Tsoknyi Rinpoche’s Fully Being Retreat 23-25 Nov 2019

So many precious teachings shared by Tsoknyi Rinpoche in the last few days.

1. Respect complexity with simplicity at heart

Find unconditional happiness that is simple, With that simplicity we engage world, so you actually observe the dance between simplicity and complexity.

2. Recognize our innate birth right human qualities 

With mindful awareness to nurture fully then we can be fully be/being.

We are faced with human nature n human conditions, the latter we can transform to nurture our beautiful human nature.

3. Blockages

See the blockages? Don’t need to feel bad we all have blockages 

We have so many beautiful qualities that we r not nurturing nourishing because difficult human conditions leave imprints on us, these imprints are healthy and unhealthy. 

Through awareness of feelings we can know them better:

Are these imprints in our feeling world or thinking mind? 

Human nature is beautiful n has a lot of quality, awakening enlightened quality. But humans need to live in conditions – like society education upbringing. Human conditions is like stock market that goes up n downs n leave imprints.

Unhealthy imprints we transform. We transform together. 

How do we know imprints is healthy or unhealthy?

Eg fear has healthy and unhealthy fear

Every learning is imprint, there are learned habitual patterns n karmic imprints. 

Identify healthy fear and unhealthy fear ?

Do you see we have this ability – oh this is my imprint oh is this fact 

Can you differentiate that?

Yes you have ability but r u practicing that? 

We have ability but most of time we don’t practice- why don’t we see what is missing?

We need to practice! We need awareness, Need Conscious awareness !

4. Imprints in the subtle body 

Ups n downs of human conditions give imprints, imprints gives us problems in life n we see things distorted 

So we need to Transform our distorted glass to see the fact

See through. Then, Love comes without external reasons because u see truth n power of truth. Then there is  Joy n openness, awareness n stillness, inner peace simplicity. 

Transform distorted unhealthy imprints, because even if you don’t know, they r changing your life!

Be well inwardly, Become a small hero be internally healthy

Subtle body practices is v impt  in this age. You have a right to feel well —-it’s called birthright 

When outside go up n down and u still feel well

It’s balance of subtle body- nadi bindu prana

So feel ok naturally internally , that’s Inner wealth, Inner well being, Inner strength. 

Reconnect rejuvenate you inner body subtle health

Enquire

Investigate 

Analyze

Problem is not knowing but something else is blocking. Many years ago we don’t know so we make mistakes. But now we know but cannot practice—-because Something else is blocking

We must be aware of blockages n transform that so we can have better life

It’s not about logical facts it’s abt smtg else, this smtg else is happening blocking you.

Circumstance sin life (like bridge) triggered u, so you already have smtg else inside you. Why did the circumstance (bridge) trigger not another but trigger me? Do u blame the circumstance (bridge)?

We r all human but have different conditions. 

Scan yourself internally 

Realize you have this imprint – such as fear of height that you have but another don’t have

Because Human conditions differ 

Imprint is chop not healed , like wounds or beautiful monsters

Like cause, Imprint triggered and activated and goes one more time

Now practice and meditation n mindful awareness comes!

We need this experience ! If not how to transform our imprint?

At first we can’t control but slowly with practice we can heal n slowly heal n get lesser

After activation normally we react to it we believe it

Thru practice n meditation n awareness, instead of joining them u find some other place to be

It’s just leftover residue 

Not the situation not actual fact

Keep training that way 

Try not reacting

When we not reacting we will not reinforce

Why imprint start to transform?

Because we not reinforcing

Why we r lot reinforcing 

Because we not reacting not feeding it

How not to react – aware of it feel it

Noticing it

Cultivate some other goodness

Then the distorted condition will open up 

Even when u r sleepy u feel openness warm heart conscious mindful awareness 

Once I lose awareness U fall into unconsciousness n cannot liberate

Grounded 

Mind in a grounded body

Emotion is reaction

Stop thinking

Because Thinking will explain 

Mind always want to make conclusion to feeling

5. Practice

Just feel

Just aware of what you can be aware of

No thinking

Just noticing

Don’t push away

Pushing away is unkind

Any that arise let it b

If not don’t look for it

Relax

Event is gone 

You feel pain anxiety etc but it’s not true

It is real but not true

Welcome everything 

Practice this again n again

One day u will see v clearly human nature n human conditions 

6. Helping Another

If u want to help your difficult child don’t lecture feel the pain with him together

Stay there

They don’t want your solution

They know but cannot do it

7. Practice

Just drop into body

If u keep thinking the same u r not thinking new thoughts

Y do thoughts arise?

