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The practice of stopping
Jeroen
Luminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlands Veteran
in Mindfulness
I came across this video by Thich Nhat Hanh, about the practice of stopping. It reminded me that in Plum Village they have a mindfulness bell which rings every so often, during which everyone is supposed to stop what they are doing… and here is Thay, saying what a powerful practice just the act of stopping is.
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WOW. I needed to hear that right now. Thank you. Much appreciated.
It is a useful practice
Here is the quick version
https://pixelfed.social/i/web/post/701437736287121444
what thay is teaching us love wins. to love and respect ourselves, to have hand full of leaves for our wellbeing. samatha techniques does a body good. but if practice daily the side affect we become awake functioning zen students. im already quilty. a t(h)era firm zen student.
mind follows the body and the body follows the mind. i also do direct step walking with samatha....body awareness yoga doing before landscaping.
Goodness, that was welcome to hear. Especially after wandering off the Path and ripping open a wound in my psyche. Very painful. But I am inspired by the notion of the in-breath as an ‘arrival’ to stopping running — and the way to bring oneself back to the present moment, as a space of healing and insight. Thank you as ever, Thay. 🙏🏼❤️🙏🏼
I can really identify with your post Dhammika. I've undergone a very similar situation. I'm using the practice of stopping all the time now. Sometimes it's a challenge but it's a good measure of "active practising" of the Buddhist teachings - and a sanity saver for me
I've been stopping since @Jeroen posted the video. It fosters a rest&digest state in me - very good medicine for my anxiety.
My question currently is whether the same mindset can be applied also during activity. Meditation is good but we obviously can't be meditating all day. (plus it can be an escape-activity all of its own).
What we're basically stopping is all the schenanigans of mind&emotion. During meditation, also body movement. Can we be "stopped" in terms of mind&emotion while the body is (intelligently and productively) active?
Anyone have any insight on this?
TNH has such a calming presentation, just listening to his voice slows me down. Gil Fronsdale teaches a 3 breath meditation to use during the day. When you notice yourself getting wound up or frazzled just stopping for a beat and taking 3 focused breaths does a lot, especially in conjunction with a longer daily practice that it brings you back to.
In an attempt to answer @marcitko question about stopping while moving. Traditional practice includes mindful movement and activity as a way of habituating a mental stillness and focus while moving. Modern positive psychology talks about flow states, that might have some similarity.
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-flow-2794768
R.I.P Thich Nhat hanh. you were a woderful Tae (means teacher)
A simple quick mental body scan can work wonders for both body and mind...
I used to attend Magnolia Grove on the regular. When the whole campus would gently stop at the bell…..it was a collective awareness I can’t even describe. I have continued that tool to this day. I have a timer set on my iPad and anytime one of us walks past the alter in the living room, someone gives a little tap to the bell on the cushion. 🙏🏻
I love this!!
Are you then not still doing things? Even if it’s only focussing and moving the awareness.
Anxiety is often an overactive deep mental state… some deeper part of the mind that is fretting. If you meditate and intentionally try to slow down, be gentle, calm, then in my experience much of it disappears.
Zen says many activities lend themselves to this. I believe it would be mostly repetitive activities which would be best, like cutting grass with a scythe.
Yes, as Thay mentions in the video it is not easy to just do nothing, one must practice to prepare the mind for nothing, hmm I know it sounds like an oymoron.
Body scans for those whose minds are like a restless stallion just brings one's awareness back into the moment of here and now and once one has calmed the stallion/mind through body scan meditation or for that matter, any other form meditation one might practice. after nothing is let, body & mind's natural functions, bathe in awareness...
On a personal level when the body sits in meditation "I" do nothing, (other than bring the body to the cushion) the body & mind do their own thing without any input from the self ...
Busy doing nothing
