Thich Nhat Hanh Healing in Vietnam The Wonderful World of Gathas

practical WISDOMrunning water, no electricity, little to eat and sometimes cold butalways the knowledge that the sun would come back and makeus warm. The beauty of nature embraced and surrounded us andI felt safe.Walking with the nuns in the forests I learned how to singsongs about meditation practice in Tibetan and when the sistersasked me to sing a meditation song in English, since I could notthink of any, faute de mieux I had to make one up:Go very gently, going nowhere,Go very softly, stopping nowhereLike a river deep and wide,Always moving, still insideThis was inspired by the river at Tilokpur in Himachal Pradeshat the foot of the mountain on which the monastery stood. Inthe rainy season the sound of the rushing water would climb themountainside and we could hear it day and night.Touching Nirvana with the BodyThere was one particular path that I walked on many timesevery day; as many times as we might go up and down the stairs inour house. This little path led the way from our hut to the buildingsite where we were building a retreat center. It was my aspirationto walk this path as a meditation practice but I did not know how.So I tried to remind myself to keep my thinking very simple as Iwalked, but that was difficult because I was trying to practice withmy mind without involving my body.When I first met Thay and Sister True Emptiness [Sister ChanKhong] it was at the airport in London. Thay walked slowly inmindfulness. It was difficult for me not to overtake Thay withoutrealizing it. Thay did not say anything and just enjoyed walkinguntil we came to the car park. There Thay stopped and put a handgently on the side of the car. This gesture alone helped my bodyand mind to come back together. I felt as if the hand of Thay werethe mind and the car the body. In the excitement of Thay’s arrivalI had forgotten all I had ever learned about slow walking.Some days later when we came to the place where Thay wasto lead the retreat, I still had the tendency to run everywhere. Thayasked me to go upstairs to check whether there was a room suitablefor tea meditation. As I started out in haste to please Thay, Thaycalled me back and said very gently: “There is no need to hurry.You can go slowly.” As I walked up the stairs I tried to rememberthat; pulling each step reluctantly back into the present moment.After all I was someone who was used to going up and down stairstwo steps at a time.The beauty was the next day when Thay gave instruction onhow to walk mindfully. Of course you have to involve your body. Inany mindfulness or meditation practice your body practices alongwith your mind. Thay told us that the Buddha had said: “You cantouch nirvana with your body.” You invest your whole person inmindful breathing, mindful footsteps, and the contact between thesoles of your feet and the earth. Then you can touch nirvana withyour feet on this planet earth. Even after we left the retreat SisterTrue Emptiness had to remind me to practice mindfulness as wewalked on the street or in the railway station.In 1989 Thay took his disciples from Plum Village on a pilgrimageto the Fleurs de Cactus meditation center in Paris andThay’s former hermitage called Sweet Potatoes at Fontvannes inthe forest of Ote. As we walked on the paths by the Marne Riveror in the fields around Sweet Potatoes, I began to feel that my stepscould bring me back home. Steps alone could settle my mind andbody and bring them back together again. I had watched Thaywalking and my feet wanted to imitate that way. It was as if Thayhad blessed my feet.With the practice of mindfulness the miracle is in everystep. Walking along the corridor of a residence hall or a hospitalis as deep a practice as walking on a mountain path. Sometimesthe steps come first and then the mindfulness and insight followeffortlessly. Sometimes the practice needs a little support frommeditation words or conscious breathing for mindfulness to flow.As children we walk in paradise without anything to worry aboutor regret. The only thing is that we do not recognize we are walkingin paradise. Using meditation words such as “arrived, home” canhelp us realize that we have arrived and we are at home. “Solid,free” gives a chance to recognize the solidity and freedom thatmindful walking is bringing us so that we do not lose it.It is surprising how relaxing walking can be. All of the fourposes that we adopt in our daily life can be relaxing: sitting, standing,walking, or lying down. Life in Europe and North Americais generally full of stress. In Asia, Africa, and South and CentralAmerica life is becoming more stressful. There is stress in theenvironment or the collective consciousness as well as stress inthe individual body and mind. Stress is a major cause of ill-healthor disease. The way our society is organized creates stress for theindividual and the individual is causing society to be as it is. Theway out is the practice of relaxation.Total RelaxationA favorite practice in Plum Village is total relaxation; relaxingthe body from head to foot. When I was working as a schoolteacher,after work I came home and, before I did anything else, I lay onthe floor to let go of all the difficulties the workday had left in me.the Mindfulness Bell 23