Every thought has a teabag imprint emotional teabag

To release the thought go back to teabag the emotional blockage aware of that thought feel that thought n communicate to that thought n release that understanding let it go nicely

Sometime U need to forgive n accept

Many ways to communicate 

8 . Can we change imprint ?

1. Acknowledge emotion and learned habitual patterns. Acknowledge no need to scared- that imprint is not you – Buddha nature is u intelligent is u compassionate is you. It’s just part of me but not who I m . Who I m? I m emptiness luminosity you r Buddha nature 
2. Transform
3. Handshake practice- even if we know bridge is safe cognitive mind understand but what abt feeling ?feeling need to know what mind feels otherwise still split – need good connection between mind n feeling. Mind n feeling need to communicate come together and make friends to transform . Otherwise it’s just understanding not transforming 

Day 2 Prana or lung or Qi related teachings

Subtle body consists –

Nadi

Prana

Bindu

Lung 

Is Source or cause Of Internal movements n external movements 

Drives thought emotion blood flow

When this lung is distorted many unhappy 

Lung moves thru channels with right speed all well

If too fast, creates certain feelings

When lung too slow or low,

Need balance 

Understanding lung v impt

Nature of lung is v fine

Almost invisible but impact great on our lives 

We can feel it’s impact on nadi we feel in our nerves

See effect of Qi or lung

Qi effects mind

Mind effects Qi

Almost together 

Qi rest in dantian 

Qi rises up because of worry a lot of external conditions 

Mind active Qi comes

Qi comes horse comes Qi down horse goes

Mind active with hope n fear

From childhood we disturb our lung

One day Qi lost its root n place n always stays up head n in different channels n cause different emotions esp restlessness anxious panic 

—— massage relax holidays

Qi is doing all the work

Qi creates things n keeps moving

Qi gets wrong habit of loving

Lung is not listening to mind anymore

There’s a way to calm down

Lung- symptom of it is disturb stillness keeps wanting to move 

Mind n Lung not cooperating

Used to listen to mind

Now it’s lung disorder 

When in lung disorder or distorted lung

Whole perception feels rushed

Speedy lung Shapes perception 

Feel head hot just keep moving mouth dry eyes hot 

Lung just keeps moving

Mind says smtg but feeling not like that

Problem when mind is subdued by lung n feels busy n restlessness 

So aware

Differentiate

Restlessness is not mind is the lung

Have to bring Qi down to develop stillness 

Bring Qi to home- redirect!

Vase breathing can help!

Upper belly

Lower belly 

There r 3 types of speed-

1.Physical

2.Subtle body

3.Cognitive mind speed

Mind fast is good coz u r alert n  understand quickly it should b like that 

but not fast in distorted way

Distorted Qi don’t want to stay one place for three hours

Qi influence thought

We get burnt out because we r beaten by this Qi

Qi says not this one but next one

Qi says The right one is the next one

No fully being

Find speed of physical body

Mind clear n alert

Lung peaceful 

So your body can do things quickly mind fast n alert but lung is low is calm n relaxed 

Calm has nothing to do with physical it’s energy 

Stress comes fr thought emotion n fast moving Qi

When Relax – release thought emotion 

Smile at Qi

Inner beauty 

Bring alignment 

Bindu is home of clarity, guts or courage, love, joy, Humour

When bindu not circulating properly, u feel fear uncertain foggy n can’t find any reason

Taken over by unhealthy distorted fear

2 kinds of love -essence love n expression love

We r caught up with expression love or conditional love ie because of smtg

Expression love kills essence love

If u follow this ( conditions) you will lose your love 

When bindu is moving properly thru u it feels like I m okay feel ok I want to give my okayness

Without this there’s a hollow empty feeling

When u have a hollow things hit uneasily

Advertisements etc

So connect with essence love bindu

Without losing can practice expression love

Essence love is unconditional love

Wellbeing or feeling good Without reason

Conditional love will change because these external conditions expression love is based reliant on will change

Essence love – Without reason makes you attractive 

Feel clarity joy humour 

Talk to your blockage

When one doesn’t wake up for work, it is because one is discouraged n doesn’t see value in oneself 

Human conditions can change it’s not permanent 

Try to smile to the pain

Just smile

Don’t judge it

When u see the pain It means u r coming closer to the beautiful monster so lean on it 

hug it 

Pain has an end to it

After a while  it will open up n go away

It will exhaust 

Just wait 

Waiting is also kindness 

Say sorry – sorry u have to go thru this way

Communicate with pain

Thank you I have learnt from you 

Thank your beautiful monsters because I have learnt a lot from them

Day 3 Cultivate

Without subtle body practice can’t experience clarity as we r disturbed by imprints Qi imbalance lack of essence love 

