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BECOMING TRULY ALIVE Make this moment the most wonderful experience of your life. (Cover page) Thich Nhat Hanh

Becoming Truly Alive

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BECOMING TRULY ALIVE

Make this moment the most wonderful experience of your life.

(Cover page)

Thich Nhat Hanh

id26917109 pdfMachine by Broadgun Software - a great PDF writer! - a great PDF creator! - http://www.pdfmachine.com http://www.broadgun.com

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Becoming Truly Alive

Thich Nhat Hanh

Copyright © 2010 by Thich Nhat Hanh All Rights Reserved. June 2010 5000 copies printed for distribution within Malaysia in conjunction with Thich Nhat Hanh South East Asia Trip 2010

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Contents Part One Becoming Truly Alive Part Two 1. Discourses on Living Happily in the Present Moment:

The Elder Sutra The Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone

2. Discourse on the Teaching to be Given to the Sick Part Three 1. Guided meditation for Touching the Earth ~ Introduction 2. Intimate conversation with the Buddha

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Part One Becoming Truly Alive

�We live a kind of artificial life, lost in plans, worries, and anger. Our practice is to wake up and live each moment fully, allowing this

moment to be the most wonderful experience of our life�

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What would you do if your doctor told you that you only had three months to live? Would you waste this time bemoaning your fate? Would you give yourself over to pain and despair? Or would you resolve to live each moment of those three months in a deep way? If you do that, three months of life is a lot. Some twenty years ago, a young man came to me and told me exactly this � that he had only three months to live. I asked him to sit down with me and have a cup of tea. �My friend,� I said

to him, �you must drink this tea in

such a way that life is possible. We must live this moment we have together in a deep way.� One day is a lot. A picnic lasts only half a day, but you can live it fully, with a lot of happiness. So why not three months? Your life is a kind of picnic, and you should arrange it intelligently. Someone I knew once said to his Buddhist teacher, �Master, I would

like to go on a picnic with you.� The

teacher was very busy, so he replied, �Sure, sure, we�ll go on a picnic one of these days.� Five years later they

still hadn�t had the picnic. One day the master and the disciple were on some business together, and they found themselves caught in a traffic jam. There were so many people in the street that the master

asked the disciple, �What are all these

people doing?� The disciple saw that is was a funeral procession. He turned to the master and said, �They�re

having a picnic.� Don�t wait to start living. Live now! Your life should be real in this very moment. If you live like that, three months is a lot! You can live every moment of every day deeply, in touch with the wonders of life. Then you learn to live, and, at the same time, learn to die. A person who does not know how to die does not know how to live, and vice versa. You should learn to die � to die immediately. This is a practice. Are you ready to die now? Are you ready to arrange your schedule in such a way that you could die in peace tonight? That maybe is a challenge, but that�s the practice. If

you don�t do this, you will always be

tormented by regret. If you don�t want

to suffer, if you don�t want to be

tormented by regret, the only solution is to live every minute you are given in a deep way. That�s all there is to it.

The only way to deal with insecurity, fear, and suffering is to live the present moment in a profound way. If you do that, you will have no regrets. That�s what the young man who was

told he had three months to live chose to do. He decided to live every moment of his life in a very deep way. When he started doing that, he felt the

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sources of his despair leaving him, and he got himself back on his feet. It was a miracle. Though his doctor had pronounced a kind of death sentence on him, he lived another fifteen years. I gave him the Dharma name Chan Sinh, which means �true life.� Before he was told he was going to die, he didn�t know what real life was. But

after that happened, he learned what real life was, because he was there for every moment of every day. Albert Camus, in his novel The Stranger, used the term �the moment

of awareness.� When the protagonist of the novel, Meursault, learns he is going to be executed for the murder he has committed, anxiety, fear, and anger are born in him. In despair, he is lying on his prison bed looking at the ceiling when, for the first time, he sees the square of blue sky through the skylight. The sky is so blue � it�s

the first time in his life that he has gotten deeply in touch with the blue sky. He has already lived for decades without ever really seeing the blue sky. Perhaps he has looked at the sky from time to time, but he has not seen it in a deep way. Now, three days before his death, he is able to touch the blue sky in a very deep way. The moment of awareness has manifested. Meursault decides to live every minute he has left fully and deeply. Here is a prisoner who is practicing deep meditation. He lives his last three days in his cell within that

square of blue sky. That is his freedom. On the afternoon of the last day, a Catholic priest comes to Meursault�s prison cell to give him the last rites, but Meursault refuses. He doesn�t want to waste the few

hours he has left talking to the priest, and he doesn�t let him come in. He

says, �The priest is living like a dead

man. He is not living like me, I am truly alive.� May be we too are living like dead people. We move about life in our own corpse because we are not touching life in depth. We live a kind of artificial life, with lots of plans, lots of worries, and anger. Never are we able to establish ourselves in the here and now and lives deeply. We have to wake up! We have to make it possible for the moment of awareness to manifest. This is the practice that will save us � this is the revolution. Has the most wonderful moment of your life already happened? Ask yourself that question. Most of us will answer that it hasn�t happened yet, but

that it could happen at any time. No matter how old we are, we tend to feel that the most wonderful moment of our life has not happened yet. We fear may be it�s too late, but we are still

hoping. But the truth is, if we continue to live in forgetfulness � that is, without the presence of mindfulness � that moment is never going to happen.

