Discovering Joy | BEing Happiness

05 Joyfully Expressing

  𑽇   Transcript    𑽇 

How d

Objective: To simply e

How Do We Get There?

• • Discourse on the Full Awareness of Breathing

Steps 1. and 2.   In - Out

Steps 3. and 4.    Whole Body - Calm

Steps 5 and 6.  Discovering Joyful - BEing Happiness

• • Mindfulness, Concentration and Insight

  • Be Kind. Be Gentle. Be Loving.

  • Letting Go with Trust

Sangha Sharing

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

Dharma Talk

Life Expressing

When we look deeply at our breathing, our bodies, our thoughts and feelings, we see our interbeing with life all around us.  We could not breathe or nourish our bodies without the trees, plants, streams and all the ways life moves and expresses itself.  It is very enjoyable to observe and witness life expressing herself.  She is expressing herself everywhere around us and within in us.  Life expressing.

In one of Thay's talks, he says,

"When you observe a lemon tree or an orange tree, 

You notice the orange tree is capable of producing beautiful orange leaves, 

Very green,

And beautiful red oranges.

And she enjoys producing leaves,

Flowers,

And fruits.

And that is her continuation."

As a tree, she doesn't decide its time to produce flowers.  When the conditions are right, she naturally begins producing flowers.  This is the same for her leaves and eventually her fruit.  These are some of the ways life is expressed as a citrus tree.  

The life of a cloud, a wave, a bird, your pet and so forth are a few ways life expresses.  Life expressing herself brings us plenty of joy and happiness.

Life interacts with herself when we enjoy a blooming flower or when we breathe in deeply and exhale slowly.  Life has expressed herself to create the air we breathe.  The sun's energy is absorbed in her leaves and the rainwater is taken up by the plant's roots.  All of these natural expressions of life have presented the life within our bodies with our present moment in-breath.  The sun continues in our breath.  The plant continues in our breath.  The rainwater continues in our breath as these are all expressions of life.  Our natural expression is to breathe in this offered air.  There is so much beauty within an expression of life.

Aware of my In-Breath and my Out-Breath

The  Buddha has started us off with this enjoyment.  Steps 1 and 2 are centered on our breathing, on our natural expression of living.  Remember, there is not a perfect breath but only the breath experienced in the moment.  There is nothing for us to or to become but just to simply BE and enjoy being Life.

Thay continues,

"Each of us is like an orange tree.

And if we do well,

We produce beautiful thoughts,

Beautiful speech,

and beautiful actions.

The kind of speech,

Action,

And thought that can improve the quality of the world.

And they called actions."

Our thoughts, our speech and our actions are our life expressions.  In these expressions we continue the life that was offered to our bodies.  From these expressions, we also continue.  Life always continues.  Even in death, life continues to transform mass and energy into other life forms, in other expression of life.

Thay then shares the beauty and benefit that comes from our loving expressions.

"But a thought of compassion,

A thought of loving kindness,

A thought of compassion, 

Has the power to heal yourself.

As soon as you produce a thought of compassion.

It will have a good effect on your body, "

Continuing, he says,

"Enjoy their in-breath,

Their out-breath.

The energy of mindfulness is powerful.

There is silence.

But this is the kind of silence that is so elegant, So alive,

So peaceful.

And you feel it penetrated into your body.

Your mind,

And you feel the nourishment and the healing because of that silence,

That energy of silence.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you." *

Mindfully breathing expresses the depth of silence.  This fruit is "so elegant, so alive, so peaceful."  This is a beautiful expression of life and can be the source of joy and happiness.

The product of the tree's life expression is a delicious fruit.  Our expressions of compassion and loving kindness also produces a fruit, healing.  We first heal ourselves then the healing is passed on as it's offered to everyone we meet becuase it's at the center of our mindfulness.  

When the conditions are there for a tree, life continues her expression by bearing a fruit.  The tree continues within us as we take a bite of her fruit.  She lives within us.  With mindfull breathing, we can look deeply and see life expressing herself as water, sun and nutrients so the tree can naturally express a fruit.  We pick her fruit, her natural expression of life, and we enjoy the juicy bite.  Life has transformed the cloud and the sun into the tree, then the fruit which we then enjoyed.  We now can choose to express compassion and loving kindness to ourself, another beautiful expression that is full of life.  The clouds lovely form, the sun's warmth, the strength of the tree's truck, the tree's leaves blowing in the wind, the bud begining to flower, a pollenator stopping by for the pollen and necture, the emerging fruit and our expressed joy from fruit's juices upon our tougne.  All of these expressions can be found in "that energy of silence" Thay spoke of.  

When the right conditions merge upon us, we naturally produce the fruits of compassion and kindness.  We enjoy tasting life's fruit and we enjoy recieving and offering the expressed fruits of compassion and loving kindness.

Let's Nourish ourselves with Peace and Contentment so Happiness can Bloom

Please don't forget.  A meditation is meant to be experienced.  Letting go of what we think ought to be is the first step.  Then we step forward with the discovery nature of a child.  Rich experiences naturally follow.

Bells at 7 mins, 14 mins

I listen for the soothing quality of my in breath | I enjoy my out breath

Soothing | Enjoy

I feel my tummy extend and my shoulders rise | I warmly greet my whole body

Shoulders rise  |  Warmly greet

I become aware of life in my breathing body  |  I am grateful

Aware of Life  |  Grateful

Present Moment  |  Peaceful Moment

Peaceful Moment | I rest in Contentment

Peacefully  |  Content

Happiness Blooms  |  Smile

I am Home

Collective observations and reflections

We share and listen.

Invitation

As we are traveli

Citation  *  https://insighttimer.com/jamenmoss/guided-meditations/your-heart-a-flower-thich-nhat-hanh