The PATH: Sitting, Walking, and Living Well
sent by J.W. Bertolotti | April 25, 2022
Welcome to The PATH — A weekly reflection with three timeless insights into daily life. This week’s reflection searches for ancient lessons on living well from the Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Specifically, the insights of —Sitting, Walking, and Living.
1. Sitting
What comes to mind when you think of sitting or practicing stillness? Do you connect sitting still with benefits to yourself and others? The Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh explained, “When we sit, we bring joy and nourishment to ourselves and others. Every time we sit, we can sit in such a way that the world can profit from our sitting.”
In the short book How to Sit (part of the How to Live: Boxed Set), Hanh wrote,
By looking deeply, the meditation practitioner gains insight or wisdom. Insight has the power to liberate us from our own suffering and bondage. In the process of meditation, fetters are undone: internal blocks of suffering such as resentment, fear, anger, despair, and hatred are transformed; relationships with humans and nature become easier; freedom and joy can penetrate us.
Suppose the benefits of a stillness practice resonate with you. Then, why is making time for a stillness practice so difficult for many of us? Is finding time for stillness honestly the reason? The truth is, the opportunities for stillness are far more available than we realize.
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2. Walking
When most people think of “meditation,” they usually think of sitting meditation. However, there are many different kinds of meditation. Mindfulness meditation can be practiced anywhere — whether sitting, walking, standing, or lying down. Hanh stressed, “Whenever we perform our daily activities with mindful awareness, we are practicing meditation.”
When Thich Nhat Hanh was asked — “Why do you do walking meditation?” Hanh responded, “Because — I like it.”
In How to Walk, Hanh stressed this point,
We frequently walk with the sole purpose of getting from one place to the next. But where are we in between? With every step, we can feel the miracle of walking on solid ground. We can arrive in the present moment with every step.
It is easy to take for granted the joy of walking. When astronauts return to Earth, one of the things they are happy to do is take a walk. To enjoy the grass, the plants, the flowers, the animals, and the birds. Every step we take on Earth is an opportunity to appreciate the solid ground beneath us.
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3. Living
Do you believe it’s possible to find peace right where you are? How about peace amidst the storms of daily life? There is genuinely nothing to search for, observed Hanh. When we transcend the ideas of inside and outside. We realize everything is already available to us in the present moment. There is nothing to attain and nowhere to go.
In How to Sit, Hanh urges us to consider,
Image a boat full of people crossing the ocean. The boat is caught in a storm. If anyone panics and acts rashly, they will endanger the boat. But if there’s even one person who is calm, this person can inspire calm in others. Such a person can save the whole boat. That’s the power of non-action. Our quality of being is the ground of all appropriate action.
How does one find calm in the chaos? Moment by moment, explained the great Zen Master Dogen. The way is not simply one direction from starting point to the goal — the way is like a circle.
We all have a lamp inside us, according to Hanh. We can light our lamp of mindfulness at any time. The oil of our lamp is our breathing, steps, and peaceful smile. To quote Hanh, “Our practice is to light up the lamp.”
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Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful. If so, please consider sharing it with others.
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Image credit: Totem Walk at Sitka by Emily Carr (1907, Public domain)
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