The Best Buddhist Writing 2010 - Melvin McLeod [24]
Mindful breathing is a kind of bridge that brings the body and the mind together. If through mindfulness of the breath you generate harmony, depth, and calm, these will penetrate into your body and mind. In fact, whatever happens in the mind affects the body, and vice versa. If you generate peacefulness in your breathing, that peacefulness permeates your body and your state of mind. If you have practiced meditation, you have already discovered this. If you have been able to embrace your in-breath and your out-breath with tenderness, you know that they in turn embrace your body and your mind. Peace is contagious. Happiness is also contagious, because in the practice of meditation, the three elements of body, mind, and breath become one.
So as you breathe in, respect the in-breath. Light up the lamp of mindfulness so that it illuminates your in-breath. “Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in.” It’s simple. When the in-breath is short, you take note of the fact that it is short. That’s all. You don’t need to judge. Just note very simply: my in-breath is short and I know that it is short. Do not try to make it longer. Let it be short. And when your in-breath is long, you simply say to yourself, “My in-breath is long.”
You respect your in-breath, your out-breath, your physical body, and your mental formations. The in-breath moves inward, the out-breath moves outward. In and out. It’s child’s play; but it provides a great deal of happiness. During the time you are doing it, there is no tension at all. You are here for life; and if you are here for life, life will be here for you. It’s simple.
Answers to Children’s Questions
Thich Nhat Hanh
The author of a number of children’s books, Thich Nhat Hanh often begins his talks with teachings especially for the children in the audience. In every program he sets aside time to answer questions from children and young people, and as you’ll see, he doesn’t dumb it down for them. They ask good and important questions and his answers deliver clear, strong dharma that all of us can benefit from.
Who was the Buddha?
The Buddha was a person, just like you and me. He was a prince named Siddhartha, who lived in Nepal about 2,600 years ago. He had everything he could want: a beautiful palace, wealth, the best foods, luxurious vacations, and plenty of power. He was a very good student. He learned very well. He grew up, got married, and had a little boy. But he wasn’t happy. He knew something important was missing in his life. Although his father tried to hide all human suffering from him, Siddhartha saw how much people were suffering, and he saw how little his father, the king, was able to do to help them.
His father wanted him to become king, but Siddhartha didn’t want to be king. Instead, he determined to become a monk, in order to liberate himself from suffering so that he could help others. Siddhartha left the royal palace during the night, leaving behind his wife and his son, and he went to the woods and practiced as a monk for many years. Finally he became a buddha, a fully enlightened person. Then he began to teach. He taught for forty-five years and helped many people—rich people, poor people, all kinds of people—and he had many students. He died at the age of eighty. His teaching has been handed down through the generations, and now we are his students.
The Buddha said that every one of us can become a buddha like him. If we have love, understanding, and peace, if we can transform our anger, our jealousy, then we can become a buddha like him. And in the cosmos there are many other buddhas. Wherever there are human beings, there is the possibility of a buddha, or many buddhas, manifesting.
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