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The teaching of the Buddha tells you clearly and plainly to make this the most magnificent and wonderful moment of your life. This present moment must become the most wonderful moment in your life. All you need to transform this present moment into a wonderful one is freedom. All you need to do is free yourself from your worries and preoccupation about the past, the future, and so on. The deep insight of impermanence is what helps us do this. It is very useful to keep our concentration on impermanence alive. You think the other person in your life is going to be there forever, but that is not true. That person is impermanent, just like you. So if you can do something to make that person happy, you should do it right away. Anything you can do or say make them happy � say it or do it now. It�s now or never. In the practice of Buddhism, dying is very important. It�s as important as

living. Death is as important as being born. Without birth, there could be no death. Without death, there is no birth. Birth and death are very close friends, and collaboration between the two of them is necessary for life to be possible. So do not be afraid of death. Death is just continuation, and so is birth. At every moment, death is happening in your body � some cells are dying so

other cells come to life. Death is indispensable to life. If there is no death, there is no birth, just as there can be no left if there is no right. Don�t hold out hope that life will be

possible without death. You must accept both of them � birth and death. If you practice well, you can gain deep insight into the ultimate dimension while remaining in touch with the historical, or relative, dimension. And when you are deeply in touch with the historical dimension, you also touch the ultimate dimension, and you see that your true nature is no-birth and no-death. Living is a joy. Dying in order to begin again is also a joy. Starting over is a wonderful thing, and we are starting over constantly. Beginning anew is one of our main practices at Plum Village, and we must die every day in order to renew ourselves, in order to make a fresh start. Learning to die is a very profound practice. SHARIPUTRA�S GUIDANCE Sudatta was a very wealthy businessman in the ancient Indian city of Shravasti and a famous lay disciple of the Buddha�s. He had used a great part of his wealth to help the poor, helpless, and orphaned, and so the people of Shravasti gave him the name Anathapindika, meaning �supporter of orphans and the

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helpless,� and that is the name we

know him by today. Anathapindika was devoted to the Buddha. He spent a lot of money buying a park in Shravasti called the Jeta Grove in order to turn it into a monastery for the Buddha and a headquarters for the work of the Dharma. In his life he got a great deal of pleasure from supporting the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. It was always his joy to support the Three Jewels. When Anathapindika was nearing death, the Buddha paid him a visit. It has been about thirty years since their first meeting. During that time, the Buddha had assigned his great disciple Shariputra to take care of Anathapindika and travel with him, so Anathapindika and Shariputra had become very close friends. Now, the Buddha assigned Shariputra to help Anathapindika die in a happy and peaceful way. Learning that Anathapindika was very closed to death, Shariputra asked his young brother in the Dharma, Ananda, a cousin of the Buddha, to accompany him on his alms round, and they stopped at Anathapindika�s house.

Seeing the two venerable monks, Anathapindika tried to get out of bed, but he was unable to do so. Shariputra said to him, �My friend, lie down. We

will get some chairs and come sit with you.� After they sat down, Shariputra

asked, �My friend Anathapindika,

how do you feel in your body? Are your physical pains decreasing or increasing?� When you are about to die, you have pain in your body, and perhaps in your mind as well � feelings of anxiety, isolation, and confusion. At this moment, which is a very important one in your life, you need help. You need someone with you at this difficult time. Anathapindika answered Shariputra, �Venerable one, the pains in my body

do not seem to be subsiding. They keep increasing. I am suffering more and more.� Shariputra told him the time had come for him to meditate on the Three Jewels. He asked Ananda and Anathapindika to breathe deeply and concentrate on the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Then Shariputra conducted a guided meditation. �The Buddha has attained reality, just

as it is,� Shariputra said. �The Buddha

is completely and truly awakened. He has brought understanding and action to the level of perfection. He has attained genuine happiness. He understands the nature of the world and of men. He is unequaled in wisdom. He is a great man. He is the teacher of both men and gods.�

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Shariputra said these words to help Anathapindika see clearly who the Buddha really was � a person with a lot of tenderness, compassion, and happiness, someone who was an enormous help to other beings. Shariputra was one of the Buddha�s

most intelligent disciples, and he knew precisely what state Anathapindika was in. Shariputra recognized the seeds of happiness in Anathapindika�s consciousness, and

he knew that Anathapindika took great pleasure in serving the Three Jewels. So to help restore Anathapindika�s equanimity, he

watered the positive seeds of happiness by inviting him to concentrate on the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. The practice was very effective. In a few minutes, Anathapindika�s pain was

considerably reduced and he was able to smile again.

We move about life in

our own corpse

because we are not touching life in depth.

We have to make it possible for the

moment of awareness to manifest. This is

the practice that will save us. This is the

revolution. This is a wonderful practice, and we can all learn to do it. A person who is about to die has seeds of suffering in her, but she also has seeds of happiness. You who love this person should recognize the seeds of happiness and suffering in her, and speak to her about the things that evoke happiness in her. It is very important to do this. Even if the person is in a coma, you should speak to her like this. Communication is possible. She will hear you. I remember going with Sister Chan Khong to visit my friend Alfred Hessler, who was dying in a Catholic hospital in New York State. Alfred was a peace activist who had been a tremendous help to us during the Vietnam War in our efforts to stop the bombing. We worked shoulder to

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shoulder with him, and we became very close friends. That day, Sister Chan Khong and I were on our way to a retreat in upstate New York at which six hundred people were expected, and by chance the clinic was on our way. When we entered his room, his daughter, Laura, tried to get Alfred to come out of the coma. �Alfred! Alfred!� she cried out,

�Thay is here, Thay is here! Sister

Chan Khong is here! Come back!� But Alfred remained in the coma. Sister Chan Khong then began to sing a verse that is drawn directly from a sutra written by the Buddha. The words go like this: This body is not me, I am not caught in this body. I am life without boundaries. I have never been born, and I shall never die. Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars, manifestation of 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 just 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 at every moment. We meet each other in all forms of life.

The third time Sister Chan Khong repeated this chant, Alfred came to and opened his eyes. We were very happy. Laura asked him, �Do you

know that Thay and Sister Chan Khong are here?� Alfred was unable

to speak, but he answered with his eyes that he knew his friends were there. Then Sister Chan Khong began the practice of watering the seeds of happiness in him. She spoke about our work for peace in Vietnam and, like Anathapindika, how much Alfred had found happiness in this work. �Do

you remember the time we were in Rome?� she asked him. �There were

three hundred Catholic priests, and each of them carried the name of a Buddhist monk who was imprisoned in Vietnam because he had refused to join the army. �Alfred, do you remember the time

you were in Saigon with the Venerable Tri Quang, the head of the pacifist movement in Vietnam? The night before, the United States had decided to bomb the country. Venerable Tri Quang was furious and

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Has the most wonderful moment of your life already happened? Most of us will answer

that it hasn�t happened yet. But the truth is, without the presence of mindfulness, the

moment is never going to happen. refuse to see anybody who was American. But you sat down at his door and said that you were a friend and not an enemy. You said, �I am

here to help you, and I am going to stay on a hunger strike until you open your door.� The venerable monk

invited you in. Do you remember that?� Sister Chan Khong practiced watering the positive seeds in him because she knew that Alfred had a great deal of suffering in him. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and said, �Wonderful,

wonderful.� He repeated it twice.