Now I know what to cultivate

If u practice u have gd tools 

If u practice u can transform 

Everyday I put effort to cultivate 

Essence love gives u deep calm guts about who u really r

That as a ground to practice clarity

Look at our imprints 

Bring down lung into balance 

Connect with Essence love 

Cultivate bodhicitta

Wisdom

Imprints are leftover residue 

Triggered or activated by similar experience 

Liberate by being kind n talking to imprint n feelings

Can differentiate Voice from cognitive mind vs voice fr feeling world

Body needs to hear you talk to it

It’s an expression of love

Beautiful monsters are shaping our lives n we r reacting subconsciously 

With conscious practice we can change them

A lot of fun

Discover n understanding your loved ones 

Know that beautiful monster is but a residue 

Have awareness 

Persist n communicate with beautiful monster 

Bring Qi to balance 

Hollow is a a problem 

Sophisticated modern life creates a lot of hollow but if u connect w essence love hollow goes away n become small bodhisottva

Transmit to children 

N nourish their essence love

Help them to nourish 

Clarity 

Knowing thinking (mind ) awareness clarity 

Clarity is uniqueness of mind also called luminosity 

Healthy mind – clear,  thought free , nowness 

Keep calmness n alert- without sinking 

Open up our five senses 

Knowing everything ewww

Know but not grasping or fixated 

Shamatha without object or support

Free means fearless

Means no blockages

When close everything u r making war

2nd shamatha practice is with object

Intentionally u focus on flower 

Aware n knowing n b with flower

People moving smell etc all don’t disturb u

Gentle concentration 

In order to transform we have to repeat 

Dropping exercise

Just drop la

It’s the beginning of practice before handshake 

There r many Things we can drop but lack of mindfulness we keep holding in our being

So be aware n drop or with mindful awareness we let it go

Then relax

For strong emotions feel n slowly it opens up n heals

Some pockets of stress high lung drop 

Be carefree inside 

We have this capability but we forget so we dropping consciously as a practice but not from pressure 

Find freedom in your body

Drop 

Just free be with that openness

Say nice words

Trigger goodness 

Bringing Qi home

• awareness 
• Breath 
• Bindu connected with clarity love bliss courage humour when bindu goes thru u have these qualities n basis of healthy subtle body—-loving kindness —- bodhicitta ——— open heart 
• we r aware of our mind n Clarity  

Practice 45 min evyday

1. drop
2. Take refuge – visualize Buddha or thousands of Buddhas in front of you
3. Chant – May I be enlightened so that I can help myself and others
4. Visualization with mantra- guanyin, Tara, ask for blessings for yourself for all light goes infinity while chanting . 1 Mala. 
5. Buddha light infiltrate your being. Mingling your mind with Buddha 
6. Meditation 
7. Dedicate 

Handshake practice – as u need it

Please live healthy happy don’t fight in the family 

Not worth it

Life is more beautiful than fighting

While you are together love each other

Even if you can’t live don’t hurt

Things can change nothing is permanent 

Change wrong cause n conditions

Bring good cause n conditions 

Develop appreciation 

Lack of appreciation gives anxiety 

Happy with what I have – don’t forget the gd you have n keep looking 

Pls help your family

First step is help your family

Even if u love each other 

There r imprints so Release them n transform them

First, internal home should b healthy

Then external home

Dedicate your goodness your dharma

Keep the love even if some of your family r gone

Let them go n dedicate your goodness to them

They would like to see you happy  

Stopping

Is it coincidence? That I see this now? So many wonderful teachings in here.

https://www.lionsroar.com/resting-in-the-river/?mc_cid=cfa2f17e1c&mc_eid=6069ee436d

Rest in the River

BY THICH NHAT HANH

My dear friends, suppose someone is holding a pebble and throws it in the air and the pebble begins to fall down into a river. After the pebble touches the surface of the water, it allows itself to sink slowly into the river.

It will reach the bed of the river without any effort. Once the pebble is at the bottom of the river, it continues to rest. It allows the water to pass by.

I think the pebble reaches the bed of the river by the shortest path because it allows itself to fall without making any effort. During our sitting meditation we can allow ourselves to rest like a pebble. We can allow ourselves to sink naturally without effort to the position of sitting, the position of resting.

Resting is a very important practice; we have to learn the art of resting. Resting is the first part of Buddhist meditation. You should allow your body and your mind to rest. Our mind as well as our body needs to rest.

