Take my hand. We will walk.
We will only walk.
We will enjoy our walk
without thinking of arriving anywhere.
Walk peacefully.
Walk happily.
Our walk is a peace walk.
Our walk is a happiness walk.
Then we learn
that there is no peace walk;
that peace is the walk;
that there is no happiness walk;
that happiness is the walk.
We walk for ourselves.
We walk for everyone
always hand in hand.
Walk and touch peace every moment.
Walk and touch happiness every moment.
Each step brings a fresh breeze.
Each step makes a flower bloom under our feet.
Kiss the Earth with your feet.
Print on Earth your love and happiness.
Earth will be safe
when we feel in us enough safety.
--Thich Nhat Hanh
On Monday, Buddhists and others around the world will be observing the third day in an eight day
memorial for Thich Nhat Hanh, known in the United States as a teacher, writer, poet and activist. His death was announced Saturday. He was 95. Several obituaries note that his reputation as a spiritual leader was second only to the Dalai Lama.
His teachings and his example helped form an American brand of Buddhism, along with the Dalai Lama and Shunryu Suzuki, founder of the San Francisco Zen Center. That Thich Nhat Hanh was Vietnamese, Sukuki Japanese, and the Dalai Lama is Tibetan speaks to the character of American Buddhism.
Thich Nhat Hanh contributes an example that unifies the apparent (but not real) yet integral paradox of American Buddhism: he taught both the practice of mindfulness meditations, and the necessity of “engaged Buddhism,” of activism in the world. His early opposition to the Vietnam war (at the side of Martin Luther King, Jr.) and many projects to aid the victims of war regardless of who or where they were, are examples of his outward commitment. His many books and guided meditations express his inward commitment. Yet to him they are both mindfulness.
In recent months we have used selected guided meditations recorded on the Internet for our daily meditation time. One of those I find most helpful is one of his. The first instruction: “Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.” The essence of the practice, it is direct and immediately actionable.
Some of his other instructions end with “enjoy.” Meditation is the discipline of relaxation. It can be richly and directly rewarding.
A later instruction goes something like this: “Breathing in, I smile. I smile to everything—even my suffering, my difficulties. Nothing is more important than my peace, my joy. Breathing out, I release, I let go. Smile. Release. This is the practice of freedom.”
“This is the practice of freedom” says so much to me. This is the effect of what is usually translated as “non-attachment.” Awareness both bathes us in the moment, and provides a perspective on our usual ways of thinking. For that moment we can be free from the shackles of our usual responses, obsessions, fears, anxieties, grievances, etc. or self-image based on the opinions and social pressure of others. It is a practice that can lead to clarity, and action in the world.
Suggestions for today’s memorial acts include walking meditations, the subject of this poem.
