Thich Nhat Hanh - How to Connect

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First published in Great Britain by Rider in 2020
Published in the United States by Parallax Press in 2020

Copyright 2020 Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism, Inc.

Illustrations by Jason DeAntonis

The moral right of the author has been asserted

Cover Design Two Associates

ISBN: 978-1-473-58171-5

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We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.

Mindfulness is a healing balm that can put an end to our sense of alienation. It is a nonjudgmental awareness of whatever is happening inside us and around us.

When we bring all our attention to truly connect to whatever were doingwhether were walking, breathing, brushing our teeth, or eating a mealit takes us back to being present in the here and now, which is the foundation of happiness.

When I am mindful, I enjoy everything more, from my first sip of tea to my first step outside. I am here, available to life. And life is available to me.

Practicing mindful breathing and mindful walking, we can connect with the wonders of our body, the wonders of the Earth, and with the whole cosmos.

The energy of mindfulness helps give us the stability we need to recognize and embrace our difficult emotions and not let ourselves be overwhelmed by them. We can be in touch with the wonders of life around us and the generosity of Mother Earth, and we can recognize the many conditions for our happiness that already exist.

In daily life, we often forget that mind and body are connected. Our body is here, but our mind is somewhere else. We easily get caught up in our work, our plans, our anxieties, our dreams, and we arent living in our body anymore. Today we are living more and more in our mind and becoming increasingly alienated from the natural world. Our breath is the bridge connecting our body and our mind. Returning to our breathing, and following it all the way through from the beginning to the end with awareness, brings body and mind back together, and reminds us of the miracle of the present moment. Awareness of our in-breath and our out-breath calms us down and brings peace back to our body.

The practice of harmonizing body and mind brings clarity, which helps remove wrong perceptions. When we feel overwhelmed, confused, or unable to think clearly, we dont perceive things as they are, and our words and actions can create suffering and separation for ourselves and others. When we cultivate peace inside us, we begin to see things as they really are. When were able to see clearly, understanding and compassion arise, and anger and jealousy fade away. We accept ourselves as we are, we accept others as they are, and we can look at ourselves and others with the eyes of compassion.

Allow yourself to sit quietly, with mindfulness and concentration. Allow your breath to follow its natural rhythm. Enjoy your in-breath and out-breath. Dont strive; relaxation will come. When you are completely relaxed, healing takes place on its own. As we sit, we may become aware that outside, up in the sky, there are so many stars. We may not be able to see them, but they are there nevertheless. We are sitting on an amazingly beautiful planet, which is revolving in our galaxy, the Milky Way, a river with trillions of stars. If we can have this awareness when we sit, what else do we need to sit for? We clearly see the wonders of the universe and our planet Earth. Sitting with this kind of awareness, we can embrace the whole world, from the past to the future, and our happiness is boundless.

In daily life, we are often carried away by our feelings, perceptions, and thoughts. We are seldom free. Were like a leaf floating on the ocean, with the waves tossing us to and fro. We dont have sovereignty over ourselves or our situation. It is so important to be able to come home to ourselves and to cease being the victim of our circumstances. Coming back to ourself with our in-breath and out-breath is the basic practice of peace.

In our society, countless people suffer from loneliness. We try to cover up our feelings of emptiness by consuming things or by constantly trying to connect with others. Technology supplies us with many devices for staying connected, yet we continue to feel lonely. We might spend the whole day trying to connectchecking email many times, sending texts, posting messages, watching videoswithout reducing the amount of loneliness inside. All of us are looking for our solid ground, our true home, a place where we feel safe, comfortable, fulfilled, no longer lonely. But where is home? The Buddha said that home is inside us, that there is a peaceful island within that we can go back to with mindful breathing or mindful walking. You can visualize a beautiful island, with trees, clear streams of water, birds, sunshine, and fresh air. One breath, one step is all we need to feel at home and comfortable in the here and now. When we come back to ourselves like this and take refuge in our inner island, we become a home for ourselves and a refuge for others at the same time.

Practicing meditation in our society is very difficult. Everything seems to work in concert to try to take us away from our true self, and we have access to a multitude of things, like the Internet, video games, and music, that help to take us away. Meditation is an opportunity to come back to ourselves, to allow ourselves to take care of our body and our mind, to be aware, to smile, to breathenot doing anything, just going back to ourselves to see what is going on inside and around us. First we allow ourselves time to release the tension in our body and our mind. Then we can take time to look deeply into ourselves and into the situation we are in.