The problem is that not many of us know how to allow our body and mind to rest. We are always struggling; struggling has become a kind of habit. We cannot resist being active, struggling all the time. We struggle even during our sleep.

It is very important to realize that we have the habit energy of struggling. We have to be able to recognize a habit when it manifests itself because if we know how to recognize our habit, it will lose its energy and will not be able to push us anymore.

Ten years ago I was in India visiting the ex-untouchable community of Buddhists. A friend who belonged to the caste organized the trip for me. I was sitting on the bus, enjoying the landscape outside, contemplating the palm trees and the vegetation. Suddenly I turned and I saw him looking very tense. There was no reason why he had to be tense like that. I thought that he was trying to make my visit pleasant and maybe that was the reason he was so tense. I told him, “Dear friend, I know that you want to make my trip pleasant, but I am already very happy. I’ve already enjoyed the trip. So why don’t you sit back, smile, and relax?” He said, “Okay,” and he sat back and he tried to relax.

I was pleased and I turned my face toward the window again and I enjoyed the palm trees and other things. But just a few minutes after when I looked back at him he was as tense as before. He was not able to relax, to allow himself to relax. I knew that he belonged to that section of the population that had been struggling for many thousand years. He was discriminated against. He had suffered so much, his ancestors and himself and his children. So the tendency to struggle has been there for many thousand years. That is why it was very difficult for him to allow himself to rest.

When an animal in the jungle is wounded, it knows how to find a quiet place, lie down and do nothing. The animal knows that is the only way to get healed—to lay down and just rest.

We have to practice in order to be able to transform this habit in us. The habit of struggle has become a powerful source of energy that is shaping our behavior, our actions and our reactions.

When an animal in the jungle is wounded, it knows how to find a quiet place, lie down and do nothing. The animal knows that is the only way to get healed—to lay down and just rest, not thinking of anything, including hunting and eating. Not eating is a very wonderful way of allowing your body to rest. We are so concerned about how to get nutrition that we are afraid of resting, of allowing our body to rest and to fast. The animal knows that it does not need to eat. What it needs is to rest, to do nothing, and that is why its health is restored.

In our consciousness there are wounds also, lots of pains. Our consciousness also needs to rest in order to restore itself. Our consciousness is just like our body. Our body knows how to heal itself if we allow it the chance to do so. When we get a cut on our finger we don’t have to do anything except to clean it and to allow it the time to heal, because our body knows how to heal itself. The same thing is true with our consciousness; our consciousness knows how to heal itself if we know how to allow it to do so. But we don’t allow it. We always try to do something. We worry so much about healing, which is why we do not get the healing we need. Only if we know how to allow them to rest can our body and our soul heal themselves.

But there is in us what we call the energy of restlessness. We cannot be at peace with ourselves. We cannot be peaceful. We cannot sit; we cannot lie down. There is some energy in us to do this, to do that, to think of this, to think of that, and that kind of restlessness makes us unhappy. That is why it is so important for us to learn first of all to allow our body to rest. We have to learn how to deal with all our energy of restlessness. That is why we have to learn these techniques of allowing our body and our consciousness to rest.

I would like to offer you some instructions about walking meditation. The first thing we shall do early tomorrow morning is to practice walking together, which we call walking meditation. Walking meditation means to enjoy walking without any intention to arrive. We don’t need to arrive anywhere. We just walk. We enjoy walking. That means walking is already stopping, and that needs some training.

The miracle is not to walk on burning charcoal or in the thin air or on the water; the miracle is just to walk on earth.

Usually in our daily life we walk because we want to go somewhere. Walking is only a means to an end, and that is why we do not enjoy every step we take. Walking meditation is different. Walking is only for walking. You enjoy every step you take. So this is a kind of revolution in walking. You allow yourself to enjoy every step you take.

The Zen master Ling Chi said that the miracle is not to walk on burning charcoal or in the thin air or on the water; the miracle is just to walk on earth. You breathe in. You become aware of the fact that you are alive. You are still alive and you are walking on this beautiful planet. That is already performing a miracle. The greatest of all miracles is to be alive. We have to awaken ourselves to the truth that we are here, alive. We are here making steps on this beautiful planet. This is already performing a miracle.

But we have to be here in order for the miracle to be possible. We have to bring ourselves back to the here and the now. Therefore each step we take becomes a miracle. If you are able to walk like that, each step will be very nourishing and healing. You walk as if you kiss the earth with your feet, as if you massage the earth with your feet. There is a lot of love in that practice of walking meditation.