What was wonderful, too, was that at that moment he had friends to help and support him. When it was time for us to go, I said to his family, �Continue the practice. You should

talk to him about these things that have brought him happiness.� Another time, Sister Chan Khong�s

older sister was in a coma and nearing death. She had suffered a great deal. She lay in bed writhing and moaning and crying out in pain. The doctors

did all they could to alleviate her pain, including giving her painkillers, but they were unable to help. Sister Chan Khong arrived with a tape player containing a Vietnamese chant to the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion, chanted by the monks and nuns in Plum Village. She put the headphones over her sister�s ears and turned up

the volume so that sound could reach through the coma. Within two minutes her sister stopped writhing and crying out. She became completely peaceful. Why? Because she had in her the seeds of that chant. When she was a little girl, she had gone to the monastery and heard the monks chanting. The seeds of peace, faith, and compassion were in her already. During her life of hard work, she never had taken the time to water these seeds. But as she was dying, Sister Chan Khong was able to help her water them. She because very calm and remained peaceful until her death. The doctors there � who included her own daughter � were astonished. None of the drugs had worked. Only that tape was able to

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Death is indispensable to life. If there is no death, there is no birth. Don�t hold out hope that life will be possible without death. You must accept both of them � birth and death.

break through and allow the seeds of spirituality in this person to be touched. We all have these seeds in us; and it�s never too late to touch them.

YOU ARE MORE THAN THIS BODY AND MIND After Shariputra watered the seeds of happiness in Anathapindika by talking about the Three Jewels, he did a guided meditation for him on the six senses. �Listen, my friend,� Shariputra said,

�let us practice together. Breathing in,

I know that my body is not me. Breathing out, I know I am not caught in his body. These eyes are not me. I am not caught in these eyes. These ears are not me. I am not caught in these ears. This nose is not me. I am not caught in this nose. This tongue is not me. I am not caught in this tongue. This body is not me. I am not caught in this body. This mind is not me. I am not caught in this mind.� We are in the habit of identifying ourselves with our bodies. The idea

that we are this body is deeply entrenched in us. But we are not just this body; we are much more than that. The idea that �this body is me and I am this body� is an idea we must get

rid of. If we do not, we will suffer a great deal. We are life, and life is far vaster than this body, this concept, this mind. �These mental formations are me� � this is another idea we have to get rid off. Therefore, when someone is dying, above all we have to help them stop identifying with their body and mind. We are not prisoners of our senses. We are not prisoners of our bodies or our minds. We must become free of our body and free of our mind. We must be free of the idea that �I am

this body, I am this mind.� When we

get rid of these ideas, we become greater, deeper, and freer than our mind. This disintegration of the body is not the end. It is only the cessation of a manifestation. When conditions are no longer sufficient, the manifestation ceases. To light a fire, you need fuel, and as soon as there is no more fuel,

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the fire goes out. The same is true of the body and mind. Conditions must be sufficient for the manifestation to continue. If not, it will cease and then manifest again sometime in the future. �These forms are not me, and I am not

caught in these forms,� Shariputra

continued. �These forms are merely

objects of sight � when light strikes the eyes, sight manifests as the consciousness of perceiving shapes and colors. I am not those forms. �When the tongue comes in contact

with things that have taste, the consciousness of taste manifests and we perceive flavors. Tastes are not me. I am not caught in tastes. Smells are not me. I am not caught in smells. Tangible objects are not me. I am not caught in these. Thoughts and ideas are not me. I am not caught in thoughts and ideas.� This practice is indispensable for liberation. We must not identify with the sense organs or the sense objects. We must not identify with the six sense consciousnesses � sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mind consciousness. These consciousness manifests when the necessary conditions come together, and they cease to manifest when the necessary conditions cease to be present. This is something that can be tested and confirmed. It is altogether scientific.

Here is a meditation on the six elements: �Breathing in, I am aware

of the element of earth in me. Breathing out, I recognize it outside and around me. I smile at the earth element in and around me, everywhere. I recognize the element of fire in my body, and I recognize the element of fire in the world around me. I recognize the elements of water, air, space, and consciousness.� Each element contains the five other elements. One thing contains all things. Look deeply into the water element, the earth element, heat, air, space, and consciousness and you will find that each one contains the five others. That is the inter-being nature of the elements. Shariputra said to Anathapindika, �My friend, things appear and disappear according to causes and conditions. The true nature of things is not being born, and not dying. Birth and death are nothing more than concepts. Our true nature is the nature of no-birth and no-death, and we must touch our true nature in order to be free.� Shariputra continued, �When the body

or the mind manifests, we say that it exists, but that is not correct. When a thing has not yet manifested, we say that it does not exist, but that is not correct either. The ideas of being and non-being have to be rejected. These notions do not apply to reality. When

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the conditions come together, your body or your mind manifests. �Let us look deeply into the five

skandhas: forms, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. There is nothing there that could be called a self. As a result of ignorance, we are caught up in ideas and concepts. But in truth we are free from these ideas and concepts. The true nature of reality is inter-being. The reality of inter-being has the nature of emptiness and of non-self. We are free in the past, and we are free in the present.� At this point in the meditation, Anathapindika began to cry. It was the first time he had touched the profound teachings on emptiness, non-self, inter-being, and so on. He needed this teaching on the nature of no-birth and no-death in order not to suffer, but he had never had the opportunity to practice or study it. Surprised by Anathapindika�s tears,

Venerable Ananda asked him, �My

friend, why are you crying? Is there something that you regret?� Anathanpindika smiled and replied, �No, Venerable Ananda, I have no

regrets. I am crying because I have served the Buddha and the Sangha for so many years, and I have never heard a teaching as profound as the one I have heard today. It is wonderful. I am free.�

Venerable Ananda said, �My friend,

you don�t know it, but this kind of

teaching is given every day to the monks and nuns.� �Venerable one,� Anathapindika

replied, �please tell the Buddha that it

is true many laypeople are too busy to learn this teaching and practice. But tell him there are other laypeople who are capable of receiving this teaching and applying it in their lives. I beg you, go back to the Buddha and convey to him my request to teach this insight to laypeople.� The Venerable Ananda agreed, and the two venerable monks withdrew. The layman Anathapindika died shortly thereafter in a very peaceful manner. This story is told in a discourse entitled �Teachings To Be

Given to the Sick.� You should study such texts if you wish to attend dying people. To help dying people, you must be very solid. You must have fearlessness within you. You must be able to touch no-birth and no-death yourself in order to support a person whose manifestation is about to cease. If you want to attend the dying, you must practice. Through practice you can develop the solidity, the fearlessness, and the techniques that make it possible for you to help people to die in peace. We should never forget that dying is as important as living.

