hall, on retreat, or in daily life—we borrow strength when habit-energy runs strong, learn to recognize and embrace suffering, and transform it into healing, joy, and true presence.