The Buddha said that the past is gone and the future is not yet here. Let us not regret the past. Let us not worry about the future. Go back to the present moment and live deeply the present moment. Because the present moment is the only moment where you can touch life. Life is available only in the present moment. That is why walking meditation is to go back to the present moment, in order to be alive again and to touch life deeply in that moment. In order to be able to touch the earth with our feet and enjoy walking, we have to establish ourselves firmly in the present moment, in the here and the now.

I have arrived, I have arrived. I am home, I am home.

In walking meditation, we walk like a free person. This is not political freedom. This is freedom from afflictions, from sorrow, from fear. Unless you are free you cannot enjoy walking. I would like to propose to you a short poem that you might like to use for walking meditation:

I have arrived. I am home.
In the here. In the now.
I am solid. I am free.
In the ultimate I dwell.

You might like to take two steps and breathe in and say, I have arrived, I have arrived. And when you breathe out, you take another two steps and say silently, I am home, I am home. Our true home is really in the here and in the now. Because only in the here and the now can we touch life. As the Buddha said, life is available only in the here and the now, so going back to the present moment is going home. That is why you take one step or two steps and you awaken to the fact that you have arrived. You have arrived in the present moment.

If you are able to arrive, then you will stop running—running within and running without. There is a belief in us that happiness cannot be possible in the here and the now. We have to go somewhere. We have to go to the future in order to be able to really be happy.

That kind of thinking has been there for a long time. Maybe that feeling has been transmitted to us from our ancestors and our parents. That is why we have to wake up to the presence of that habit energy in us and to do the reverse. The Buddha said that it is possible for us to be peaceful and happy in the present moment. That is the teaching of trista dharma sadha vihara. It means living happily right in the present moment. When you are there, body and mind united, you have an opportunity to touch the conditions of your happiness. If you are able to touch these conditions of happiness that are already available in the here and the now, you can be happy right away. You don’t have to run anywhere, especially into the future.
When we practice walking, we might be aware that we have strong feet. Our feet are strong enough for us to enjoy running and walking. That is one condition for happiness that is available. When I breathe in and I become aware of my eyes, I encounter another condition for my happiness. Breathing in, I am aware of my eyes. Breathing out, I smile to my eyes. This is an exercise, a very simple exercise to help you realize that you have eyes which are still in good condition. You need only to open your eyes to see the blue sky, the white cloud, the luxurious vegetation. You can see all kinds of forms and colors just because you have eyes still in good condition. Your eyes are another condition for your happiness. We have so many conditions like that for our happiness and yet we are still unhappy. We still want to run away from the present moment, hoping we’ll find some happiness in the future.

Breathing in, I’m aware of my heart. Breathing out, I smile to my heart. That is another exercise. When you practice like that you touch your heart with your mindfulness. If you continue a minute, you realize that you still have a heart that functions normally. It is wonderful to have a heart that still functions normally. There are people who don’t have a heart like that and their deepest desire is to have a heart like you. So conditions for happiness may be more than enough for us to be happy, but we are not able to be happy because of that tendency to run away from the present moment.

Make the present moment, the here and the now, into your true home. That is the only home that we have.

To take an in-breath, to smile, and to touch the conditions of happiness that are available, is something that all of us can do. Because of that we can stop and establish ourselves in the present moment. That is the teaching of living happily in the present moment. Please train yourself to make the present moment, the here and the now, into your true home. That is the only home that we have. That is the only place where we can touch life. Everything we are looking for must be found in the here and the now. In that way walking meditation can be a great pleasure and can be very healing.

Do you have to make any effort to practice walking meditation? I don’t think so. It is like when you drink a glass of orange juice. Do you think that you have to make an effort in order to enjoy the orange juice? No. Walking is like that. To really enjoy a glass of orange juice, you have to be there one hundred per cent mind and body together. If you are there, mind and body firmly established in the present moment, then a glass of orange juice will become a real thing for you. You are real; therefore, the juice is real. And there life is real. Life exists. Life is deep during the time you drink your orange juice.

When you contemplate a beautiful sunset, do you have to make any effort? I don’t think so. You don’t have to make any effort in order to enjoy a beautiful sunset. You need only to be there, to be there mind and body together. But if your body is there and your mind is in the past or in the future, then the beautiful sunset will not be there for you.