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Part Two 1. Discourses on Living Happily in the Present Moment: The Elder Sutra The Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Live

Alone

2. Discourse on the Teaching to be Given to the Sick

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Quote on life:

�Our appointment with life is in the present moment. The

place of our appointment is right here, in this very place�.

Quote on death:

�Our biggest fear is that we will become nothing when we

die. If we think that we cease to exist when we die, we have not looked very deeply at ourselves�.

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The Elder Sutra Theranamo Sutta Translated from the Chinese

I heard these words of the Buddha one time when the Lord was staying at the monastery in the Jeta Grove, in the town of Shravasti. At that time there was a monk named Thera (Elder), who always preferred to be alone. Whenever he could, he praised the practice of living alone. He sought alms alone and sat in meditation alone. One time a group of bhikkhus came to the Lord, paid their respect by prostrating at his feet, stepped to one side, sat down at a distance, and said, �Blessed One, there is an elder by the name of Thera who only

wants to be alone. He always praises the practice of living alone. He goes into the village alone to seek alms, returns home from the village alone, and sits in meditation alone.� The Lord Buddha told one of the bhikkhus, �Please go to the place

where the monk Thera lives and tell him I wish to see him.� The bhikkhu obeyed. When the monk Thera heard the Buddha�s

wish, he came without delay, prostrated at the feet of the Buddha, stepped to one side, and sat down at a distance. Then the Blessed One asked the monk Thera, �Is it true that you prefer to be alone, praise the

life of solitude, go for alms alone, come back from the village alone, and sit in meditation alone?� The monk Thera replied, �It is true, Blessed One.� Buddha asked

the monk Thera, �How do you live alone?� The monk Thera replied, �I live alone, no one else lives with me. I

praise the practice of being alone. I go for alms alone, and I come back from the village alone. I sit in meditation alone. That is all.� The Buddha taught the monk as follows, �It is obvious that you

like the practice of living alone. I do not want to deny that, but I want to tell you that there is a wonderful way to be alone. It is the way of deep observation to see that the past no longer exists and the future has not

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yet come, and to dwell at ease in the present moment, free from desire. When a person lives in this way, he has no hesitation in his heart. He gives up all anxieties and regrets, lets go of all binding desires, and cuts the fetters which prevent him from being free. This is called �the better

way to live alone.� There is no more wonderful way of being alone than this.� Then the Blessed One recited this gatha: In observing life deeply, it is possible to see clearly all that is. Not enslaved by anything, it is possible to put aside all craving. The result is a life of peace and joy. This is truly to live alone. Hearing the Lord�s words, the monk Thera was delighted. He prostrated

respectfully to the Buddha and departed. From the Agamas (Samyukta 1071). The equivalent in the Pali Canon is the Theranamo Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya, chapter 21, Suttra no. 10, vol. II, p. 282f).

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The Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone Bhaddekaratta Sutta Translated from the Pali I heard these words of the Buddha one time when the Lord was staying at the monastery in the Jeta Grove, in the town of Shravasti. He called all the monks to him and instructed them, �Bhikkhus!� And the bhikkhus replied, �We are here.� The Blessed One taught, �I will teach you what is meant by

�knowing the better way to live alone.� I will begin with an outline of the teaching, and then I will give a detailed explanation. Bhikkhus, please listen carefully.� �Blessed One, we are listening.�

The Buddha taught: Do not pursue the past. Do not lose yourself in the future. The past no longer is. The future has not yet come. Looking deeply at life as it is In the very here and now, The practitioner dwells in stability and freedom. We must be diligent today. To wait until tomorrow is too late. Death comes unexpectedly. How can we bargain with it? The sage calls a person who knows how to dwell in mindfulness night and day �one who knows the better way to live alone.�

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�Bhikkhus, what do we mean by �pursuing the past�? When someone

thinks about the way his body was in the past, the way his feelings were in the past, the way his perceptions were in the past, the way his mental factors were in the past, the way his consciousness was in the past; when he thinks about these things and his mind is burdened by and attached to these things which belong to the past, then that person is pursuing the past. �Bhikkhus, what is meant by �not pursuing the past�? When

someone thinks about the way his body was in the past, the way his feelings were in the past, the way his perceptions were in the past, the way his mental factors were in the past, the way his consciousness was in the past; when he thinks about these things but his mind is neither enslaved by nor attached to these things which belong to the past, then that person is not pursuing the past. �Bhikkhus, what is meant by �losing yourself in the future�? When

someone thinks about the way his body will be in the future, the way his feelings will be in the future, the way his perceptions will be in the future, the way his mental factors will be in the future, the way his consciousness will be in the future; when he thinks about these things and his mind is burdened by and daydreaming about these things which belong to the future, then that person is losing himself in the future. �Bhikkhus, what is meant by �not losing yourself in the future�? When someone thinks about the way his body will be in the future, the way his feelings will be in the future, the way his perceptions will be in the future, the way his mental factors will be in the future, the way his consciousness will be in the future; when he thinks about these things but his mind is not burdened by or daydreaming about these things which belong to the future, then he is not losing himself in the future. �Bhikkhus, what is meant by �being swept away by the present�?

