Thich Nhat Hanh Healing in Vietnam The Wonderful World of Gathas

dharma TALKand walking meditation. We have organized a retreat like thatfor congressmen and –women in the United States. Presently inWashington D.C. there are congress people who know how todo walking meditation, how to coordinate their breath and theirsteps. A congressman wrote a letter to me, and he said, “DearThay, from my room to the voting chamber I always do walkingmeditation. I come back to my breath and my steps on my way tothis place. My relationship with the voting process and with myco-workers has improved so much because I know how to applywalking meditation practice.”We have also organized retreats to teach these practices topolice officers in the United States. Imagine all these big policeofficers who now take steps in peace, in gentleness. Do you knowbody has the capacity to heal itself and medication becomes secondary.When stress is so great, we can take a lot of medication,but it’s very difficult to heal. So while we’re taking medication, themost important thing is to relax the body. When the nurse is aboutto give us an injection we tense our body because we are afraidthere’ll be pain. When we tense up the muscles like that, if shegives an injection it will be very painful. So she says, “Now takea deep breath!” And when we’re breathing out and we’re thinkingof the out-breath, then she sticks the needle into our arm.While we’re driving, while we are cooking, while we aresweeping the floor of the house, while we are using the computer,we can also practice total relaxation. Do not think that the monksand the nuns do not work a lot. They also work a lot, but theyin deep despair and have come in touch withthey have been able to transform their lives.that in the United States there are more police officers who commitsuicide than are shot by criminals? They witness so much sufferingand they cause so much suffering to themselves and to theirfamilies; they feel they had no way out. That’s why a retreat likeours benefited them so much and they suffer much less.In prisons there are those who know how to organize sittingmeditation. Last month an American prisoner wrote to me, “DearThay, even though I am in prison, I’m very happy, and I see thatsometimes being in prison is good for me. This is an advantageouscondition for me to do a lot of sitting and walking meditation. IfI were outside right now, maybe I would never have learned thispractice. I am not a monastic, but I see that I am living in prisonand I live according to the mindful manners and precepts in thebook Stepping Into Freedom.” Stepping Into Freedom is a revisionof the book written for the monastics; it contains the essentialpractices for the novices.Over the centuries when people have been in deep despair andhave come in touch with the wonderful teachings of the Buddha,they have been able to transform their lives. We are children ofthe Buddha — for many generations. Buddhism has been in ourcountry for over two thousand years. If we have not learned thesebasic practices of meditation, it is a shame.That is why I very much hope that those of you who are presenttoday are determined to learn these basic practices. We have tobe able to sit still. We have to know how to breathe in such a waythat we feel comfortable, peaceful, and we need to know how towalk so that there is peace and freedom in each step. We’re notdoing this for ourselves only, but for our fathers, for our mothers,for our children, and for our country.In the Anapanasati Sutra on mindfulness of breathing, theBuddha taught us to use the mindfulness of our breathing to healour body and our mind. When there is relaxation in the body, ourpractice to work in a spirit of relaxation. That is why they’re ableto maintain their freshness, their smile, their happiness. We cando the same as the monastics.The Secret of ZenAfter we bring our mind back to take care of the body, wecan bring our mind back to take care of the mind. In our mindthere’s suffering, fear, worry, irritation, anger. Often we want tosuppress these feelings but each day the tension and stress growgreater and greater. Eventually they cause us illnesses of the bodyand mind. The Buddha teaches us to bring the mind back to thebody to take care of the body and to bring the mind back to takecare of the mind.Among the sixteen exercises of breathing, there is one exercisethat aims to relax negative mental formations, such as angerand worry. Breathing in, I am aware that there’s irritation in me.Breathing out, I smile to my irritation. Breathing in, I am aware thatthere are worries in me. Breathing out, I take care of my worries.Our irritation or worries are like our baby. We use our breathingto generate the energy of mindfulness in order to embrace ourworries and our fear.Right mindfulness means we know what’s going on. Forexample, I am breathing in, and I know that I am breathing in.That is right mindfulness of the breath. When we take a step andwe know that we are taking the step, that is right mindfulness ofthe step. When we drink a cup of coconut juice, in that momentwe have mindfulness of drinking. We bring the mind back to thebody so that it’s present as we are sitting, standing, lying down,putting on our robe, taking off our robe, brushing our teeth. Ourmind is always present. That is the secret of Zen.When the body and mind are relaxed, we have the capacityto listen to the other person and to speak gentle words. Then wethe Mindfulness Bell 7