Losing Eternity

How mankind defers from day to day the best it can do, and the most beautiful things it can enjoy, without thinking that every day may be the last one, and that lost time is lost eternity!

-Max Müller

On a Good Day

"Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand new hours to live."

-Thich Nhat Hanh

The Fifth Mindfulness Training: Nourishment and Healing

Intro.

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to
cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family,
and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I
will practice looking deeply into how I consume the Four Kinds of
Nutriments, namely edible foods, sense impressions, volition, and
consciousness. I am determined not to gamble, or to use alcohol, drugs,
or any other products which contain toxins, such as certain websites,
electronic games, TV programs, films, magazines, books, and
conversations. I will practice coming back to the present moment to be
in touch with the refreshing, healing and nourishing elements in me and
around me, not letting regrets and sorrow drag me back into the past nor
letting anxieties, fear, or craving pull me out of the present moment. I
am determined not to try to cover up loneliness, anxiety, or other
suffering by losing myself in consumption. I will contemplate interbeing
and consume in a way that preserves peace, joy, and well-being in my body
and consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my
family, my society and the Earth.

A What in the Where?!

I recently came across two interesting stories about Thomas Dyer, a US Army National Guardsman from Tennessee who also serves as a Buddhist chaplain. Yes, Buddhist chaplain. Dyer's spiritual journey from Bible Belt Baptist to Buddhism is fascinating in itself but his story also raises very interesting points regarding Buddhists in the military, especially the US military. The first story looks at Dyer's background. The second story is an interview he gave to NPR recently. Both are thought provoking, to say the least. Here's an excerpt from the interview:

MARTIN (NPR): Now, your story is interesting, I think, for many reasons. Not only are you the military's first Buddhist chaplain; before that, you were a Southern Baptist minister, which turns out to be important to your current post - we'll get to that. Can you just tell us what drew you to Buddhism, recognizing that, of course, it's complicated and a complicated journey for anyone, but can you help us understand what drew you to the faith?

Mr. DYER: I think the journey begins with meditation. The idea of meditation is not to talk or interact with words but to just sit with God or Christ. In my pastorate as a Southern Baptist pastor, in my office, I would sit and meditate in this manner. As I began to interact with Zen Buddhism itself, pretty much like a homecoming, so to speak.

MARTIN (NPR): You know, it's a remarkable coming together of all your various lives, if I can put it that way. I mean, your family, your wife and your children have not embraced the same path as you. How is that working, if you don't mind my asking?

Mr. DYER: My wife and family are very committed Christians, and I support that. But you can imagine with great compassion how they would feel. But I've decided that this Buddhism is an individual path. So I support my family, my wife's Christian faith, and I help support raising our children in the Christian faith, as well.

Liberation in a Cup

This cup of tea in my two hands,
mindfulness perfectly held.
My body and mind dwell
in the very here and now.

-'Tea Gatha', composed by Thich Nhat Hanh

A Bird on a Tree

ON this tree is a bird: it dances in the joy of life.
None knows where it is: and who knows what the burden of its music may be?
Where the branches throw a deep shade, there does it have its nest: and it comes in the evening and flies away in the morning, and says not a word of that which it means.
None tell me of this bird that sings within me.
It is neither coloured nor colourless: it has neither form nor outline:
It sits in the shadow of love.
It dwells within the Unattainable, the Infinite, and the Eternal; and no one marks when it comes and goes.
Kabîr says: "O brother Sadhu! deep is the mystery. Let wise men seek to know where rests that bird."

-The Songs of Kabir, song 30, translated by Rabindranath Tagore

The Fourth Mindfulness Training: Loving Speech and Deep Listening

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to
listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and
compassionate listening in order to relieve suffering and to promote
reconciliation and peace in myself and among other people, ethnic and
religious groups, and nations. Knowing that words can create happiness
or suffering, I am committed to speaking truthfully using words that
inspire confidence, joy, and hope. When anger is manifesting in me, I am
determined not to speak. I will practice mindful breathing and walking
in order to recognize and to look deeply into my anger. I know that the
roots of anger can be found in my wrong perceptions and lack of
understanding of the suffering in myself and in the other person. I will
speak and listen in a way that can help myself and the other person to
transform suffering and see the way out of difficult situations. I am
determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to
utter words that can cause division or discord. I will practice Right
Diligence to nourish my capacity for understanding, love, joy, and
inclusiveness, and gradually transform anger, violence, and fear that lie
deep in my consciousness.