When someone does not study or learn anything about the Awakened One, or the teachings of love and understanding, or the community that lives in harmony and awareness; when that person knows nothing about the noble teachers and their teachings, and does not practice these teachings, and thinks, �This body is myself; I am this body. These feelings are myself; I am these feelings. This perception is myself; I am

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this perception. This mental factor is myself; I am this mental factor. This consciousness is myself; I am this consciousness,� then that person

is being swept away by the present. �Bhikkhus, what is meant by �not being swept away by the present�? When someone studies and learns about the Awakened One,

the teachings of love and understanding, and the community that lives in harmony and awareness; when that person knows about noble teachers and their teachings, practices these teachings, and does not think. �This

body is myself; I am this body. These feelings are myself; I am these feelings. This perception is myself; I am this perception. This mental factor is myself; I am this mental factor. This consciousness is myself; I am this consciousness�, then that person is not being swept away by the present. �Bhikkhus, I have presented the outline and the detailed explanation of knowing the better way to live alone.� Thus the Buddha taught, and the bhikkhus were delighted to put his teachings into practice. Bhaddekaratta Suttra (Majjhima Nikaya, Sutta no. 131)

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Discourse on the Teachings to be Given to the Sick I heard these words of the Buddha one time when the Lord was staying in the monastery in the Jeta Grove in Anathapindika�s park, near Shravasti. At that time the householder Anathapindika was seriously ill. When the Venerable Shariputra was told this, he immediately went to Ananda and said, �Brother Ananda, let us go and visit the layman

Anathapindika.� The Venerable Ananda replied, �Yes, let us go now.� The Venerable Ananda put on his robe, took his bowl, and went into the town of Shravasti with the Venerable Shariputra to make the alms round. Ananda walked behind Shariputra, stopping at every house until they came to the house of the layman Anathapindika, and they went in to visit him. After he had sat down, the Venerable Shariputra asked the layman Anathapindika, �How is your illness? Is it getting better or

worse? Is the physical pain easing at all or is it getting greater?� The

house-holder Anathapindika replied, �Venerable monks, it does not

seem to be getting better. The pain is not easing. It is getting greater all the time.� Shariputra said, �Friend Anathapindika, now is the time to

practice the meditation on the Three Jewels, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. �The Buddha has gone to Suchness, is fully and truly awakened, has perfected understanding and action, has arrived at true happiness, understands the nature of the world, is unequalled in understanding, has conquered the afflictions of human beings, is a teacher of gods and humans, and is the Awakened One, the one who liberates the world. �The Dharma is the teaching of love and understanding that the

Tathagata has expounded. It is deep and lovely, worthy of the highest respect, and very precious. It is a teaching that cannot be compared to ordinary teachings. It is a path of practice for the Noble Ones. �The Sangha is the community of practice, guided by the teachings

of the Awakened One. The community is in harmony, and within it all aspects of the practice can be realized. The community is respected and precious. It practices the precepts and realizes concentration, insight, and liberation. Offerings made to the Sangha are very beneficial.

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�Friend Anathapindika, if you meditate in this way on the Buddha,

the Dharma, and the Sangha, the beneficial effects are beyond measure. Meditating in this way, you can destroy the obstacles of wrong deeds and the afflictions. You can harvest a fruit that is as fresh and sweet as the balm of compassion. A women or a man practicing an upright way of life who knows how to meditate on the Three Jewels will have no chance of falling into the three lower realms but will be reborn as a human or a god. �Friend Anathapindika, now is the time to practice the meditation

on the Six Sense Bases: �These eyes are not me. I am not caught in these eyes. �These ears are not me. I am not caught in these ears. �This nose is not me. I am not caught in this nose. �This tongue is not me. I am not caught in this tongue. �This body is not me. I am not caught in this body. �This mind is not me. I am not caught in this mind. �Now continue your meditation with the Six Sense Objects: �These forms are not me. I am not caught in these forms. �These sounds are not me. I am not caught in these sounds. �These smells are not me. I am not caught in these smells. �These tastes are not me. I am not caught in these tastes.

�These contacts with the body are not me. I am not caught in these

contacts with the body. �These thoughts are not me. I am not caught in these thoughts. �Now continue your meditation on the Six Sense Consciousness: �Sight is not me. I am not caught in sight. �Hearing is not me. I am not caught in hearing.

�Consciousness based on the nose is not me. I am not caught in the

consciousness based on the nose.

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�Consciousness based on the tongue is not me. I am not caught in consciousness based on the tongue. �Consciousness based on the body is not me. I am not caught in consciousness based on the body. �Consciousness based on the mind is not me. I am not caught in consciousness based on the mind. �Now continue your meditation on the Six Elements: �The earth element is not me. I am not caught in the earth element. �The water element is not me. I am not caught in the water element. �The fire element is not me. I am not caught in the fire element. �The air element is not me. I am not caught in the air element. �The space element is not me. I am not caught in the space element. �The consciousness element is not me. I am not caught in the

consciousness element. �Now continue your meditation on the Five Aggregates: �Form is not me. I am not limited by the form aggregate. �Feelings are not me. I am not limited by the feeling aggregate. �Perceptions are not me. I am not limited by the perception

aggregate. �Mental formations are not me. I am not limited by the mental formation aggregate. �Consciousness is not me. I am not limited by the consciousness

aggregate. �Now continue your meditation on the Three Times: �The past is not me. I am not limited by the past. �The present is not me. I am not limited by the present. �The future is not me. I am not limited by the future.

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�Friend Anathapindika, everything that arises is due to causes and

conditions. Everything that is has the nature not to be born and not to die, not to arrive and not to depart. When eyes arise, they arise, but they do not come from anywhere. When eyes cease to be, they cease to be, but they do not go anywhere. Eyes are neither nonexistent before they arise, nor are they existent after arise. Everything that is comes to be because of a combination of causes and conditions. When the causes and conditions are sufficient, eyes are present. When the causes and conditions are not sufficient, eyes are absent. The same is true of ears, nose, tongue, body and mind; form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and thought, sight, hearing, and the consciousnesses based on the nose, tongue, body, and mind; the Six Elements, the Five Aggregates, and the Three Times. �In the Five Aggregates, there is nothing that we can call �I�, a �person�, or a �soul�. Ignorance is the inability to see this truth. Because there is ignorance, there are mistaken impulses. Because there are mistaken impulses, there is mistaken consciousness. Because there is mistaken consciousness, there is the distinction between the perceiver and the perceived. Because there is the distinction between the perceiver and the perceived, there is the distinction between the six organs and the six objects of sense. Because there is the distinction between the six organs and the six objects of sense, there is contact. Because there is contact, there is feeling. Because there is feeling, there is thirst. Because there is thirst, there is grasping. Because there is grasping, there is becoming. Because there is becoming, there are birth, death, and the subsequent pain and grief. �Friend Anathapindika, you have meditated that everything that

arises is due to causes and conditions and does not have a separate self. That is called �the meditation on emptiness�. It is the highest and the most profound meditation.� When he had practiced to this point, the layman Anathapindika began to cry. Venerable Ananda asked him, �Friend, why are you crying?

