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Thich Nhat Hanh - The Miracle of Mindfulness - The Pebble
Identifier
023466
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
The Miracle of Mindfulness – Thich Nhat Hanh
The pebble
While sitting still and breathing slowly, think of yourself as a pebble which is falling through a clear stream. While sinking, there is no intention to guide your movement. Sink toward the spot of total rest on the gentle sand of the river-bed. Continue meditating on the pebble until your mind and body are at complete rest: a pebble resting on the sand.
Maintain this peace and joy a half hour while watching your breath.
No thought about the past or future can pull you away from your present peace and joy. The universe exists in this present moment. No desire can pull you away from this present peace, not even the desire to become a Buddha or the desire to save all beings. Know that to become a Buddha and to save all beings can only be realized on the foundation of the Pure Peace of the present moment.
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You are like a pebble which has let itself fall into the river, letting go of everything. At the center of your being is your breath. You don't need to know the length of time it takes before reaching the point of complete rest on the bed of fine sand beneath the water. When you feel yourself resting like a pebble which has reached the riverbed, that is the point when you begin to find your own rest.
You are no longer pushed or pulled by anything.
If you cannot find joy in peace in these very moments of sitting, then the future itself will only flow by as a river flows by, you will not be able to hold it back, you will be incapable of living the future when it has become the present.
Joy and peace are the joy and peace possible in this very hour of sitting. If you cannot find it here, you won't find it anywhere. Don't chase after your thoughts as a shadow follows its object. Don't run after your thoughts. Find joy and peace in this very moment.
This is your own time. This spot where you sit is your own spot. It is on this very spot and in this very moment that you can become enlightened. You don't have to sit beneath a special tree in a distant land. Practice like this for a few months, and you will begin to know a profound and renewing delight.
The source of the experience
Thich Nhat HạnhConcepts, symbols and science items
Concepts
Symbols
Science Items
Activities and commonsteps
Activities
Suppressions
Contemplation and detachmentReducing desires
Reducing opportunities
Squash the big I am
Suppressing memory
Suppressing obligations
Suppression of learning