Anyone who knows the practice of mindfulness
knows that you have to go home to the present moment.
When you go home to the present moment, you can find...
two kinds of situations:
The first kind of situation is
there are so many conditions of happiness available
in the here and the now.
When you breathe in and bring your mind home to your body
you are established in the present moment.
And you notice there are so many refreshing and healing elements
available in the present moment.
There are also many conditions of happiness available in the present moment.
And with that awareness,
to generate the feeling of joy and happiness is very easy.
That you can do in order to nourish yourself...
to nourish yourself with joy and happiness.
So, that is the first thing you encounter when you go back to the present moment.
The second situation is that when you go back to the present moment,
you might encounter a feeling of pain,
a feeling of a painful emotion,
that is in you.
In fact a painful feeling, a painful emotion,
manifests from time to time.
But when it begins to manifest, we don't like to be there.
So we try to run away,
pretending that it's not there.
So no one is there in order to take care of the painful feeling or emotion.
So, going back to the present moment here, is no longer to recognize...
the elements of joy and happiness,
but to have a chance to take care of the pain in ourselves
and to transform it.
So, even if the present moment is unbearable,
to go back to that moment is the only chance for us
to do something in order to calm it down
and to transform it.
Most of the people don't do that
because they're afraid that when they come home to themselves,
and touch their pain inside,
they will be overwhelmed by the suffering
and that is why their practice is to run away,
imagine something about the future to forget,
go back to the past to forget
but the past and the future, they are like images.
Not reality.
Only the present moment is real.
Many people try to cover up the pain inside
not only by going back to the past or running to the future...
to imagine that there will be some hope,
some end of suffering in the future
but that cannot last long.
And most people try to cover up the suffering inside
by the practice of consumption.
We read magazines, we watch television,
we try and find something to eat,
we listen to music, we pick up the phone to talk...
Everything we do, we do because we hope that by doing these things...
we don't have to confront the suffering in us.
And we allow that pain to continue to grow in us.
So the practice of mindfulness helps us to go home to the present moment
even in the moment that is not pleasant.
But it is in that very moment
that we can understand the suffering,
and that we can find a way in order to calm it down.
And to transform it.
So, next time when you find the present moment not pleasant,
don't think that running away from it is the best way.
No, it may be a chance.
So, stay in that moment. Look deeply into the nature of your suffering.
If you know how to practice mindful breathing or mindful walking,
generating the energy of mindfulness,
then that energy of mindfulness generated by the practice
helps you to be strong enough
to recognize, encounter the pain and embrace it tenderly.
And embracing your pain tenderly,
in a few minutes, you can calm it down
And...
if there are practitioners practicing with you,
then you can profit from their energy of mindfulness
and compassion.
Getting in touch with the suffering
brings about understanding of suffering.
And...
the energy of compassion - understanding and compassion -
has the power to heal.
To heal you and to heal the people who happen to be around you at that time.
And if there is a group of people practicing together,
embracing the suffering with tenderness,
they will experience that collective energy of compassion that will heal them.
And when they suffer less,
they are in the position to help other people do the same.