Saturday, February 13, 2016

Practice of non-practice

Watch the following Thay's video from 16:00 to 27:15.


The followings are excerpts from the above video. They are Thay's precious advice to revive awareness for healing.

Quote:
When we walk, we are aware that the earth is holding our steps. But mother earth is not just below under our feet. Mother earth is inside of us. (...) And we don't need to die to go back to mother earth. We are back. We are already in mother earth. And that is why we need to learn how to take refuge in mother earth. And that is the best way to heal and nourish ourselves. So, walking meditation is the one of the ways to heal.

And walking meditation would be successful if we know how to allow the earth to be in us and around us. Just be aware of that. We are the earth. And we don't have to do much. We don't have to do anything at all in order to get healing and nourishment. It's like when we were in the mother's womb. We didn't have to breathe. We did not have to eat. Because our mother breathes for us and ate for us. We did not have to worry about anything. It is possible to behave like that now. When you sit, allow mother earth to sit for you. When you breathe, allow mother earth to breathe for you. When you walk, allow mother earth to walk for you. Don't make any effort. Allow her to do. She knows how to do it. 

Suppose you are sitting like this. Don't try to do anything. Don't try to fight in order to sit. Don't try to breathe in and out. Don't try to be peaceful. Allow mother earth to do everything for you. Allow the air to enter our lungs. Allow the air to go out of our lungs. We don't need to try to breathe in. We don't need to try to breathe out. Just allow nature, allow the earth to breathe in and out for us. We just sit there and enjoy the breathing in and breathing out. There is the breathing, there is no you who are breathing in and you who are breathing out. We don't need you and I in order to breath in and out. Breathing in and breathing out happen by itself alone. Try!

And if we do like that, we allow our body to relax totally. You don't have to strive. You don't have to make an effort. Behave like an embryo, the fetus in the womb of the mother. Allow the mother to do everything for you. To breathe, to eat, to drink. And this is possible now if you know how to take refuge in mother earth. She is the great bodhisattva. She is the mother of all the Buddhas, all bodhisattvas all saints. Śākyamuni is her son. Jesus Christ is also her son. Anyone is also her sons and daughters. And we have to learn how to take refuge in her and allow her to continue to do everything for us. We don't need to do anything at all. We don't have to fight in order to sit. Allow yourself to be seated. Allow yourself to be yourself. Don't do anything. Let the sitting take place. Don't strive in order to sit.

And then relaxation will come. And you know something? When there is relaxation, healing begins to take place. There is no healing without relaxation. And relaxation means doing nothing. Try nothing. So, while it is breathing in, it's not you who is breathing in. While it is breathing in, you just enjoy. You say, "Healing is taking place. Healing, healing is taking place." While it is breathing out, healing is taking place. Allow your body to renew herself, to heal herself, to be nourished. This is the practice of non-practice. Practicing the non-practice.  
:Unquote

(My commentary)
Awareness (awakened consciousness, non-separate self, true self) breathes. Meanwhile, ego (separate self, fake self) thinks. So, the practice of non-practice means that ego must stop thinking (practice the non-practice) in order to revive awareness. If you understand that mother earth is in you and you are in mother earth, you are awareness (awakened consciousness, non-separate self, true self), not ego (separate self) anymore. 

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014NYEP04


Walking meditation