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Liberation from Suffering Bites and the Hook Catches It

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Liberation from Suffering Bites and the Hook Catches It mindful, you are strong, the Buddha is with you, and you are not afraid of the affl ictions that arise. Suffering and happiness inter-are. You cannot eradicate suffering and retain only happiness. That is li ke wanting only day and not night. When you suffer, you learn compas­ sion and understanding. But your suffering can also overwhelm you and harden your heart. When this happens, you cannot enjoy life or learn compassion. To suffer some is important, but the dosage should be con-ect for us. We need to learn the art of taking good care of our sufferin g so we can learn the art of transforming it. Mindfulness does not regard pain as an enemy that needs to be suppressed. It does not want to throw the pain out. It knows the pain is a part of us. It is li ke a mother embracing her baby. The mother knows the baby is a part of her. The crying baby is our pain, and the mother is our tenderness. There is no barrier between our tenderness and our pam. Almost all pain is born from a lack of understanding of reality. The Buddha teaches us to remember that it is not the object of cravin g that makes us suffer, it is the craving that makes us suffer. It is like a hook hjdden in the bait. The bait looks like an insect, and the fish sees something it thinks is tasty, not knowing that there is a hook in side. It Liberation from Suffering bites and the hook catches it. Our temptation and craving are due to a lack of understanding of the true nature of the Questions and Answers object we crave. W hen mindfulness is present, we begin to understand the nature of our craving and our pain, and this with Thich Nhat Hanh understanding can liberate us. ach Saturday afternoon during the September 1996 Q: My mother had Alzheimer's whell she !Vas 65. I amllow "Heart of the Buddha " retreat at Plum Village in 63 years old and my short-term memory does lIot work as E sout/lIVestem France. the entire cOlllmunity gathered well as it Llsed to. I can 'f remember nallles, alld I have to ill th e New Hamlet for a question-and-answer session with write down lIIany things so I will not forget thelil. Please Thich Nhat Hanh. Thay responded to written questions that shille your light all this problem. had beell left i/lSide th e large bowl-shaped bell alld also to Thay: I used to have a very good memory, and the first raised hallds. The following is a selection of these dia­ time I noticed my memory betraying me, I suffered. You logues. realize that you are no longer young, and you don't believe it. You find out that you are no longer bright, remembering everything, and you feel hurt. It can be difficult to accept Q: When thoughts and feelings arise in my meditation. I try the fact that you are growing old. But we have to accept the to lI ote them. watch them pass. alld come back to my situation as it is. breathing. But sometimes I just become ell gulfed by my The Buddha said, "When I was young, I was arrogant of pain. What advice call you offer? my youth, my intelligence, and my learning. To get rid of Thay: You feel you are engul fed by pain because the this kind of arrogance, I learned about impermanence." energy you use to embrace it is not strong enough. That is Everyone of us has to go through this same process of why it is crucial to cultivate the energy of mindfulness as change. One ni ght, I could not sleep because I had fo rgotten the agent of transformation and healing. When you are (Contillued all Page 3) Issue 19 • May-August 1997 . Liberation from Suffering ............................................. 1 Daily Practice ................................................................ 6 Sangha Tools .............................................................. 14 Family Practice ........................................................... 16 Sangha News ............................................................. 18 ;... '11ie fM1tufjufnus 'lJe{( Journal ofthe International Order ofInterbeing Retreat Schedules ...................................................... 31 Senior Editors: Arnie Kotler, Therese Fitzgerald Announcements ........................................................ 35 Managing Editor: Maria Duerr Family Practice Editor: Leslie Rawls Letters .........................................•.............................. 