Has your meditation not been successful? Do you have some regret?� The layman Anathapindika replied, �Venerable Ananda, I do not regret

anything. The meditation has been most successful. I am so deeply

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moved. I have been fortunate to have been able to serve the Buddha and his community for many years, yet I have never heard a teaching so wonderful and precious as the teaching transmitted by the Venerable Shariputra today.� Then the Venerable Ananda said to the layman Anathapindika, �Do

you not know, friend, that the Buddha often gives this teaching to bhikshus and bhikshunis?� The layman Anathapindika replied,

�Venerable Ananda, please tell the Buddha that there are also laypeople with the capacity to listen, understand, and put into practice these deep and wonderful teachings.� After hearing Shariputra�s instructions and meditating accordingly, Anathapindika felt free and at ease. The Venerables Shariputra and Ananda bade him farewell and went back to the monastery, and Anathapindika passed away and was born in the thirty-third heaven.

Ekottara Agama L1, 8 (In consultation and Majjhima Nikaya I43

and Madhyama Agama 26.)

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Part Three Guided Meditation for Touching the Earth: Introduction Intimate Conversation with the Buddha 1. True Happiness 2. Living in the Present 3. Living Deeply 4. Mindfulness in Daily Life 5. Everything is Manifestation 6. The River of Life 7. Limitless Life 8. Riding the Waves of Birth and Death

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Guided meditation on Touching the Earth: Introduction Each of the meditations is a small conversation with the Buddha. Everyone can benefit from them and find a part that speaks to his or her own experience. We can practice Touching the Earth by ourselves or with others. The meditations are to be read as you stand or sit comfortably with palms joined. When we practice with others, we can appoint someone with an expressive voice and a strong energy of mindfulness and concentration to read the liturgy and everyone else will listen. After each guided meditation has been read, everyone will Touch the Earth by lying down in the prostrate position or in the Child�s pose (kneeling and bending forward so that your forehead and forearms touch the ground). People unable to prostrate fully can simply join their palms and bow forward a little. Touch the Earth in silence and stay in that position for three in-and-out breaths, or longer if you like. When practicing as a group, you may want to say �we� and �ourselves� instead of �I� and �myself�

whenever it occurs in the meditation.

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1. True Happiness

LORD BUDDHA, you and your Sangha are my teachers who have given me birth in the spiritual life and continue to nourish me every day. I am your disciple, your younger brother or sister, your son or daughter. I aspire to be your worthy continuation. You did not look for happiness in fame, wealth, sex, power, and luxurious food and possession. Your great freedom, love, and understanding brought you happiness. Thanks to your great understanding, you were not obstructed by your own mind or your surroundings and you were not caught in wrong thinking. You did not think, speak, or do things which would bring about suffering for yourself or others. Lord Buddha, thanks to this great understanding, you had limitless love for all species. This love comforted, liberated, and brought peace and joy to countless beings. Your great understanding and compassion gave you great freedom and happiness. My deepest desire is to follow in your footsteps. I vow that I shall not seek happiness in the five sense pleasures. I shall not think that wealth, fame, sex, power, and luxurious food and material objects can bring me true happiness. I know that if I run after these objects of craving, I shall incur great suffering and make myself a slave to these things. I vow not to run after a position, a diploma, power, money, or sex. I vow that every day I shall practice to give rise to understanding, love, and freedom. These elements have the capacity to bring true happiness for me and for the Sangha body now and in the future.

Touching the Earth With body, speech, and mind in oneness, I touch the Earth three times to experience and to solidify my deep aspiration. (Bell)

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2. Living in the Present

LORD BUDDHA, I recognize my deep habit energy of forgetfulness. I often allow my mind to think about the past, so that I drown in sorrow and regret. This has caused me to lose so many opportunities to be in touch with the wonderful things of life present only in this moment. I know there are many of us whose past has become our prison. Our time is spent complaining or regretting what we have lost. This robs us of the opportunity to be in touch with the refreshing, beautiful, and wonderful things that could nourish and transform us in the present moment. We are not to be in touch with the blue sky, the white clouds, the green willow, the yellow flowers, the sound of the wind in the pine trees, the sound of the running brook, the sound of the singing birds, and the sound of the laughing children in the early morning sunlight. We are also not able to be in touch with the wonderful things in our own selves. We are unable to see that our two eyes are two precious jewels. When we open our eyes we can be in touch with the world of ten thousand different colors and forms. We do not recognize that our two ears are wonderful sense organs. If we were to listen attentively with these two ears, we would hear the soft rustling of the wind in the branches of the pine, the twittering of the golden oriole or the sound of the rising tide as it plays its compelling music on the seashore in the early morning. Our hearts, lungs, brains, as well as our capacity to feel, to think and observe are also wonders of life. The glass of clear water or golden orange juice in our hands is also a wonder of life. In spite of this I am often unable to be in touch with the way life is manifesting in the present moment, because I do not practice mindful breathing and mindful walking to return to the present moment. Lord Buddha, please be my witness. I promise I shall practice to realize the teachings you have given us. I know that the Pure Land is not an illusory promise for the future. The Pure Land is available to me now,

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wonderful in all aspects. The path of red earth with its border of green grass is the Pure Land. The small golden and violet flowers are also the Pure Land. The babbling brook with small, shiny rocks lying in its bed is also the Pure Land. Our Pure Land is not only the fragrant lotuses and bunches of chrysanthemums, but is also the mud which nourishes the roots of the lotus and the manure which nourish the chrysanthemums. The Pure Land has the outer appearance of birth and death, but looking deeply I see that birth and death are interdependent. One is not possible without the other. If I look even more deeply, I will see that there is no birth and no death; there is only manifestation. I do not have to wait for this body to disintegrate in order to step into the Pure Land of the Buddha. By the way I look, walk, and breathe I can produce the energies of mindfulness and concentration, allowing me to enter the Pure Land and to experience all the miracles of life found right in the here and now.