There is a kind of energy that helps you to be there body and mind together. That energy is called mindfulness. Mindfulness is the capacity of being there body and mind united. When you drink your orange juice, drink mindfully and you will enjoy your juice because you are really there one hundred per cent. If your body and mind are united when you contemplate the beautiful sunset, it means that you are mindful. Mindfulness helps you to be there in order for the beautiful sunset to be there too. While you walk, if you allow yourself to be there mind and body together, then walking will become mindful walking; it will be healing, refreshing and nourishing.

To meditate means first of all to be there, to be on your cushion, to be on your walking meditation path. Eating also is a meditation if you are really there, present one hundred per cent with your food. The essential is to be there. So please when you practice walking meditation, don’t make any effort. Allow yourself to be like that pebble at rest. The pebble is resting at the bottom of the river and the pebble does not have to do anything. While you are walking, you are resting. While you are sitting, you are resting.

If you struggle during your sitting meditation or walking meditation, you are not doing it right. The Buddha said, “My practice is the practice of non-practice.” That means a lot. Give up all struggle. Allow yourself to be, to rest.

I sit on my meditation cushion. I consider it to be something very pleasant. I don’t struggle at all on my cushion. I allow myself to be, to rest. I don’t make any effort and that is why I do not get any trouble while sitting. While sitting I do not struggle and that is why all my muscles are relaxed. If you struggle during your sitting meditation, you will very soon have pain in your shoulders and back and things like that. But if you allow yourself to be rested on your cushion you can sit very long, and each minute is light, refreshing, nourishing and healing.

It is not sitting in order to struggle to get enlightenment. No. Sitting first of all is for the pleasure of sitting. Walking first of all is for the pleasure of walking. And eating is for the pleasure of eating. And the art is to be there one hundred per cent.

When I was a novice I learned how to light a stick of incense in mindfulness. You see, when you light incense you think that the purpose of lighting incense is to have the incense pervading the Buddha’s home. But lighting the incense is just for lighting the incense. You pick up a stick of incense mindfully and you enjoy that, because it is by itself an act of meditation. During the time you pick up the stick of incense you are mindful, you are concentrated, you are real, because your body and your mind are together. And the stick of incense is real. When you strike a match, you do the same thing. During the time you strike a match, you only strike a match. You don’t do anything else. You don’t think of other things. You are perfectly mindful of striking a match. You are concentrated on it, and you enjoy the act of lighting the incense.

When you hold a stick of incense, it is the same. When I stick it into the incense burner, I put my left hand on my right hand. That is the tradition. Everyone in the Buddhist tradition lights incense in that way. The stick of incense is very light; one hand is enough in order to hold it. Why do you have to put your left hand on your right hand? Because it means that you are doing it with one hundred per cent of your body and your mind.

Be there truly. Be there one hundred per cent of yourself. In every moment of your daily life. That is the essence of true Buddhist meditation. Each of us knows that we can do that, so let us train to live each moment of our daily life deeply. That is why I like to define mindfulness as the energy that helps us to be there one hundred per cent. The energy of your true presence.

Breathing in—in the here, in the here. Breathing out—in the now, in the now. Although these are different words they mean exactly the same thing. I have arrived in the here. I have arrived in the now. I am home in the here. I am home in the now.

When you practice like that, you practice stopping. Stopping is the basic Buddhist practice of meditation. You stop running. You stop struggling. You allow yourself to rest, to heal, to calm.

And after a few minutes of practice you might switch into doing the third line—I am solid, I am free. This is not auto-suggestion. Why? Because if you have succeeded in arriving in the here and in the now you are much freer. You are free from the past, from the future, from your worries, from your fear. And you become much more solid; your steps become more solid and you become more solid in your body and in your mind. Solidity becomes a reality after a few minutes of arriving, of being home.

Solidity and freedom are two characteristics of nirvana. Nirvana is not something abstract. The Buddha said we can touch nirvana with our own body. So while you practice walking meditation you can begin to touch nirvana already with your body and your spirit.

When you feel you are a little bit more solid, a little bit more free, then you begin to touch nirvana with your body and spirit. Solidity and freedom are the true base for your happiness and well being. No happiness, no well being, is possible without solidity and freedom.

The last line of the poem is wonderful. In the ultimate I dwell. In the ultimate. In the ultimate. I dwell. I dwell. The ultimate here is the true foundation of your being.

Let us visualize the waves on the ocean, several waves appearing on the surface of the ocean. Some waves are big, there are those that are small, and each wave seems to have its own life. A wave may have ideas like, “I am a wave. I am only a wave among many waves. I am smaller than the other wave. I am less beautiful. I last less than the other wave.” Ideas like that. A wave can be caught in jealousy, in fear, in discrimination.