38 Staff: Michelle Bernard, Trena Cleland, Ellen Peskin, Katy Zandvakili Subscription Manager: Barbara Machtinger From the Editor Proofreader: Mushim Ikeda-Nash Photos: Simon Chaput, p. I; Ngoc Yen Nguyen, p. 4; Shantum Seth, pp. 6, 10,; Daniel Milles, p. 7; Therese s we enjoy the warming breezes and fresh blossoms of Fitzgerald, pp. 13, 14; Steffi Hoetje, p. 16; Joseph Britton, A spring here in California, we remember how different the p. 18; Kate Atchley, p. 20; Barbara DiPietro, p. 23; Linda seasons are on the other side of the Earth. Our Sangha brothers Parker, p. 27; Dan LeVan, p. 30; Nanda Currant, p. 34. and sisters in New Zealand and Australia are featured in this Artwork: Sandy Eastoak, p. 2; Thich Nhat Hanh, p. 8; issue's Sangha Profile and in a travel account by Therese Diana Hay, p. 9; Anneke Brinkerink, pp. 16, 17; Fitzgerald. We also hear from voices in India and England, Michelle Benzamin-Masuda, p. 40. sharing reflections on Thich Nhat Hanh's recent journeys Order of Interbeing Administrative Council: there. The schedule and registration information for Thuy's Co-Directors: Thich Nguyen Hai, Jack Lawlor, Therese fall visit to the United States are also included (see inside back Fitzgerald. Fran~oise Pottier cover). Co-Secretaries: Thich Phap An, Karl Riedl, Fred Eppsteiner We also look at the many facets of liberation. Sister Co-Treasurers: Sister Huong Nghiem, Lyn Fine, Annabel's helpful commentary tells us that one translation of Andrew Weiss the word is "to disentangle." Our lead article, drawn from the Elders' Council: Thich Giac Thanh, Thich Nu Chan question-and-answer sessions from the September "Heart of Khong, Anh Huong Nguyen, Arnie Kotler, Karl the Buddha" Retreat, shows Thich Nhat Hanh's clear and Schmied, Chiin Huy compassionate guidance in untangling ourselves from percep­ Published by the Community of Mindful Living tions that can cause suffering. The bodhisattva ideal of P.O. Box 7355, Berkeley, CA 94707 Mahayana Buddhism teaches us that there is no individual Tel: (510) 527-3751 Fax: (510) 525-7129 liberation; all beings reach enlightenment together. The Daily Email: [email protected] Web: www.parallax.org Practice articles are contemplations on liberating ourselves and others in various situations, including a moving piece by Deadline for submissions for next issue: July 15. Please Jarvis Masters about mindfulness practice in prison. send articles, essays, and accounts of practicing mindful­ ness in daily life (on a computer disk, or by email if We are happy to introduce "Sangha Tools"- a new possible), and include a brief autobiographical description. section which we hope will be helpful to readers who are We receive many valuable offerings. If we are not able to involved in community building. This section is intended to include your work in the next issue, we would like to hold provide practical information and guidance on Sangha-related it for possible future use. Portions of your writing may be activities and issues. Richard Brady has contributed the first edited for space and clarity. Deadline for Sangha News article on facilitating Dharma discussion groups. We intend to listings and retreat schedules: July I. have a future issue of The Mindjitlness Bell focus on Sangha­ Deadline for display or classified advertising for next building, and invite your submissions on this topic. issue: July 10. Please contact Maria Duerr. -Maria Duerr, Managing Editor 2 Questions and Answers (Colltillued/rolll Page I) possible to create and still live ill the world of the Dharma? the name of a person. I just could not accept the fact that I Thay: Inspiration brings us energy and motivates us to had grown old. That night I suffered, but I began to learn to create. If you are inspired by an idea, your passion to realize accept reality as it is. Since that time I have been at peace your idea may not be a negative thing. Just accept your with my reality. Now if I can't remember something, if I inspirations as they arrive. As practitioners, we practice cannot do something as well as I used to, I just smile. breathing in and out mindfully and recognize that feeling Not remembering everything may be a good thing, and look into it. It's not a matter of discarding our passion because you have a better opportunity to enjoy what is there and our inspiration. There are ways we in the present moment. All of us have can make them into positive things that some kind of disability. Sometimes it is can make people very happy. very apparent, sometimes it is not. We You cannot eradicate suffering When we think of those who will are much more than our disability. and retain only happiness. look at our painting, eat the food we There are many ways of being alive, That is like wanting only day are cooking, or read the novel we are and we should learn from each other. and not night. writing, we will know what to paint, Q: Thiiy, you said that we should look what to cook, and what to write. imo the nature of our suffering to see Because we practice the Five Mindful­ where it comes from. You also said that to understand ness Trainings, we know that we don't want to offer toxins suffering, we don't need to go to the past-if we look at it in to those who will consume our art.
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