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Walking Meditation Discourse 13
While walking or at any moment when restlessness, agitation, and unease (one of the fifty-one mental formations) arise, take hold of your breath and your steps: breathing in, take three steps; breathing out, take three steps; each step is “stepping into the Pure Land,” each look is seeing the Dharma body. When we are aware of restlessness, the energies of shame (knowing one’s own shortcomings) and embarrassment (feeling shy before others) naturally arise, bringing us back to mindfulness. Reciting phrases such as “I have arrived, I am home, I have arrived” or using a breathing gatha like “Breathing in, I smile in mindfulness, dwelling happily in the present moment…” can, in just a few seconds, transform the mind from agitation to calm without any need for suppression. Sitting meditation is the same: breathing in, know you are breathing in; breathing out, know you are breathing out; regulating the breath leads to deep dwelling, the body upright, shoulders relaxed, mouth smiling, nourishing the joy of the Dharma in the present moment.
In the history of Buddhism, there are two great attractions that we need to recognize:
- The tendency to turn the Buddha’s path into a religion—creating objects of devotion (the immutable Dharma body, the transformation body, and the reward body) to worship.
- The establishment of metaphysical foundations (such as the store consciousness, Mūla-vijñāna, Śūnyatā…) as a basis for karma, retribution, and attainment.
But the original spirit reminds us: everything is impermanent, non-self; true liberation arises from self-practice through mindful breathing, recollecting Buddha–Dharma–Sangha–Precepts, and mindfulness in the present moment.
Part of the following collection
Holding the Breath, the Steps, and the Ornaments of a Practitioner