#**«* )V & **>«/M «Utr**v4£ *£*%,ifli *a<» v v v v . » » » Fromth e Editor *&•*? hisissu eo f TheMindfulness Bellha smuc ht ooffer . In ThisDharm atalk ,Thic hNha tHan hteache su sho w we maylear nt otak eth ehan do f suffering wheni tarises , and •HI .'. ..'"r.tlW-.3r..v''.. givesu sa nexercis et ohel pdeepe nou rmindfulnes s and expandou rabilit yt odea lwit hdifficul t times.I nothe r articles,severa lpractitioner s sharethei rexperienc ewit h practicei ndifficul t circumstances. TheDail yPractic eSectio ninclude sa nexaminatio no f ThichNha tHanh : decision-makingprocesse si non eSangha ,a song ,a narticl e Taking the 9u\ndof 'Suffering abouta la ySangha' s secondbod ypractice ,examinatio no f twoo fth eFiv eMindfulnes s Trainings,an dth eDiscours e onAbsolut eTruth ,whic hwa sshare dwit hrecen tPlu m Villageretreatants . TheFamil yPractic eSectio noffer s tales Practicei n Difficult oftoddlers ,a kids ' mini-dayo fmindfulness , anda n examination ofth eNe wTestamen tparable ,"Th eProdiga l Circumstances Son,"applie dt omindfu l parenting.Sharing so fth eHear ti s ane wYoun gAdul tSectio no f TheMindfulness Bell y butw e hopeth eless-youn gfolk s willenjo y ita swell .Finally ,thi s 15 Daily Practice issuecontain sth eRetrea tSchedule s anda complet eSangh a Directory.W ehop eyo uenjo y it.Pleas ele tu sknow . 21 Family Practice Bewell , 26 Sharings ofth eHear t young AcCuCt(Practice Tfte MindfuCness (BeCC Journalof the International Order oflnterbeing 31 SocialActio n Editor: Leslie Carter Rawls Issue Advisors: Richard Brady, Larry Ward Proofreader: Mushim Dceda-Nash Cover: Calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh. 33 Retreat Reports Drawing by Teri West. Photos:Nicholae s Roosevelt-pp. 1,3,4,14 , 36,42; Eevi Beck-p. 21; Jo-ann Rosen-p. 31,44; Richard Brady-pp. 33, 35. 37 Letters Art: Sandy Eastoak-contents page;Ton i Carlucci-p. 7; Courtesy of Pot Luck Sangha-p. 17;Cherr y Zimmer-p. 19;Thic h Nhat Hanh-p. 26;Wibk e Hiedlmann-p. 29;Svei n Myreng-p. 37; Michele Benzamin-Masuda-p. 49,bac k cover. 38 Announcements Published by the Community ofMindful Living, P.O. Box7355, Berkeley, CA94707, USA;Tel: (510)527-3751; Fax: (510)525- 7129;e-mail: [email protected] , website: www.iamhome.org 39 Retreat Schedules Submissions We welcomeart, photos, essays,poems, andarticles about experiencesin the practice ofmindfulness. 42 Sangha Directory Winter200 0Issu eTheme : Mindful Consumption Deadline for submissions: October 13 Deadline for reserving advertising: October 27 Spring 2001Issu e Theme: Diversity and Inclusiveness Deadline for submissions: February 2 Deadline for reserving advertising: February 16 Submissions, advertising, and subscription inquiries: Leslie Rawls, Editor P.O. Box 38325,Charlotte , NC 28278 USA Phone/Fax: (704)583-1279; [email protected] (Dharma TafKi Taking the Hand or Surreringf ky Tkick Nkat Hank ome days the sky is com­ pletely clear, without a S single cloud. When we look up, we see the blue sky—very peaceful, very powerful. The blue sky is always there for us. When it rains and storms, clouds cover the sky, but we are confident the blue sky is still there. And we are at peace, because we know that blue sky and fine weather will return after the rain. Sometimes our mind is very clear like ablu e sky. We have so much happiness. We practice walking meditation with our brothers and sisters in the Sangha, and feel so happy. Our hearts are at peace and open, with a lot of space and freedom like the blue sky. We feel light and free, and we smile. We are kind to everyone. We make ourselves happy and we make others happy. If we the rotten peg is;th e rotten peg goes out. That is practice mindfulness on days like that, our happiness changing the peg. When we are bored, we can change will increase, and so will the happiness of those the peg by bringing another kind of mind along,a around us. We know how to benefit from the times mind that is fresher, happier. Boredom has arisen when our mind is asclea r as the vault of the blue sky because this freshness has not yet manifested. Now, without any clouds. That is a very important practice. what can we do for this freshness to take the place of But there are also times when our mind is not our sadness and boredom? An elder brother or sister clear. It is not at peace, it is not free. We have can help us, or a younger