LIVE IN A SACRED W A Y DAILY

Buddhist painting

15 practical steps Thay says we can take to bring mindfulness to our work:

1. Start your day with 10 minutes of sitting in meditation.

2. Take the time to sit down and enjoy eating breakfast at home.

3. Remind yourself every day of your gratitude for being alive and having 24 brand-new hours to live....
 

4. Try not to divide your time into "my time" and "work." All time can be your own time if you stay in the present moment and keep in touch with what’s happening in your body and mind. There’s no reason why your time at work should be any less pleasant than your time anywhere else.
 

5. Resist the urge to make calls on your cell phone while on your way to and from work, or on your way to appointments. Allow yourself this time to just be with yourself, with nature and with the world around you.
 

6. Arrange a breathing area at work where you can go to calm down, stop and have a rest. Take regular breathing breaks to come back to your body and to bring your thoughts back to the present.
 

7. At lunchtime, eat only your food and not your fears or worries. Don’t eat lunch at your desk. Change environments. Go for a walk.
 

8. Make a ritual out of drinking your tea. Stop work and look deeply into your tea to see everything that went into making it: the clouds and the rain, the tea plantations and the workers harvesting the tea.
 

9. Before going to a meeting, visualize someone very peaceful, mindful and skillful being with you. Take refuge in this person to help stay calm and peaceful.
 

10. If you feel anger or irritation, refrain from saying or doing anything straight away. Come back to your breathing and follow your in- and out-breath until you’ve calmed down.
 

11. Practice looking at your boss, your superiors, your colleagues or your subordinates as your allies and not as your enemies. Recognize that working collaboratively brings more satisfaction and joy than working alone. Know that the success and happiness of everyone is your own success.
 

12. Express your gratitude and appreciation to your colleagues regularly for their positive qualities. This will transform the whole work environment, making it much more harmonious and pleasant for everyone.
 

13. Try to relax and restore yourself before going home so you don’t bring accumulated negative energy or frustration home with you.
 

14. Take some time to relax and come back to yourself when you get home before starting on household chores. Recognize that multitasking means you’re never fully present for any one thing. Do one thing at a time and give it your full attention.
 

15. At the end of the day, keep a journal of all the good things that happened in your day. Water your seeds of joy and gratitude regularly so they can grow.

- Thich Nhat Hanh
"15 Practical Ways To Find Your Zen At Work", The Huffington Post.



Buddha within Tyra Banks

 

AUTHENTICITY

An old Zen saying: “In matters of religion, most persons prefer chewing the menu to actually eating the food!”

(from http://www.enlightened-spirituality.org/Zen_Humor.html)

".. an interesting re-interpretation."

THE POET AND THE MASTER

Garma C. Chang relates the story of Su Tung Po, a celebrated poet and devout Buddhist of the Song Dynasty, who was close friends with Fo Ying, a brilliant Chan master. Fo Ying's temple was on the Yang-tse River’s west bank, while Su Tung Po's house stood on the east bank. One day Su Tung Po paid a visit to Master Fo Ying and, finding him absent, sat down in his study to wai

t. Finally bored with waiting, he began to scribble poetic verses on a sheet of paper he found on a desk, signing them with the words, "Su Tung Po, the great Buddhist who cannot be moved even by the combined forces of the mighty Eight Worldly Winds." (These are gain, loss, defamation, eulogy, praise, ridicule, sorrow and joy.) After a while longer of waiting, Su Tung Po got tired and left for home.

When Master Fo Ying returned and saw Su Tung Po's composition on the desk, he added the following line after the poet’s signature line: "Rubbish! What you have said is not better than breaking wind!" and sent it to Su Tung Po. When Su Tung Po read this outrageous comment, he was so furious that he crossed the river on the nearest boat, and hurried once again to Fo Ying’s temple. Catching hold of the master’s arm, Su Tung Po cried: "What right have you to denounce me in such language? Am I not a devout Buddhist who cares only for the Dharma? Are you so blind after knowing me for so long?"

Master Fo Ying looked at him quietly for a few seconds, then smiled and slowly said: "Ah, Su Tung Po, the great Buddhist who claims that the combined forces of the Eight Winds can hardly move him an inch, is now carried all the way to the other side of the Yang Tse River by a single puff of wind from the colon!"

(from http://www.enlightened-spirituality.org/Zen_Humor.html)

BUTTERFLIES

Sans le savoir, la fleur

appelle le papillon.
Sans le savoir le papillon
vient voir la fleur.
Quand la fleur s'ouvre,
...le papillon vient.
Quand le papillon vient,
la fleur s'ouvre.
Je ne connais pas l'Autre.
L'Autre ne me connaît pas.
Mais sans se connaître,
On suit l'Ordre cosmique.
Zen

 

Unknowingly, the flower

calls the butterfly.
Without knowing the butterfly
just see the flower.
When the flower opens,
... comes the butterfly.
When the butterfly comes,
the flower opens.
I do not know the Other.
The Other does not know me.
But without knowing,
We follow the cosmic order.
Zen



by Méditation Provence