"The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing ."
- Jon Kabat Zinn.
Mindful action! It is simply the other way of telling 'one should have one mind - object in the task just on hand. To elaborate it further, suppose a person sets out on a long tour with his family. After coming out of the front door with other members and luggage, he secures the main door with a padlock. After making a few paces he gets doubt and retreats back to the main door and pulls the padlock with a little pressure and after ensuring about the security of the door he leaves the place.
Now the question arises - why the gentleman was not mindful enough in the first instance of locking the main door on which depended the safety of his valuable belongings in his house? Let us realise the fact that on being not mindful can lead to serious material losses just as happened in the case of my tenant. One day I went on a casual visit to my house given for rent. Observing that the inner walls were exhibiting ugly marks of water dampening in all rooms, I asked the tenant what happened exactly. He brushed off with a sorry, and replied that a few weeks back he had gone out of station forgetting to close the taps and the water released by the authorities next day inundated the house thus not only damaging the walls but also causing termite problem eating away the wooden door frames. The result, a few thousands spent on otherwise avoidable repairs - if my tenant would have been mindful about the taps before going out of station.
The concept of one mind object, the mainstay of the zen teachings, is vividly reflected in this story. Once a zen monk sent his five disciples to the village market to fetch vegetables for the monastery. They went on their bicycles. While they returned from the market and about to enter the premises he stopped them and started asking one single question one by one individually. He asked ,"Why are you riding your bicycle?' The first one answered, "The bicycle is carrying the sack of potatoes. I am glad I don't have to carry them on my back." The monk remarked,"You are smart. When you grow old, you will not walk hunched as I do now," and turned to the second and repeated the same question. He replied,"I love to watch nature, the trees, fields pass by as I roll down the path." The monk remarked,"Your eyes are open. You see the world." and turned to the third one. He replied,"When I ride my bicycle, I am content with chanting the Vajra Manta." The monk remarked,"Your mind is set on spiritual path," and then turned to the fourth. He replied, "Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all beings." The monk remarked,"You are riding on the golden path of Ahimsa - non harming," and turned to the fifth one. He replied,"I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle!' Immediately the monk knelt down before the last one and declared, "from now I am your disciple!".....
'The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers' - Thieh Nhah Hanh. And this very 'mindfulness' becomes a sine qua non for the spiritual seekers too!
The concept of one mind object, the mainstay of the zen teachings, is vividly reflected in this story. Once a zen monk sent his five disciples to the village market to fetch vegetables for the monastery. They went on their bicycles. While they returned from the market and about to enter the premises he stopped them and started asking one single question one by one individually. He asked ,"Why are you riding your bicycle?' The first one answered, "The bicycle is carrying the sack of potatoes. I am glad I don't have to carry them on my back." The monk remarked,"You are smart. When you grow old, you will not walk hunched as I do now," and turned to the second and repeated the same question. He replied,"I love to watch nature, the trees, fields pass by as I roll down the path." The monk remarked,"Your eyes are open. You see the world." and turned to the third one. He replied,"When I ride my bicycle, I am content with chanting the Vajra Manta." The monk remarked,"Your mind is set on spiritual path," and then turned to the fourth. He replied, "Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all beings." The monk remarked,"You are riding on the golden path of Ahimsa - non harming," and turned to the fifth one. He replied,"I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle!' Immediately the monk knelt down before the last one and declared, "from now I am your disciple!".....
'The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers' - Thieh Nhah Hanh. And this very 'mindfulness' becomes a sine qua non for the spiritual seekers too!
Post Script :- Wednesday, 09/09/2015. Again a day of wonderful flash of revelation! That too when deeply absorbed in spiritual yoga in the early morn. For the last few years I had regarded the above- mentioned 'Why ride a bicycle?' story just as an ordinary one. While I was following the Yoga master with closed eyes as ever before on the lush green velvety lawns of Krishna Kanth Park today, like a flash the inner meaning of the story dawned in a jiffy which I shared with my yoga group in the post-yoga session of spiritual discourse. In a short while from now you shall also enjoy the matter of revelation under the title "A PILGRIMS' PROGRESS" - ( 'WHY RIDE A BICYCLE?"- Part II)
Om shanti!
Om shanti!
No comments:
Post a Comment