This is the seventh posting in a series of postings reflecting on Thich Nhat Hanh's book, Living Buddha, Living Christ (Riverhead Books, 2007; originally published in 1995). The introductory posting, setting the stage for the series, is (here).Throughout Living Buddha, Living Christ, Thich Nhat Hanh urges the practice of mindfulness, which is achieved through insight meditation. He defines mindfulness as being,"the energy to be here and to witness deeply everything that happens to the present moment, aware of what is going on within and without." (page 214) For those who have not engaged successfully in meditation of one sort or another, it is difficult to grasp what this means. When discussing mindfulness with Lewis County folks, however, it appears that they have experiences of times of deep quiet and relaxation in nature that parallel mindfulness. They "practice mindfulness" by consciously seeking out those spots, seasons, and times of the day that induce a state of calm. It might be on a dock at sunset or sitting silently in a canoe in a quiet back bay.
Many years ago, a hunter from central Pennsylvania told me about one time hunting when he was sitting on a stump at the edge of a clearing. A magnificent buck suddenly, silently emerged from the forest, and the hunter watched as the buck worked its way across the clearing and then just as silently vanished into woods again. He was so taken with the beauty of the buck and forest around him that he forgot to shoot. It was a mindful moment when the hunter was so caught up by the moment that he forgot to shoot. When we are mindful, according to Thich Nhat Hanh, we embrace others, relieve suffering in ourselves and others, and touch ultimate reality. We forget to shoot. He compares the experience of mindfulness to the Holy Spirit, which is to say that when we sit on a dock or in a canoe in the cool of the evening, feeling the quiet breeze, surrounded by the stillness of the northern woods punctuated perhaps by the erie call of a loon and discover in the moment a quiet deep in ourselves—in that moment the Spirit of God caresses our spirit and we are mindful. Amen.
