Pinterest: Apnha Akehtnhr
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In Plum Village, the mindfulness practice center in France where I live, there used to be a veranda called the Listening to the Rain Veranda. We made it specially for that purpose—so we could sit there and listen to the rain and not need to think about anything. Listening to the rain can help the mind come to stillness.
Bringing the mind to stillness is easy. You need only to pay attention to one thing. As long as your mind is listening to the rain it is not thinking about anything else. You don’t need to try to still your mind. You need only to relax and continue listening to the rain. The longer you are able to do so, the more still your mind becomes.
Sitting in stillness like this allows us to see things as they truly are. When the body is relaxed and the mind comes to rest, we can see clearly. We become as still and clear as the water in a mountain lake whose tranquil surface reflects the blue sky above, the clouds, and the surrounding rocky peaks just as they are.
As long as we’re restless and the mind is unsettled, we won’t be able to see reality clearly. We’ll be like the lake on a windy day, its surface troubled, reflecting a distorted view of the sky. But as soon as we restore our stillness, we can look deeply and begin to see the truth.
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Posted by marandarussell on November 27, 2019 at 5:52 pm
I love Thich Nhat Hanh. His books about Jesus and Buddha were really eye-opening for me years ago.
Posted by Marty on November 27, 2019 at 5:54 pm
Thanks for the heads up
I am just reading him
This passage is a great simple explanation of meditation
We seem to make it extremely complex at times
It is simple not easy