You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment

by Thich Nhat Hanh

We are like the flower. Every one of us is a miraculous flower in the garden of humanity. If you look deeply into yourself, you will see that you possess everything. As the poet Walt Whitman said, “I am large, I contain multitudes.” The one contains all—that is the insight of Buddhism. If you

practice deep looking, you will discover this truth, the mystery of interbein...

There is a Buddhist teaching that might seem strange to you. This is the teaching of aimlessness (apranihita in Sanskrit). Aimlessness is a form of concentration, one of three practices of deep looking recommended by the Buddha. The other two are concentration on the absence of distinguishing signs (alakshana) and concentration on emptiness (sunyata). So emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessness—sunyata, alakshana, and apranihita—are known as the three concentrations, the three meditations. They are the basis of Buddhist meditation, and all Buddhist schools transmit this teaching on the three concentrations, the three Dharma Seals.

3. Nirvana

The Dharma is offered to you as a tool, not as an object of worship. Cutting the roots of evil, hate, confusion, and discrimination is the work of all those who meditate, and the Dharma is the sickle we use to do that. If somebody gives you a sickle to cut the grass with, you use it. You don’t put it on a shrine or in a special box.

We must also go beyond the concept of nirvana. The word “nirvana” is like the word “God”—it can become a concept for you to get caught in. We should touch God as an ultimate reality and not as a concept. The same thing is true of nirvana. We should touch it as an ultimate reality in the here and now. If nirvana is a concept to you, then you are a prisoner. Burn nirvana, burn impermanence, and burn non-self if they ever become concepts!

This is a wonderful practice, and we can all learn to do it. A person who is about to die has seeds of suffering in her, but she also has seeds of happiness. You who love this person should recognize the seeds of happiness and suffering in her, and speak to her about the things that evoke happiness in her. It is very important to do this. Even if the person is in a coma, you should speak to her like this. Communication is possible. She will hear you.

Sister Chan Khong then began to sing a verse that is drawn directly from a sutra written by the Buddha. The words go like this: This body is not me, I am not caught in this body. I am life without boundaries. I have never been born, and I shall never die. Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars, manifestations of my wondrous true mind. Since before time, I have been free. Birth and death are only doors through which we pass, sacred thresholds on our journey. Birth and death are just a game of hide and seek. So laugh with me, hold my hand, let us say goodbye, say goodbye, to meet again soon. We meet today. We will meet again tomorrow. We will meet at the source at every moment. We meet each other in all forms of life.

After Shariputra watered the seeds of happiness in Anathapindika by talking about the Three Jewels, he did a guided meditation for him on the six senses. “Listen, my friend,” Shariputra said, “let us practice together. Breathing in, I know that my body is not me. Breathing out, I know I am not caught in this body. These eyes are not me. I am not caught in these eyes. These ears are not me. I am not caught in these ears. This nose is not me. I am not caught in this nose. This tongue is not me. I am not caught in this tongue. This body is not me. I am not caught in this body. This mind is not me. I am not caught in this mind.”

This story is told in a discourse entitled “Teachings To Be Given to the Sick.”