Thich Nhat Hanh is a true bodhisattva -- "Enlightened Being." Some call him a Zen Master, but he really follows the Theravadan and original Pali Canon (the oldest known Buddhist teachings.) I first read his book on Anger, and that led me to his works on Mindfulness Practice. I think he has written over sixty books on meditation, Buddhist philosophy and peace. He's 82 now and banned from returning to his native Vietnam. Like the Dalai Lama, he lives in exile. I love his simple "Miracle of Mindfulness" booklet, first written as a lengthy letter to another monk regarding some practices that might be useful. How humble!
Of all the descriptions of inner peace and tranquility, I believe Thay's (as his student's call him) are the most powerful.
"Some students look upon meditation as toil. They want the time to pass quickly so they can get on with living or resting. But, if you cannot find peace, serenity and joy in these moments of sitting and being totally in the present, then the future will flow by like a river. You cannot hold it back. And, when the future arrives you will not be able to enjoy it either because it will become the present.
Joy and Peace are possible right now -- in this very moment. If you cannot find it here, you won't find it anywhere."
Can it be said any better, any clearer? I know this truth. It is hard to remember for oneself, much easier to think about for others. I tell an addictive friend that moving to another state will not solve his problems. He will just find those problems wherever he goes. Tonight I tell myself, taking my burdens and inability to write to Arizona will not solve it. I must solve it here. Wherever we go, there we are! I must find my Joy and Peace within. We all must.
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