Aware of Body | Calm the Body

8 What is Nirvana for the Body?

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What is Nirvana for the Body?

Objective: To experience interbeing with a tangerine and all the karma that it holds.

How Do We Get There?

• • Discourse on the Full Awareness of Breathing 

Steps 1. and 2.   In - Out *1

Steps 3. and 4.    Whole Body - Calm *1

• • Smiles

  • Be Kind, Be Gentle, Be Loving *

Dharma Sharing

What joy, insights, wonderment, questions and moments would you like to share?

Personally for me, this past week I have felt a little melancholy.  We haven't yet covered steps 7 and 8 which are about feelings.  No worries as we approach our feelings the same way we have approached our breath and right now, our bodies.  

With our breath, we have not distinguished any variation of breath as better or worse.  Once the droplet riding the wave looks deeply and sees its true nature is water, it is able to enjoy the entire 'riding top of wave experience'.  As we look deeply into our breath, we realize it is breathing.  All of the variation in our breathing has lead us to the next breath.  All the variation is the breathing experience.   We don't need to fix our breath, we just mindfully enjoy it and the breath calms and is pleasant as it reflects the mindful energy we've given it.  The breath before, during and after mindful attention is all breathing.  Each breath is a wonder of life and each one can be completely enjoyed.

We're Gently listening to our bodies and value it, appreciate it, heal it, love it and enjoy it for the miracle it is.  We feel tension in our body and we mindfully breath calmness and gentleness to those areas.  We do the same for other areas that already feel pleasant.  Doing this calms and heals our body and because of inter-being, calms and heals our minds.  We can value all the generations before us that have given us life today.  Even those unrelated who have helped a generation to thrive are apart of us.  Their karma has impacted our lives today.  So much has come together for you and I to be here.  As I look deeply, my perspective of my body changes from my body, to this body is a living flower or I am life.  This is another wonderment to enjoy.  

My feelings are no different.  They inter-are with my breath and my body.  My breath is not all of me.  My body is not all of me and nor are my feelings all of me.  They are one part that is in inter-being with everything.  My feelings can change like my breath.  Many times the harmony between my breath and feelings is very obvious.  So I can calm my breath and my feelings can be soothed.   We don't want to fix or try to get rid of a particular feeling.  When I look deeply into my melancholy, I see it as feelings.   A certain set of conditions have occurred to create this one feeling.  When I sit and mindfully breath, I create another set of conditions that brings feelings of peace and happiness.  Just like the water droplet riding the wave.  If we could rid the ocean of that one droplet, then the whole ocean would be gone.  If I look at my melancholy as a feeling that I need to rid myself of, then I'll loose all feelings. 

So just like my breath or my body, I share the peace and happiness of the moment with my melancholy.  "Hello, Melancholy.  I see you." and I smile kindly to it.  "I am here for you.  I am mindfully breathing so I can sooth you.  I am not here to get rid of you but to love you and give you what you need."  I am aware of the smoothness and calmness of my breath as I breath in.  As I breath out, I share that calmness with my melancholy.  "This is for you, Melancholy.  You may enjoy this peace."  At any moment, insight can happen and I can look more deeply to see the source of the melancholy.  If not, that's okay too because I am taking of this feeling.  I am loving myself and I gratefully smile.  

Dharma Talk

A Thích Nhất Hạnh talk

Tangerine Meditation | Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh, 5 mins

Collective observations and reflections

We share and listen.

The Tangerine Meditation

We'll begin with Thay leading us in the short version of Calm-Ease, a classic. : )

When it concludes, we'll remain in mindful silence and select a tangerine.  We'll mindfully experience the tangerine for the next 30 minutes.

If you taste the tangerine mindfully, you will find the karma of all those that provided the conditions necessary for you to enjoy the miraculous tangerine.   Looking deeply can take you back as far as you want to go.  You will also see flora and fauna that provided conditions for this tangerine to be here.  All the previous life that died and their nutrients absorbed back into other plants and animals that have eventually made their way to this tangerine.  If you look deeply you will find all wonders of life.  

If you loose your concentration, please feel free to close your eyes and return to your breathing.  If you greet yourself with Kindness and Gently listen to your mindful experience, you will Lovingly know what you need to do.  

Let's Begin

Thích Nhất Hạnh's Calm-Ease meditation. 15 mins

Set a 30 minute timer and maybe bells at 5 mins using the Plum Village app.

For me, sometimes I found the bells useful to bring my wondering mind back to attention.  Other times it's a nice transition to the next focus that is apparent to me.

Collective observations and reflections

We share and listen.