Touching the Earth Lord Buddha, I touch the Earth twice to be deeply in touch with you and with the Pure Land of the present moment. (Bell)

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3. Living Deeply

LORD BUDDHA, by nourishing the awakened understanding of impermanence in me, I have understood clearly the Five Remembrances that you have taught us to meditate on every day.

1. I am of the nature to grow old, there is no way I can escape growing old.

2. I am of the nature to have ill health, there is no way I can escape having ill health.

3. I am of the nature to die, there is no way I can escape death. 4. Everything that I cherish and value today I shall in the future

have to be separated from. 5. My only true inheritance is the consequences of my actions of

body, speech, and mind. My actions are the ground on which I stand.

Thanks to nourishing the awareness of impermanence, I am able to cherish each day. World Honored One, you knew how to use your time, health, and youth to lead a career of liberation and awakening. I am determined to follow your example, not running after power, position, fame, and profit. I no longer want to waste my time. I vow to use my time and energy to practice transforming my afflictions, giving rise to understanding and love. Lord Buddha, as your descendant and your continuation, I vow to practice so that your career of understanding and love can continue to live in all future generations of practitioners. By nourishing the awareness of impermanence, I see the precious presence of the people I love: my parents, teachers, friends, and fellow practitioners. I know that my loved ones are as impermanent as I am. There are times when I am forgetful, and I imagine that my loved ones will be alongside me forever, or for as long as my life lasts. I think that they will never grow old, they will never be sick, and they will never be absent from me. I do not value their presence. I do not find joy and

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happiness in being with them. Instead I speak and behave unkindly. At times, I even have a secret wish that my loved one would go far away from me when I feel irritated with them. I have made them suffer, I have made them sad and angry, because I have not known how to value them. I am aware that at times I may have treated my father, mother, brother, sister, teacher, Dharma brothers and sisters, or partner in these thoughtless, cold, and ungrateful ways. Lord Buddha, with all my heart I express regret for these faults. I shall learn how to say things like: �Father, you are still alive with me and it

makes me so happy.� �Brother or sister, you are a solid presence

alongside me. To have you in my life gives me much joy.� �Mother, I

am a very lucky person to have you in my life.� �Sister or brother, you refresh me and make my life more beautiful.� I vow to practice using

loving speech, first of all towards those I love closely and after that towards everyone.

Touching the Earth Lord Buddha, the teacher of gods and humans, please be my witness. (Bell) Respected teacher of filial piety, Mahamaudgalyayana, please be my witness. (Bell) Respected teacher who humbly hid his deep understanding, Rahula, please be my witness. (Bell)

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4. Mindfulness in Daily Life

LORD BUDDHA, at the time when you manifested on this Earth as Shakyamuni Buddha, you devoted your life to liberating beings from their suffering. At the time there were no airplanes, steamships, trains, or buses. In spite of this, you traveled on foot to visit the various small kingdoms in the plain of the Ganges. You walked wherever you wanted to go, taking step in mindfulness. For the forty-five years during which you taught and practiced mindfulness, wherever you went you brought the energy of solidity and freedom. You liberated kings, ministers, generals, spiritual leaders, businessmen, intellectuals, rich and poor, as well as thieves, prostitutes, and butchers from their suffering. Your career of understanding and love has had a deep and lasting influence on so many generations of people throughout the world. I, your disciple, vow to practice sincerely with joy and peace so I can participate in the career of understanding and love which you have transmitted to me. I shall practice dwelling peacefully and happily in the present while I am sitting, walking, speaking, listening, eating, and working. I vow to practice mindfulness when I go to work, when I cook, do the laundry, sweep the courtyard, plant vegetables, drive the car, and do the shopping. I know that practicing mindfulness in all my daily activities brings lightness, joy, peace, and freedom into myself and everyone around me. Lord Buddha, there are those of us who have to drive or take the train for one hour to get to work. At the end of the day it takes us another hour to get home. When we arrive, we are already tired. Then we still have to cook, eat, and cleanup. Day after day we live like this; we are always busy. We also have to worry about paying the bills, the mortgage, the electricity, the water, the telephone, and taxes. There are also other problems like sickness, medicine, unemployment, and car accidents, which put a great deal of pressure on us in our daily lives, and cause us much anxiety and fear. Many of us are always in a hurry. We hurry to finish one thing to do something else, and one task always follows

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another. If we have nothing to do we cannot bear it so we fill out time with countless projects and errands. One hundred years flashes past like a dream. I do not want to live like that. I want to live at ease and deeply every moment of my daily life. I want to practice living happily in the present moment. I want to do less work, and work in such a way so that every moment of my work brings me joy. When I am driving I shall not allow myself to think about the past or the future, or allow my plans or anxieties to pull me away from reality. I shall follow my breathing and be aware that all my ancestors are in the car with me. For instance, I can imagine that my grandfather is driving with me, although in the past perhaps my grandfather did not know how to drive. I see my grandfather in me and I look at what is happening around me with the eyes of my grandfather. Lord Buddha, I also see that you are driving the car for me, and you drive very mindfully. Whenever I stop at a red light, I shall return to my breathing, relax, and smile. The red light is a bell of mindfulness, reminding me to return to the present moment. I feel gratitude to the red light as one of my practice friends reminding me to return to mindfulness. When there is a traffic jam I know how to breathe and smile, practicing: �I have arrived, I am home.�

Life is present in this moment. Every breath brings me back to the present moment to be in touch with life. I know that driving mindfully I shall not be tense, I shall have joy and the opportunity to look deeply. When other people are driving me I shall also practice like this. I shall follow my breathing, and I shall have an opportunity to be in touch with the wheat fields, the rolling hills, the rivers or the oceans which we are passing. I shall find skillful ways to remind the driver and other people who are in the car to practice with me so that throughout the journey we shall have the opportunity to produce mindfulness, concentration, and joy.

