Thich Nhat Hanh Jewish Roots The Better Way to Live Alone in the ...

practicing WITH CHILDRENJoyful Purposeof the HeartBy Annie MahonWWhen I took refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sanghamany years ago, I was given the dharma name “Joyful Purposeof the Heart.” At the time I didn’t think much about it. Frankly,the name didn’t mean much to me. Joyful Purpose? I had no ideawhat my joyful purpose might be. I had been practicing mindfulnessin a personal way, meditating by myself and reading bookson mindfulness. As a result, my life had been changing slowly.For example, I found myself having more patience for my kidsand a sense of calm inside myself. But I did not feel there was anypurpose to my life. I was living life aimlessly.After the events of September 11, everything changed. As Ilistened to the coverage of the crashes, I felt a sense of compassionand courage growing inside of me. Suddenly, interbeing—the ideathat every one of us is intimately connected to one another—wasa concrete reality rather than an abstract concept.Suddenly, interbeing — the ideathat every one of us is intimatelyconnected to one another — wasa concrete reality rather than anabstract concept.My own need for Sangha surfaced as I sought the support ofother people who could see the interbeing in this event and findthe connection between the victims and the terrorists. I began tosit regularly with the Stillwater Mindfulness Group in Maryland.I needed the support of other people for my growing mindfulnessand to be in an emotionally safe place. By joining fully in theSangha, I made the decision that mindfulness was my life path,and I began to live from this foundation.Around the same time I began to understand that living lifeaimlessly was not about living with no aim, but rather aboutliving without attachment to the outcome of our actions. In the36 Summer 2006Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna, “Do thy work in the peaceof yoga and, free from selfish desires, be not moved in success orin failure… In the bonds of works I am free, because in them I amfree from desires.” I began to think that it might be okay to expressmy creativity through my work and even to do it with joy.Teaching PeaceI knew there was something I could do to transform the growinganger and mutual misunderstanding that led to the events ofSeptember 11. I had a talent for teaching children, and my studyand practice of mindfulness and my relationship with Thay gaveme insights into peace and conflict resolution.On September 14, I sent an e-mail to Coleman McCarthy, aformer Washington Post columnist turned peace activist, askinghow I could get involved in teaching peace and conflict resolutionin the Washington, D.C. public schools. His organization got me intouch with Marsha Blakeway who works with the public schools’peer mediation and conflict resolution programs. Marsha happilybecame my peace mentor, and I immediately began to assist herwith peer mediation meetings at Alice Deal Junior High.I also contacted my son’s third grade teacher and asked if shewould be interested in having me teach a weekly conflict resolutionclass. I had no experience in this area, but I had books andI had my new mentor and I had my mindfulness practice. Withthese tools I was able to fabricate a wonderful class in which Iused games, literature, discussion, and dramatization to help thirdgraders learn how to resolve disputes peacefully.At the end of my first month of teaching, I was approachedby another third grade teacher to teach in her classroom. Duringthe first year, I often wondered whether the kids were gettinganything out of the class. Then one day, my son had a friend overto visit. Both of them were in my conflict class at the time. Whenmy son did something that irritated me, I began to scold him. Hisfriend said, “Annie, use your ‘I’ language.” I had taught them todo this in our conflict class, and he not only remembered it, butalso applied it to real life. After that, I worried much less aboutthe impact of my teaching.Making Little YoginisIn the fall of 2002, I saw a notice for a program trainingpeople how to teach yoga to kids. I had long been a yogini andcontinued on page 39O