But if the wave is able to bend down and touch the water within herself, it will realize that while it is a wave, it is at the same time water. Water is the foundation of the wave. While waves can be high and low, more and less beautiful, the water is free from all these notions. That is why if we are able to touch the foundation of our being, we can release our fear and our suffering.

Touching the foundation of our being means touching nirvana. Our foundation is not subjected to birth and death, being and non-being. A wave can live the life of a wave, but a wave can do much better than that. While living the life of a wave, a wave can live a life of the water. The more our solidity and our freedom grows, the deeper we touch the ground of our own being. That is the door for emancipation, for the greatest relief.

Instead of being blown

Instead of being blown around in this world there has to come a time, there has to be a place, there has to be a spot, where one stands still like a mountain. Although the wind blows, you don’t move. The wind can blow and blow, but you don’t move and eventually the wind gives up.

https://m.facebook.com/notes/wisdom-wonders/be-like-a-mountain-by-ajahn-brahm/1956228484645442/

Learning from the Bardos

Amazing interview and great soundbites from Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche in this link

https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/yongey-mingyur-rinpoche-video/

He talks about bardo, or the gaps in between. These gaps we can be mindful of in our lives that allow us to get really close to ourselves and our true nature.

These gaps we can transform as we let ourselves die and be with the present. These gaps that allow us to discover.

Transform

A Practice of Kindness for the Self

• Close your eyes, grounding yourself on your seat. Make sure you are fully supported and your feet are placed firmly on the ground.
• Become aware of the breath permeating your body. Imagine it to be a spray clearing the toxins from your heart.
• After a minute try to visualize looking back at yourself, or see yourself in a beautiful place that you enjoy. Or just silently call your name. Remember to breathe.
• After another minute say to yourself, “May I be happy,” then breathe and acknowledge how this feels. Then say, “May I be well,” then breathe and acknowledge how this feels. Then say, “May I be kind toward my suffering,” then breathe.
• Allow yourself to sit in stillness with whatever arises. After a few minutes say, “May I cultivate more kindness within my heart. May I cultivate more peace within my heart. May I continue to develop and grow.”
• Continue to recite these phrases, leaving a minute or two between each, staying connected with yourself all the time.
• After ten minutes bring the practice to an end.

The full story here: https://www.lionsroar.com/a-practice-for-nourishing-yourself/?fbclid=IwAR0z-_lImgZDIiYiHHo7ooC7MCmblsdAv_bZfbZwN8YgNx_WAGvs3kkHVAA

May I be kind to myself in this Moment

1. Put both hands on your heart, pause, and feel their warmth. You can also put your hand anyplace on your body that feels soothing and comforting, like your belly or face.
2. Breathe deeply in and out.
3. Speak these words to yourself, out loud or silently, in a warm and caring tone:

This is a moment of suffering.
Suffering is a part of life.
May I be kind to myself in this moment.
May I give myself the compassion I need.

The full article here.

https://www.lionsroar.com/meditation-be-kind-to-yourself/?utm_content=buffer85fdc&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Repair it

You Already Have What You Are Looking For

“Appreciation isn’t positive thinking. It’s not wishing things to be better than they really are. Appreciation is taking the time to notice what’s already here, what we have right now in this very moment. This capacity gives us the inner strength to work with our suffering in a skillful way, and to stay connected to each other as we do.”——–Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

https://www.lionsroar.com/you-already-have-what-youre-looking-for/?fbclid=IwAR1o-Vizn3xnHdDenUucB-IcquKghKtnZyy9sSU924r1ld5-n1bvhxPSKWg

New Eyes, New Mind, New Heart

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche’s New Year Message. So wise, so concise, so on point.

New Year’s Message 2019

Happy New Year! I will pray that the new year brings you happiness, health, and also that you will develop your spiritual journey, your awareness, compassion, and wisdom.

This is a new year and, of course, we all know that; our life is changing, the environment is changing, the whole world is changing. It is important that we accept that things are changing. We need to really
let go of, what I call our “fixed mind:” the mind that creates a prison or a jail for ourselves, layer after layer, with preconceptions and a lot of judgment and lots of ideas. We need to accept these changes. This new year is a big change, is it not? If you can be with what changes, accept that which changes, that will really bring, or it has for me, a new perspective on life that is fresh and really sees things clearly. I become clear about myself, about my life, and in meditation, it really helps me
to see my own mind, the natural qualities of my own mind.

You can see things around you, also, being fresh and alive. In a way, we all have this wonderful life, right now. It is amazing! and it is important to appreciate that you are alive, that you are breathing. At the same time, there is a lot of great qualities within us — within me, within you, and in this world. Appreciate that and be with it.

