To listen is to continually give up all expectation and to give our attention, completely and freshly, to what is before us, not really knowing what we will hear or what that will mean. In the practice of our days, to listen is to lean in, softly, with a willingness to be changed by what we hear.
Mark Nepo
Let’s go back to our experience-body, focus on it, and let things happen within that focus, without pushing or trying to find anything, or come to a conclusion. In that context, when we come out of wanting anything to happen, there’s some spaciousness – and when a feeling comes up, try to attune to that spaciousness. Develop an attitude and energy of not-feeding, demanding, pushing away, skipping off or proliferation around the feeling. This is nonattachment. By practicing in this way we realize that for these few moments we don’t have to solve the problems of existence, or know who we are, or what we’re going to do.
Ajahn Sucitto, Turning the Wheel of Truth
Meditation is getting into the natural situation, the organic natural situation of what we are, directly, thoroughly, properly. In order to do this, we cannot just rent a helicopter and fly to the heart of the matter without any inconvenience. So what shall we do? The obvious thing to do is walk, just to walk on our own feet, just walk. We have to get into the countryside of this intimate natural beauty and walk. That is exactly what the first step of meditation is, going into our natural psychological situation without trying to find some fancy touristic vehicle. It is a very pleasant thing, to begin with, to just walk….Meditation is another dimension of natural beauty. People talk about appreciating natural beauty — climbing mountains, seeing giraffes and tigers in Africa, and all sorts of things. But nobody seems to appreciate this kind of natural beauty of ourselves. This is actually far more beautiful than flora and fauna, far more fantastic, far more painful and colorful and delightful.
Ghogyam Trungpa, Glimpses of Abhidharma
When we are not dwelling in the present moment and our mind is wandering around, we are not aware of what is happening in out body and in our mind. We are like sleep walkers. Waking up is another way of saying “enlightenment” or “awakening”. Waking up is the reminder for us to be awake in everything we do during the day, not just in the morning while we get up. It is awakening in each moment, while we are drinking tea, brushing our teeth, going for a walk. Waking up should be the essence of each moment
Thich Nhat Hahn
Just do your best. This is the whole practice , the whole of your life. All sorts of chatter comes up in the midst of the circumstances of our life. Something breaks, we clean it up or fix it up. Or we start chattering about “Why does this happen to me. Oh, I always do this. What Am I going to do? What does this mean?” After speaking with someone, do we continue holding onto the discussion with internal chatter like, “Why did they say that to me? It’s not fair they say it to me”? If that chatter – habits of reactions, habit of thoughts and emotions – arises, then right there in the noticed chatter is our practice.
Everything is the Way: Ordinary Mind Zen
People sacrifice the present for the future.
But life is available only in the present.
Thich Nhat Hahn
