No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering

by Thich Nhat Hanh

If we try to use consumption to ignore or distract ourselves from our suffering, we end up making the suffering worse. We turn on the television. We talk or text or gossip on the phone. We get on the Internet. We find ourselves in front of the refrigerator over and over again.

Many people suffer due to the fear of dying. We want to live forever. We fear annihilation. We don’t want to pass from being into nonbeing. This is understandable. If you believe that one day you will cease to exist altogether, it can be very scary. But if you take the time to still the activities of body and mind and look deeply, you may see that you are dying right this very moment. You think that you will die in a few years, or twenty years, or thirty years. That’s not true. You are dying now. You have been dying all the time. It’s actually very pleasant to die, which is also to live.

“Listening like this, my sole aim is to help the other person to suffer less. She may be full of wrong perceptions, but I won’t interrupt her. If I jump in with my perspective on things or correct her, it will become a debate, not a practice of deep listening. Another time, there may be a chance for me to offer her a little information so that she can correct her wrong perception. But not now.”

When you brush your teeth, you can choose to do it in mindfulness. You don’t think of other things. You just focus your attention on brushing your teeth. You spend maybe two or three minutes brushing your teeth. You can produce the energy of joy and happiness during that time simply by being mindful of your teeth and of your brushing. When you go to the toilet, defecating or urinating, it’s also possible to enjoy that time.

The French have a song they like to sing, “Qu’est-ce qu’on attend pour être heureux?” (What are you waiting for in order to be happy?) You can be happy right here and right now.

So when your beloved one congratulates you, telling you that you are the very image of perfection, you can say, “Darling, that is only partly true. You know that I have the other things in me too.” You retain your humility. You’re not a victim of self-delusion, because you know that you’re not perfect.

My heart is essential to my well-being. It works nonstop and nourishes all the cells in my body. I’m so grateful to my heart. I get to rest and sleep, but my heart never stops. Yet I’ve done things to hurt my heart. I’ve drunk too much alcohol; I’ve smoked. I haven’t been very kind to my heart.”

If you have mindfulness, concentration, and insight then every step you make on this Earth is performing a miracle.