Mindfulness and Liberation True Love Global Sangha: - The ...

true LOVETouchingthe MasterBy Aparna Pallavi““Go back and take care of yourself. The wounded child in you needsyou. Your suffering, your blocks of pain need you. Your deepest desireneeds you to acknowledge it.”Each word touched my hurting heart like a tender dewdrop. Mywhole being ached with the desire to see the writer of these beautifulwords—to see the radiant smile on the back cover of his book, Teachingson Love. It was the middle of the night. Unable to remain in bed,I got up, turned on my computer and opened the Plum Village website.And it hit my chest like a hammer, knocking my breath out entirely.Thich Nhat Hanh was coming to India! And to Nagpur, the city ofmy residence! Had ever a human wish been fulfilled so dramatically!On October 9, 2008, in the huge marquee at Nagaloka BuddhaVihar, something beautiful happened even before I saw Thay. SisterChan Khong, leading a team of monastics, was approaching the marquee.My daughter, then barely eleven, cried, “Mom, look what thatbeautiful grandma is doing!”Through some misunderstanding, the women posted at the entranceto perform traditional Indian welcome rituals were trying to put flowerson the old lady’s feet instead of scattering them in her path, as iscustomary. It was a clumsy gesture, but the tiny old woman magicallytransformed it by bending down to receive the flowers in her handsand putting them on her head in a spontaneous, childlike gesture of joyand gratitude. I’d never seen a simple gesture radiate so much visible,felt beauty before.When Thay appeared, I found myself leaving my seat and followinghim to the dais, pulled like a child to an ice cream cart. I stood withinfeet of Thay, my elbows on the dais, hoping the camera in my handwould help me look less foolish to the sedate audience.A serene song of piercing loveliness, which I’d never heard before,started playing in my heart the moment I saw Thay. But coiled withit was a terrible, aching sense that this would be over, and soon. Mypracticed hands were feverishly snapping pictures. A part of me wasmadly determined to capture this moment for eternity. But the songwas still strong, and when the monastics started chanting sutras, themelodies blended effortlessly.For a long moment during the chanting, Thay very deliberatelyturned his gaze full on me, where I stood. My heart leapt, but at thesame moment my hands, as if on cue, rose and poked the old cameraat him. And just then, the camera folded up right under his gaze, itsbatteries exhausted. I was torn between intense ecstasy and intensephoto by Karen Hilsbergthe Mindfulness Bell 35