stands to reason that anyone who learns to live well will die well. The skills are the same: being present in the moment, and humble, and brave, and keeping a sense of humor.”
—Victoria Moran
“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”
—Jon Kabat-Zinn
“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The latter procedure, however, is disagreeable and therefore not popular.”
—C. G. Jung
“You might be tempted to avoid the messiness of daily living for the tranquility of stillness and peacefulness. This of course would be an attachment to stillness, and like any strong attachment, it leads to delusion. It arrests development and short-circuits the cultivation of wisdom.”
—Jon Kabat-Zinn
“If you live the sacred and despise the ordinary, you are still bobbing in the ocean of delusion.”
—Linji Yixuan
Learn as You Go: How Should I Sit When I Meditate?
When you meditate, you don’t have to sit on the floor with your legs crossed in some amazingly flexible way. In fact, if you don’t normally sit on the floor or cross your legs, you should avoid doing either of those things! Instead, you can sit on a chair in an easily maintainable position, your feet flat on the floor and your back straight, but not rigid. Meditation is supposed to help you, so it’s important to set yourself up for success by sitting in a comfortable position.
“Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation, should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourself. The tangerine I am eating is me. The mustard greens I am planting are me. I plant with all my heart and mind. I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath. Nothing should be treated more carefully than anything else.”
—Thích Nhất Hạnh
“In a true you-and-I relationship, we are present mindfully, nonintrusively, the way we are present with things in nature. We do not tell a birch tree it should be more like an elm. We face it with no agenda, only an appreciation that becomes participation: ‘I love looking at this birch’ becomes ‘I am this birch,’ and then ‘I and this birch are opening to a mystery that transcends and holds us both.’ ”
—David Richo
“It takes a little bit of mindfulness and a little bit of attention to others to be a good listener, which helps cultivate emotional nurturing and engagement.”
—Deepak Chopra
“With silence comes mindfulness, and thus we become better at choosing our words with kind intent before we express them.”
—Alaric Hutchinson
“When you open your mind, you open new doors to new possibilities for yourself, and new opportunities to help others.”
—Roy Bennett
“Respond; don’t react.
Listen; don’t talk.
Think; don’t assume.”
—Raji Lukkoor
“When you practice mindfulness, you bloom like a flower.”
—Debasish Mridha
Master Mindful Gratitude, and You Will Master Your Life
“Mindfulness is both a state of mind and a skill.”
—Renee Metty
People need mindfulness more than ever. The world has grown increasingly complicated and interdependent. The pace of life has accelerated tremendously and continues to move more and more quickly. Most people crave an antidote. Mindfulness provides a remedy. The practice of mindfulness simplifies, creates calm, and offers new ways to navigate the churning, uncharted waters of our modern age. What exactly is mindfulness, one may wonder? Although it’s a popular term, pinpointing the exact definition of mindfulness can be difficult. Do I have to get up early? Must I do some special ritual? Mindfulness has always been something simple, yet quite profound. Mindfulness in its essence means paying attention.
Mindfulness appears to be a straightforward process. Essentially it is. Yet because life holds enormous potential for complication, continued practice and mastery of mindfulness can be challenging. There are so many distractions that can make paying attention a problematic venture, and therein lies the paradox of mindfulness. There are mundane distractions, such as to-do lists, a pile of laundry, or a pebble in your shoe. There are more monumental distractions, such as natural disasters, death, accidents, or other big life changes. Mindfulness, as a practice, offers tips and tools to stay present, focused, and relaxed through it all, big and small.
The daily requirements of mindfulness depend on the conditions of the day. Just as a surfer must stay present, prepared, and ready to jump into action to catch a wave, a mindfulness practitioner must remain poised and ready to move with whatever influx life presents. Sometimes the waves are small, so we need to train our attention so we don’t become bored. Sometimes the waves seem huge and impassable. In that case, we may need to focus on our own inner fear to get through the surf conditions of the day. Mindfulness offers us ideas and insight for staying present and alert through it all.
The Contemplation on No-Coming and No-Going
This body is not me.
I am not limited by this body.
I am life without boundaries.
I have never been born,
and I have never died.
Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars,
manifestations from my wondrous true mind.
Since before time, I have been free.
Birth and death are only doors through which we pass,
sacred thresholds on our journey.
Birth and death are a game of hide-and-seek.
So laugh with me,
hold my hand,
let us say goodbye,
say goodbye, to meet again soon.
We meet today.
We will meet again tomorrow.
We will meet at the source every moment.
We meet each other in all forms of life.
—Thích Nhất Hạnh
Blessing of All the Buddhas
