Simply Blessed » Thich Nhat Hanh

Sacred Guest

heartsdeesire — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:01:07 +0000

“This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor…” excerpt from the Guest House by Rumi

Such a beautiful expression Rumi makes here. What if we treated everything that we experienced as a welcome guest? What if we did this even and especially with the contrast, the challenges we experience and the so called “negative” emotion that often comes with it? What if we treated it all like a guest, a visitor and a welcome one at that? Why a welcome one? Because everything at its core has something to offer us and when left unresisted, a new expansion lies within easy reach on the horizon.

Thich Nhat Hanh also said: “Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation, should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourselves. 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. In mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant, and teapot are all sacred.”

Thich Nhat Hanh and Rumi are centuries and countries apart and yet each with a similar viewpoint, one calls it all sacred, the other a welcome guest. Imagine if you were feeling irritation, if you regarded it as sacred. Just take a breath into it or whatever it is you are feeling, no pushing it away, it’s sacred now. You’re alive, this alive-ness, this human-ness is so sacred. You get to experience it all, anything and everything. Now, know that none of it is wrong. You may bring compassion, wisdom and understanding to all that you experience at any time. And the moment that you do, is the instant that you know none of this life of yours is wrong. All of it is sacred. All of it is holy. Can you feel that – how soft, how easy, how self-honoring that is? I sure do. Now, imagine bringing this awareness to all your sacred guests. Welcome them, as Rumi said: “be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.”

The Long Road Turns to Joy

heartsdeesire — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:08:11 +0000

This is from Thich Nhat Hanh’s little book:
The Long Road Turns to Joy. It’s another one
of his little gems that is small enough to fit
in a pocket or purse. And truly it is a gem, even
the title is a treasure in and of itself.

This passage below is a little poem that he offers
to use in concert with mindful walking meditation.

I have arrived
I am home
in the here,
in the now.
I am solid.
I am free.
In the ultimate
I dwell.

Smile at Your Habit Energy

heartsdeesire — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:03:32 +0000

Here again, out of Thich Nhat Hanh’s little book:
Be Free Where You Are, we have his thoughts
on habit energy. I’ve been using his suggestions
below along with mindful breathing to move beyond
old habits and patterns of thought. It is very simple
to do, you can do it anywhere. Just smile at your habit
energy, thank it and then stay with the mindful breathing,
focusing at the point just one inch below the navel — until
you have gone past the point where you feel compelled to
be in the habit energy. I set this little book aside from all
my other books and put it on my dresser. It is one of the
smallest, simplest little guides to accessing your inner freedom.

Love, Bethie

Smile at Your Habit Energy

There is a strong energy in every one of us called habit energy.
Vasana is the sanskrit word for habit energy. Every one of us
has habit energies that push us to say and do things we don’t
want to say or do. These habit energies damage us and our
relationships to other people. Intellectually we know that saying
or doing a certain thing will cause a lot of suffering, and yet we
still say or do it. And once you say or do something, the damage
is done. Then you regret it. You beat your chest and pull your hair.
You say, “I am not going to say or do that thing again.” But though
you say this with sincerity, the next time the situation presents itself,
you say and do the same thing. This is the power of habit energy
that your parents and ancestors may have transmitted to you.

Mindful breathing can help you recognize habit energy when it
emerges. You don’t have to fight that energy; you only have to
recognize it as yours and smile at it. That is enough. “Hello
there my habit energy. I know you’re there, but you cannot do
anything to me.” You smile at it, and then you are free. This
is a wonderful protection. It is why I said mindfulness is the energy
of God, the energy of the Buddha protecting us.

~Thich Nhat Hanh: Be Free Where You Are

The Art of Handling a Storm ~ Be Free Where You Are

heartsdeesire — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:36:12 +0000

The following excerpt comes from ‘Be Free Where You Are’.
It’s a tiny little pocket size book, you could carry with you
anywhere. Thich Nhat Hanh spoke at a Maryland Correctional
Institute in 1999 on freedom, which really speaks to everyone
and this is a passage from it:

When a storm comes, it stays for some time, and then it goes.
An emotion is like that too — it comes and stays for awhile,
and then it goes. An emotion is only an emotion. We are
much, much more than an emotion. We don’t die because
of one emotion. So when you notice that an emotion is
beginning to come up, it is very important that you put
yourself in a stable sitting position. Then focus your attention
on your belly. Your head is like the top of a tree in a storm.
I would not stay there. Bring your attention down in the trunk
of the tree, where there is stability.

