Thich Nhat Hanh - Peace Is Every Breath: A Practice for Our Busy Lives

Waking up this morning, I smile.

Twenty-four brand-new hours are before me.

I vow to live fully each moment

and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.

Contents

All of us need to have a spiritual dimension in our lives. We need spiritual practice. If that practice is regular and solid, we will be able to transform the fear, anger, and despair in us and overcome the difficulties we all encounter in daily life.

The really good news is that spiritual practice can be done at any time of the day; it isnt necessary to set aside a certain period exclusively for Spiritual Practice with a capital S and capital P. Our spiritual practice can be there at any moment, as we cultivate the energy of mindfulness and concentration.

No matter what youre doing, you can choose to do it with your full presence, with mindfulness and concentration; and your action becomes a spiritual practice. With mindfulness, you breathe in, and there you are, well established in the here and the now. Breathing in, touching your full aliveness, is a spiritual practice. Every one of us is capable of breathing in mindfully. I breathe in, and I know I am breathing inthats the practice of mindful breathing.

The practice of mindful breathing may be very simple, but the effect can be great. Focusing on our in-breath, we release the past, we release the future, we release our projects. We ride on that breath with all our being. Our mind comes back to our body, and we are truly there, alive, in the present moment. We are home. Just one breath, in and out, can make us fully present and fully alive again, and then the energy of mindfulness is there in us. Mindfulness is the energy that makes us fully present, fully alive in the here and the now.

If we go home to ourselves, and if we notice that our body is carrying some tension or pain, it is mindfulness that lets us know about it. Mindfulness is what brings us back in touch with whats happening in the present moment in our body, in our feelings, in our thinking, and also in our environment. It enables us to be fully present in the here and the now, mind and body together, aware of whats going on inside us and around us. And when we are very mindful of something, we are concentrated on it.

Mindfulness and concentration are the core energies of spiritual practice. We can drink our tea in mindfulness, make our breakfast in mindfulness, and take a shower in mindfulness, and all of that becomes our spiritual practice, and gives us the strength to handle the many difficulties that can arise in our daily life and in our society.

Wherever you are, simply becoming aware of your body and whatever state of relaxation, tension, or pain (or even all of them at once, in different areas) is there, you already are realizing some understanding, some awakening, some awarenesssome enlightenment. And when you know theres some tension or pain in your body, you may like to do something to help relieve it. We can say to ourselves as we breathe in and out: Breathing in, I am aware of some tension or pain in my body; breathing out, I allow the tension and pain in my body to release. This is the practice of mindfulness of the body.

So spiritual practice is possible for all of us. You cannot say, Im just too busy, I have no time for meditation. No. Walking from one building to another, walking from the parking lot to your office, you can always enjoy walking mindfully, and enjoy every one of your steps. Each step you take in mindfulness can help you release the tension in your body, release the tension in your feelings, and bring about healing, joy, and transformation.

Y ou have lots of work to do, and you like doing it. Its interesting, and you enjoy being productive. But working too much, taking care of so many things, tires you out. You want to practice meditation, so you can be more relaxed and have more peace, happiness, and joy in your life. But you dont have the time for daily meditation practice. Its a dilemmawhat can you do? This book is your answer.

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The moment you wake up, right away, you can smile. Thats a smile of enlightenment. You are aware that a new day is beginning, that life is offering you twenty-four brand-new hours to live, and that thats the most precious of gifts. You can recite the following poem to yourself, either silently or out loud:

Waking up this morning, I smile:

Twenty-four brand-new hours are before me.

I vow to live each moment fully

and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.

You may like to say the verse as you lie there in your bed, with your arms and legs comfortably relaxed. Breathing in, you say the first line; breathing out, you say the second. With your next in-breath, you recite the third; and breathing out, the fourth. Then with a smile on your face you sit up, slide your feet into your slippers, and walk to the bathroom.

You can be in touch with a lot of happiness during the time youre washing your face, brushing your teeth, combing your hair, shaving, and showering, if you know how to shine the light of awareness onto each thing you do. For example, when you turn on the tap, you can enjoy being in touch with the water running out of the faucet and also with where the waters coming from. You can recite the following poem:

Water flows from high mountain sources.

Water runs deep in the Earth.

Miraculously, water comes to us.

I am filled with gratitude.

This verse helps you to be aware of the whole journey of that water, all the way from the source to your bathroom sink. That is meditation. You also see how fortunate you are to have water flowing easily for you with just the twist of a knob. This awareness brings you happiness. Thats mindfulness.

Mindfulness is attention; its the capacity to recognize whats happening in each moment. Whats happening here is, you are turning on the tap and the water is flowing out for you. In Plum Village, in France, our water supply occasionally gets cut off. Every time that happens, were reminded that its a hardship when we dont have water, and a happiness when we do. We can recognize happiness only when we remember the times of suffering!

I always like to turn the water on slowly; cup the fresh, cool water in my hands; and splash it on my eyes. Here in France, in wintertime the water is really cold. Feeling the cold water on my fingers, my eyes, and my cheeks is so refreshing. Please be present so you can really get that sensation. Let it wake you up. Delight in it. You are happy, because you know how to treasure the gift of water and how to nourish your own gratitude.

Its the same with pouring water into the basin to wash your face. Be aware of every movement; dont go off thinking about lots of other things. The most important thing for you to do in this moment is to experience joy in each of your movements. Dont hurry to finish and go do something else. That is meditation! Meditation is offering your genuine presence to yourself in every moment. Its the capacity to recognize clearly that every moment is a gift of life, a gift from the Earth and sky. In Zen, this is known as the joy of meditation.

Heres a challenge for you. Youre going to spend one to two minutes brushing your teeth. How can you do it so that you really have happiness throughout that brief couple of minutes? Dont rush. Dont try to brush your teeth as quickly as possible and be done with it. Focus all your attention on your brushing.

You have the time to brush your teeth. You have a toothbrush, toothpaste, and teeth to brush. Im eighty-four years old, and every time I brush my teeth, I always feel happyyou know, at my age, still having all these teeth to brush is a wonderful thing! So the challenge is to brush your teeth in such a way that you have that ease and happiness during the whole one to two minutes of brushing. If you can do that, you have succeeded; youre meditating right there.