MIRACLE OF MINDFULNESS
This is the summary of Book - 'Miracle of Mindfulness' by 'Thich Nhat Hanh'. If you want to know how to meditate properly and how can meditation improve our daily lives and why is it so important to live in present, then this book is for you. I hope you will enjoy reading.
LIVING IN PRESENT MOMENT
• While doing any work, we must be consciously aware of it, without thinking anything about future or past
• For eg - If while washing dishes we are thinking about the cup of tea that we are going to have after finishing dishes, then it's a wrong approach. Instead wash the dishes only to wash them. And again, while drinking tea if we are making some future plans, then we are drinking future plans not tea.
• We can enjoy the present by using Anapanasati Sutra of Buddhism (Buddhist Sutra of Mindfulness) Anapana means breath and Sati means mindfulness (consciousness is alive)
•Just being aware of position isn't enough, we have to aware of our breath also.
MINDFUL BREATHING
• It means being aware of the length of inhalation and exhalation. Earlier length of inhalation will be shorter than exhalation.
•Count 1,2,3.. while inhaling as well as while exhaling and try to increase the length slowly
•After practicing for few weeks, both will become equal.
•While breathing in, stomach should rise and while breathing out, stomach goes in (like normal breathing only)
• Start with 20 such breaths. Can be done while walking, sitting, talking, standing.
•Whenever we are angry or frustrated because of many commitments like family, friends & work. Just take hold of your breath and start following mindful breathing. It will relax you.
• Infact practicing breath mindfulness in presence of someone will increase the concentration power by much greater extend than by doing it alone. (Although for beginners, silence is preferred)
•Breath is the only tool to bring body and mind together and thus bring peace and calmness.
DAY OF MINDFULNESS
• It's not possible to be mindful everyday. Thus we can practice mindfulness for one day a week also. By practicing this, our other days will be more mindful. We have to do following things --:
1) Choose same day of the week say Saturday
2)While still in bed, begin slowly to follow breath
3)Do every activity in calm and relaxing way with mindfulness
4) Don't do task to get over with it, enjoy and be with your work
5)Meditate from 10-11pm
•Following this, the feeling that any task is nuisance will vanish
• Live in actual moment. This moment is 'life'
MEDITATION
Steps to be followed for 1 hour meditation-:
1)Best position is to sit either in lotus or half lotus position
2)Back straight, neck and head straight but not stiff. Maitain half smile to relax facial muscles.
3) Place left hand palm in right palm.
4) Watch your breath and let go off everything else.
5)Imagine yourself as pebble thrown in river. It sinks effortlessly, unaffected by currents, detached from everything and reach riverbed.
6) Once you find yourself reaching riverbed, you will find our inner peace.
7) While practicing meditation, we have to be as awake as driver, otherwise we will be possessed by dispersion and forgetfulness just like drowsy driver can cause grave accidents.
• But one hour meditation isn't sufficient. We have to supplement it with whole day mediation, while walking, sitting, standing. This can be achieved by being 'Mindful' during every activity that we do. That is, following Buddhist Sutra of Mindfulness.
WHY TO MEDITATE?
1)Considering the busy schedule, we all need some rest. We hardly rests during sleep as our mind is busy dreaming. So it's important to meditate to get real 'rest'.
2)Meditation (being mindful) helps to keep our mind and body in present. We can enjoy each moment of life and cherish it. This helps to reduce stress.
3) It also reduce anger and frustration and increase our concentration power.
MIND MINDFULNESS
• Once breath mindfulness is practiced enough, it's time to start with mind Mindfulness also, to take hold of our thoughts and feelings.
• Earlier we said -'let go off everything else', but it's easy said than done. We can't stop the thoughts coming in our mind.
• But to practice mind Mindfulness, we don't have to stop these thoughts or feelings. Instead just 'recognise them'. For eg if you are sad then you should be aware that you are sad and for what.
• If we keep practicing this way, soon we can take hold of our mind.
INTERDEPENDENCE
• To liberate ourselves from sufferings and anxiety, we need to understand that everything and everyone is connected.
•For eg - formation of table requires forest, carpenter, iron ore, rain, sun etc. It means for existence of table, we needs things from non table world.
•This is true for all the entities in universe.
• But some face barrier called as 'false view of self' - imagining he/she is separate. This cause anxiety and suffering.
• Thus we should regularly meditate on interdependence.
BIRTH AND DEATH
•Both birth and death are interdependent.
•We need to understand that our birth has marked our death also.
• After realising this, we can overcome fear of death
• And meditating by thinking this, will fill our hearts with tranquility.
REALITY
•According to Buddhist tradition, reality has 3 nature - imagination, interdependence, nature of ultimate perfection.
• To reach nature of ultimate perfection, we need to reach wisdom called as non discrimination mind. This requires consistent practice.
•It happens when you enter in special communion with other person. Then you and other person are one. These are the moments of non discrimination.
• Practice looking at all beings with eyes of compassions. This meditation is called as meditation of compassion.
IMPORTANT POINTS
1) In family, if one person practice mindfulness, entire family will be more mindful.
2)Work is only part of life. But work is life when done with Mindfulness.
3) Mindfulness is both a seed as well as fruit. It is practiced to build up concentration hence act as seed. Presence of mindfulness means life awareness thus it's a fruit also.
4)The most important time is 'now'. Most important person is one you are with (right now). Most important pursuit is making the person standing at your side, happy.
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