When you have focused on your belly, bring your attention
down to the level just below the navel and begin to practice
mindful breathing. Breathing in and breathing out deeply,
be aware of the rise and fall of the abdomen. After practicing
like this for ten, fifteen or twenty minutes, you will see that
you are strong — strong enough to withstand the storm. In
this sitting or lying position just stick to your breathing the
way that someone would stick to a life vest. After some time
the emotion will pass.

This is a very effective practice but please remember one
thing: Don’t wait until you have a strong emotion to practice.
If you do, you will not remember how to practice. You have
to practice now, today, while you are feeling fine, when you are
not dealing with any strong emotions. This is the time to begin
learning the practice. You can practice for ten minutes every
day. If you do this for three weeks — 21 days — it will become
a habit. Then when anger rises up or you are overcome by
despair, you will naturally remember the practice. Once you
succeed, you will have faith in the practice and you will be
able to tell your emotion: “Well, if you come again, I will do
exactly the same thing.” You will not be afraid because you
know what to do.

~Thich Nhat Hanh: Be Free Where You Are

It’s All Sacred

heartsdeesire — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:42:09 +0000

Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation,
should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on
an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourselves.
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. In
mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant,
and teapot are all sacred.

~Thich Nhat Hanh

The Practice of Mindfulness

heartsdeesire — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:56:54 +0000

… consciousness is said to be a field,
a plot of land in which every kind of seed has been planted,
seeds of suffering, happiness, joy, sorrow, fear, anger, and hope.
The quality of our life depends on which of these seeds we water.
The practice of mindfulness is to recognize each seed as it sprouts,
and to water the most wholesome seeds whenever possible.

~Thich Nhat Hanh

Like A Leaf

heartsdeesire — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 04:53:04 +0000

I asked the leaf whether it was frightened because it was
autumn and the other leaves were falling. The leaf told me,
“No. During the whole spring and summer I was completely
alive. I worked hard to help nourish the tree, and now much
of me is in the tree. I am not limited by this form. I am also
the whole tree, and when I go back to the soil, I will continue
to nourish the tree. So I don’t worry at all. As I leave this
branch and float to the ground, I will wave to the tree and tell
her, ‘I will see you again very soon.’”

That day there was a wind blowing and, after a while, I saw
the leaf leave the branch and float down to the soil, dancing
joyfully, because as it floated it saw itself already there in the
tree. It was so happy. I bowed my head, knowing that I have
a lot to learn from the leaf.

Excerpted from Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh

What’s Not Wrong?

heartsdeesire — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:01:43 +0000

”We often ask, ‘What’s wrong?’ Doing so, we invite painful seeds of sorrow to come up and manifest. We feel suffering, anger, and depression, and produce more such seeds. We would be much happier if we tried to stay in touch with the healthy, joyful seeds inside of us and around us. We should learn to ask, ‘What’s not wrong?’ and be in touch with that. There are so many elements in the world and within our bodies, feelings, perceptions and consciousness that are wholesome, refreshing and healing. If we block ourselves, if we stay in the prison of our sorrow, we will not be in touch with these healing elements.”

Excerpted from Thich Nhat Hanh – Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Standing with Perfection

heartsdeesire — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:13:16 +0000

Quoted from: Thich Nhat Hanh – Peace Is Every Step

Flowers and Garbage “Defiled or immaculate. Dirty or pure. These are concepts we form in our mind. A beautiful rose we have just cut and placed in our vase is pure. It smells so good, so fresh. A garbage can is the opposite. It smells horrible and it is filled with rotten things. But that is only when we look on the surface. If we look more deeply we will see that in just five or six days, the rose will become part of the garbage. We do not need to wait five days to see it. If we look at the rose and we look deeply, we can see it now. And if we look into the garbage can, we see that in a few months its contents can be transformed into lovely vegetables, and even a rose. If you are a good organic gardener, looking at a rose you can see the garbage, and looking at the garbage you can see a rose. Roses and garbage inter-are. Without a rose, we cannot have garbage, and without garbage, we cannot have a rose. They need each other very much. The rose and the garbage are equal. The garbage is just as precious as the rose. If we look deeply at the concepts of defilement and immaculateness, we return to the notion of inter-being.”

I like what he’s written here because it illustrates that Source is everywhere, among ALL things. And it’s easy to find that in rainbows and babies. But if we are to truly believe that there is perfection in it all, then there is perfection in that which we would call garbage. I want to remember that next time I stand next to someone who appears to be unwashed, who I am quick to assume is homeless and offensive due to their odor and their tattered clothes. I want to remember I am standing with perfection.

Today I assume it’s all perfect, it’s all Source, it’s all Divine Energy, no matter the form.

just my thoughts for today.