Touching the Earth

I touch the Earth before Buddha Shikhin, Buddha Vishvabhu and Buddha Krakkucchandha. (Bell)

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5. Everything Is Manifestation LORD BUDDHA, you have taught that people in the world are generally caught in ideas of being and nonbeing, permanence and annihilation. I know that the idea of an undying self is a wrong view, and I am practicing to look deeply to see that annihilation is also a wrong view. Permanence and annihilation are both extremes. You have taught me that if I am caught in either of these two extremes, I suffer. As part of my daily practice, I shall make an effort to see clearly that my own five skandhas and everything around me are impermanent, but at the same time not subject to annihilation. With the clear understanding of impermanence, I see that nothing can be said to be a separate self-entity. Everything is a wonderful manifestation which does not have its own separate reality or its own separate nature. This manifests because that manifests, and that manifests because this manifests. This is present in that and that is present in this. Lord Buddha, I shall listen to your advice and look deeply into impermanence, interdependence, emptiness, and interbeing, in order to arrive at the realization that all that exists has the nature of no birth and no death, no coming and no going, no being and no nonbeing, no permanence and no annihilation. Lord Buddha, you have opened the door of no birth for us. I only need to follow you and enter that door. I know that the highest aim of a practitioner is to realize the nature of no birth and no death and thus to go beyond the cycle of samsara and attain the greatest freedom. You have been so compassionate to teach us this. Yet, I have wasted much precious time following a worldly career, looking for words of praise, profit, and position. I know I can do better.

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Touching the Earth

Lord Buddha, with body, speech, and mind in perfect oneness, I touch the Earth before you, the one who is truly and fully awakened, to express my regret for my unskillful and mistaken habits of thought. (Bell)

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6. The River of Life

LORD BUDDHA, I am aware that in me there is a river of life that contains my ancestors and my descendants. All generations of my spiritual and blood ancestors are present in me. I am their continuation. I do not have a separate self. I am practicing to let go of everything that I think is myself or belongs to me, so that I can become one with this river of life. This river of life is flowing in me. My spiritual ancestors are the Buddha, the bodhisttvas, the holy community of practice and ancestral teachers throughout all generations. That river includes my spiritual teachers of this lifetime, whether they are still on this Earth or whether they have passed away. They have transmitted to me seeds of peace, understanding, love and happiness. Thanks to them, I have a resource of peace, joy, insight, and compassion within me, even if it is still small. In the river of my spiritual ancestors, there are those whose practice of the precepts, understanding, and compassion is fully realized. There are also those whose practice of precepts, understanding, and compassion has had shortcomings. I bow my head and accept all my spiritual ancestors, realized and not realized, because in myself there are weaknesses and shortcomings as far as the practice of precepts, understanding, and compassion is concerned. I open my heart and accept all my spiritual descendants, those whose practice of precepts and understanding is worthy of praise as well as those who are difficult for me and have ups and downs on their path of practice. I accept all my ancestors on my mother�s and my father�s sides of the

family with all their virtues, meritorious actions, and shortcomings. I also open my heart and accept all my blood descendants with their virtues, their talents, and their shortcomings. My spiritual and blood descendants and my spiritual and blood ancestors are all present in me. I am they and they are me. I do not have a separate self. We are all present in a wonderful stream of life which is constantly flowing and changing in a marvelous way.

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Touching the Earth

Lord Buddha, I touch the Earth three times to let go of the idea that I am a self separate from my ancestors and my descendants, and to release all the irritation and anger that I still hold towards them. (Bell)

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7. Limitless Life LORD BUDDHA, I see that this body made of the four elements is not really me and I am not limited by this body. I am the whole of the river of life of blood and spiritual ancestors that has been continuously flowing for thousands of years and flows on for thousands of years into the future. I am one with my ancestors and my descendants. I am life which is manifest in countless different forms. I am one with all species whether they are peaceful and joyful or suffering and afraid. I am present everywhere in this world. I have been present in the past and will be there in the future. The disintegration of this body does not touch me, just as when the petals of the plum blossom fall it does not mean the end of the plum tree. I see that I am like a wave on the surface of the ocean. I see myself in all the other waves, and all the other waves in myself. The manifestation or the disappearance of the wave does not lessen the presence of the ocean. My Dharma body and spiritual life are unborn and undying. I am able to see the presence of myself before this body manifested and after this body has disintegrated. I am able to see the presence of myself outside of this body, even in the present moment. Eighty or ninety years is not my lifetime. My lifetime, like that of a leaf or of a Buddha, is immeasurable. I am able to go beyond the idea that I am a body separate from all other manifestations of life, in time and in space.

Touching the Earth Lord Buddha, I touch the Earth three times to see the no birth, no death nature of myself and let go of the idea that I am a body separate from all other manifestations of life. (Bell)

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8. Riding the Waves of Birth and Death LORD BUDDHA, as I talk to you I think of you manifesting as Shakyamuni Buddha 2,600 years ago. I know that you are still there in hundreds of thousands of different transformation bodies. I also know that you are present in me and I am your continuation. I am one of the countless transformation bodies of the Buddha. Thanks to you opening my eyes, I know that you are not limited by time and space and your life span is limitless. The changing appearances of birth and death do not touch the Tathagata because the Tathagata has realized the unborn. I know that if I continue to be in touch with my own nature of no birth and no death I shall also see that my life span is immeasurable. I also can ride freely on the waves of birth and death like the great bodhisattvas. When I have realized the unborn and the undying, then the changing appearances of birth and death will no longer be able to touch me. I promise you that I shall practice diligently. I shall not get caught up in worldly matters and plans that take away my time and opportunity to practice. I ask you to be my witness and support me. I touch the Earth to express my deep gratitude to the Buddha for listening to me and supporting me during my practice.

Touching the Earth I touch the Earth three times to recognize the limitless life span of the Tathagata, the one who has come from suchness, and to recognize that my own life span is also limitless. (Bell)

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THIS BOOK IS PRINTED WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE FOLLOWING DONORS: (allow space for about 100 names) THE GIFT OF DHARMA EXCELS ALL GIFTS