J 'Bell - The Mindfulness Bell

The Miracle of Being Happy
by Brother Phap Dang
Many miracles happened during our recent North
America trip such as being happy, smiling, breathing,
seeing our families, comtemplating the ful moon. The greatest
miracle was the joyful and happy energy of the delegation of
Plum Village's monks and nuns. We felt like a warm and
intimate family. There were twelve of us in the delegation:
Thay,SistersChan Khong, Jina, Trung Chinh, Quan Nghiem,
Thoai Nghiem, Dinh Nghiem, Tue Nghiem, and Brothers
Nguyen Hai, Phap Dung, Phap Ung, and I. We were very
happy to have two great bodhisattvas, Arnie and Therese,
joining us during the trip. They were the key people who
organized the trip beautifully.
Being in a strong Sangha, I was embraced with theenergy
of love, joy, and happiness. I felt that I did not needto struggle
at all to practice mindfulness though I felt stronglyin mindfulness.
My joy and happiness were extremely strong which
radiatedfrom within. My half-smile kept blooming on my lips
all the time. My smile nourished my heart and touched other
people in the retreats. My smile reflected and triggered their
smile, and their smiles were my smile. This is the nature of
interbeing. If you think that you have lost your smile, I still
have it. Somewhere within your heart, your smile is still
present. We,the Sangha, created a smiling atmosphere everywherewe
went. I benefited so muchin that atmosphere where
my peace, joy, and happiness were watered. I had a lot of
energy to be with people in the retreats. Everywhere Iwent, I
offered my smile and my flower so easily. The more smiles and
flowers my heart offered, the more I had to give. I participated
inall activities of the retreats and always enjoyed thepractice
of breathing and smiling. With a joyful and happy heart, my
thinking, perceptions, and feelings had a positiveeffect on my
heartand on other people. Everything I touched became lights
and wonders. I found that people were kind and friendly; Ifelt
close to them. My heart had opened up sowide that I enjoyed
the people and nature very much.
Every evening, I had about ten minutes before dinner for
myself. I usually offered my self the practice of mindful breathing
and hugging the tree in the redwood grove next to the dining
hall. One day, I found a youngwoman sitting on a bench in the
redwood grove. She was crying. I respected her feeling and
silently went to the tree to practice hugging the tree. I have
always been fond of the trees and nature, so being with
beautiful redwoods gave me a lot of joy. Since the day I
became a monk, I have been in love with every little thing in
nature like trees, flowers, the air, and the sky. I practiced
hugging the tree with my conscious breathing for a few
minutes, and then turned to the young woman and asked her,
"Would you like to hug the tree?" She had already stopped
crying and looked at me. She nodded her head andhugged the
other tree next to mine. However, she cried again after a few
breaths. I continued the practice to sustain my calm, peace, and
happiness. Suddenly, she began to talk to me. She told me that
her brother was in big trouble. I asked her what happened to
him. She cried and said, " I can't tell anybody." I continued
practicing hugging the tree and shared the practice with her. I
said, "When embracing the tree we breathe mindfully, focusingour
attention on the contact between our abdomen and the
bark of a tree, and we feel the freshness, coolnessand calmness
of the tree." After practicing like this for only afew minutes,
she looked much happier. Her emotion had calmed down. At
last Iasked her to go to supper with me.
Thanksto the wonderful practice of mindful breathing and
tree hugging meditation, my friend could embrace her pain and
go through the most difficult moment of a strong emotion.
From this incident, I have learned that healing a pain doesnot
necessarily mean touching the pain. Practicing conscious
breathing and hugging a tree is enough to heal. Many people
believe that they have to express or to ventilate the pain in order
to heal.But during the experience at the redwood grove, we did
not have to do anything. We just enjoyed breathing, smiling,
and being with the trees.
When we suffer, we usually get caught in it. Our mind keeps
circulating and grasping the pain, and we are stuck with our
suffering. The more we think about it, the more we suffer,
because we add more energy to it. The practiceat the redwood
grove drew the young woman's mind outof her pain.Shewas
struck by the energy of mindfulness, the trees, and my presence.
With conscious breathing and embracing the trees, her
attention had been channeled from her suffering to the freshnessof
the trees and the calmness of her conscious breathing.
Eventually, she could smile again.
In Plum Village, we practice conscious breathing most of
the dayinall activities, and the breath becomes ourvery close
friend. When we get caught in a strong emotion, we know that
itis best to practice mindful breathing. But it is not so easy if
wedo not have a habit of mindful breathing.
Mindfulness is the energy of healing, calming, and transforming.
The most basic practice of mindfulness is mindful
breathing, which was the practice that nourished me so much
during the trip. I would like to share it with you. "Breathing in,
I am aware of my in-breath. Breathing out, I am aware of my
out-breath." Please practice with me for afew breaths.
Brother Phap Dang is a monk at Plum Village.