At the same time, practice letting go. Letting go is not giving up. Let go of your fixed mind. After letting go of your fixed mind, you will discover the fresh reality of yourself and the world. That only comes through accepting impermanence, changes.

With this day comes a big change for you and for all of us. It is New Year’s, right? I hope this new year will open new eyes, a new mind, and a new heart for you that is fresh, clear, joyful, and peaceful.

Thank you!

Mingyur Rinpoche’s 2019 New Year’s Message

Mary Bowens

dont make it happen, let it happen.

pilates is a way of living,

its a journey

,it is part of u. u think abt your body naturally and u grow into it.

on her teacher joseph pilates, she says he has this doggedness, that is awe inspiring. from 1926 to 1967, he repeated the same thing, day after day. he has this resolve to make the whole world healthier, he wanted to let the world know about pilates. he had a singular focus, and he didnt care about anything else.

i havent known any man who was like that in my life.

in a sentence, pilates is a way of relating to the body that embraces the whole body at once and encourages strengthening of flexibility, addressing symmetry.in the right structure, there will not be problems and aches in the body. and pilates adds alignment more than any other excercise. in every excercise, whole body is involved, toes knows, whole body knows, head knows, everything is v integrated.

people use too little of the body. you need to open up the range in your body, there should be a lifelong commitment to the health of your body.

there is so much more endurance and flexibility in my body now.

deepest goal in my psyche is to journey to the bottom of my own consciousness.that place is the most important place.

i was someone who didnt know how to sit down, i was totally active, so i learned to sit down and to be quiet.

to be passive is to be female. to be active is to b male.

and the truth is, we have a male consciousness in us females, that is why we are so much more hyperactive than males. there’ll be a big fight because if you do not let that, than u diminish the female side. its hard to tame that.

so when u learn to do nothing, you are more yourself.

the body led me into the depth of my journey, body was the teacher, everything becomes lighter in nature.

its not true that with age, everything shrinks. when i was 75, the spine was taking over most of the work, and as i watched it go far out, i realise, that’s the cat! i released the spine.we have that capacity! we can go very long if we get out of the head and let the body show us. that means a lot of life!

it is a life adventure to work with the body, all parts of it, its the way to grow yourself and grow instinctively. theres so much value in it. and go as deep as can u can go,

its not about the ego running a show, go further by inviting the body to open.

on the breath:

best breath is the yawn, its whole , superior and natural.

in my 30s, i spend 3hrs infront of a mirror and i couldnt yawn, later on, i realised that its the release in the body that produces the yawn. then i started to learn to breathe. and never stop it. dont cover it, in fact u need to advertise it. we are not doing enough!

it unlocks the tension in the body.

half of my life, i held my breath.

on death,

sometimes u think you conk out and its unfair,. so i always look for the next something, dont box yourself in.

but the next thing to happen is to die.

and it will be the new thing for each of us. that made peace with me.

steve jobs was the one who dies totally conscious. and the only 2 words he said as he approched death was,

wow. wow

and i thought, thats not bad, thats not bad at all.

philosophy of life

tips-

1)ground your whole body. when u r tired, u tend to sink and u dont feel well.then get your body in a lift.

lighten up by pulling yourself up, lift, and feel light to be right

you want to be in your core, because thats the engine that will keep you light.

2)flex your little toes, focus, try.

3)Sit on the edge of the chair

4)horse neighs on the inhale but we speak on the exhale, if you learn to neigh like the horse,

its so deep that it lifts you up and brings you up, all through the trunk. and all done on air.

5)talk to the body to work with it, the conscious is part of it, u cant be here to do without it, there has to be gratitude to the body, in terms of mindset and attitude, you learn how to make your body better.

start by moving anywhere you like, when somewhere hurts, you got a problem, explore what makes it not hurt.

6)cat poses in bed to relax spine

7)lying in bed, pull kness to chest

8)look right n left to release stiffness in head

9)stretch legs

10)get your body to stretch

stretches are wonderful, do all sorts of things to open up your body and the sides

climb up the wall with your fingers, go up on your toes,

why not use them?

dont make anything happen, dont try to make it happen. allow it to happen.

There’s something in the body, its looking within yourself to find yourself when you work with your consciousness. And after 56 years of having the mind with the body, i m still constantly checking myself.

on life/aging,

keep developing yourself in what you choose to do, you will be a gift to the world .its not how much money you make,

be totally engaged, know what you are about.

go deeper, what you find is your mission.

its surely to love, and not b afriad.