brother or sister can help worries, afflictions, and sadness in us, like the sky us.The y can rescue us from our sadness. That person has clouds. We cannot see the blue sky of our minds is asfres h andjoyfu l as a morning bird.Tha t person anymore.W e see only clouds in all directions. comes and takes our hand, and leads us out of our Sometimes we are not angry or in despair, but our sadness, our darkness.Thank s to the presence of the heart is full of clouds.Thi s is a very common stateo f Sangha, thanks to afello w practitioner, we are able to mind—the absence of happiness. Just alittl e bit of get out of this darkness. Or maybe we can do it on anxiety, a little bit of sadness, and we don't know our own. We have the sutras, poems, practices, and whether iti srea l anxiety or real sadness. We know short stories that can help us develop positive mental that it's not happiness, but we are not sure that it's formations. In this way, we "change the peg." suffering. We're bored. Everything is too ordinary; There is another aspect of the practice. Instead of nothing is clear orbright . As the poet said, "Today changing the peg, we allow the feeling to stay, the flowers rise high, and I am sad. Idon' t know because our desire to change the peg immediately why."Whe n ada y passes with that kind of sadness sometimes has a negative side to it.Whe n we have and boredom, it's aterribl e waste. We want to get some kind of sadness or anxiety, no happiness, we beyond that sadness and boredom, and touch the blue should embrace our sadness, our anxiety. Don't be in sky. a hurry to get rid of it. We should ask, "My mental In the sutra, the Buddha taught us the way of formation, are you suffering or not? Are you my changing the peg. When we have a mental formation enemy, my little mental formation?" Don't treat it that wedon' t like very much, we can change it with like an enemy. Don't be in a hurry to find a way to another mental formation, like acarpente r changing a oppress it. Embrace it and allow it to stay. "Dear peg that holds two planks of wood together. The mental formation, Ikno w you are there. Now stay carpenter hammers ane w peg into the place where with me alittl e bit. Are you really suffering?" 2000 fatt/The Mindfufness •BeU Our mind is like the sky. Sometimes the skyjus t comes out, we see how wonderful it is.T o accept the hasblueness , sometimes itha s clouds.Wh y do we rainy days is very important. have to be so anxious? The Earth has different When it rains, we are not afflicted, we are not climates and weather, and our mind does too.Th e sky suffering. We accept the rain. We cannot go outside. is changeable and people are also changeable. There We close the door to keep warm. We have our lunch is morning rain, thunder, sunshine.Ther e are times and our tea inside. Our mind is the same.Whe n our when the sky is cloudy, times when it is dull, times mind is clear, we do different things than we do when when it is blue and clear. Some people have boredom our mind is cloudy. We should not be afraid. If our or sadness from time to time.It' s quite normal. We mind is dull, we know how to practice. If it is clear, say to our boredom or our sadness, "I know you are we know how to practice.W e do not oppose any kind there."It' s okay. And we have tob e happy, although of mind. When we sit down with our dull mental the feeling is sadness.W e accept that this is real. This formation with all our caring and love, we will begin sadness is real, this anxiety is real. It couldn't be to understand it, and we will say, "Cloudy mental anything else. So our new attitude is to embrace it, to formation, Ireall y need you. Because of you, I have be its friend. And then, it becomes very easy to bear. the capacity to see my beautiful mental formations. It'sjus t anxiety or sadness, and it's not so difficult to And Idon' t want to oppress you. You are not my bear. enemy. Ikno w you are necessary for the manifesta­ Don't think that happiness is the absence of all tion and growth of positive mental formations." suffering. If we understand it like that, wehav e not When we know how to take hold of our cloudy understood happiness. We don't have to oppress or mental formations and do walking meditation with push all our suffering out of us in order to have them, then quite naturally, the situation becomes happiness.