Thich Nhat Hanh: Two hours of tea can not make money, but you can have a life

In life, most of us, most of the time, unconsciously, are in a situation that is very vulnerable to the influence of the outside world and other people's emotions and worries about the future, feeling anxiety or inner confusion , Unable to obtain peace and destination.

The world is just a blank big screen, everything is the projection of our own heart. If we can maintain more awareness of our lives, in many cases, everything may be completely subverted.

Let us walk into the world of Thich Nhat Hanh and see how he has maintained a high level of awareness of life and life in his growth trajectory, and obtained the peace and abundance of life.

When I was four years old, my mother brought me a banana leaf-wrapped snack every time she came back from the market.

I will run to the field in front of the house and eat bit by bit; sometimes it takes half an hour or forty-five minutes to eat a snack.

I will take a small bite, look up at the sky, then touch the puppy with my foot, and then take a small bite. I just enjoy being there, being with the sky, the earth, the bamboo forest, cats, dogs and flowers.

I can spend so much time eating snacks because I have no worries.I don't want the future, nor do I regret the past. I am totally in the moment, with my dim sum, the dog, the bamboo forest, the cat, and everything. Just like eating snacks in my childhood, eating slowly and happily, this is also possible.

Maybe you feel that you have lost your childhood snack, but I am sure it is still there, still in the corner of your heart. Everything is still there, if you really want it, you can still find it.

mindful eating is the most important practice in meditation. We can bring the feeling of eating snacks in childhood into our current meals. The moment is full of joy and happiness. If you pay attention, you will definitely experience it yourself.

Time to admire the moon.

Nowadays, most people don't have such extravagant leisure time. Although we have more money in our pockets and richer material life, we are not as happy as before.

And the reason for this is only because we don't have time to enjoy each other's company. But we can make ordinary life more meaningful in some way.

For example, starting from the simplest things, starting from drinking tea,Enjoy the taste of tea beginning. Why take two hours to drink tea? From an economic point of view, this is a waste of time. But this has nothing to do with money.

Time is more important than money. Time is life, and money cannot match time. During the two hours of drinking tea together, we could not make money, but we could have a life.

When doing novice monks in Cixiao Temple is washing dishes, which is my least favorite. Every year when Yuan lives, all the monks go back to the monastery and practice together for three months.

Sometimes it was just two of us novices who washed dishes for more than 100 monks. At that time, there were no detergents, so we could only use rice skin, fragrant ash, coconut skin . It is difficult and difficult to clean the high piles of bowls and chopsticks.

In winter, the water is even more icy and cold. We have to boil a large pot of water before we can start washing. Nowadays, with detergents, cleaning sponges, and even hot tap water, washing dishes has become much easier.

However, in my memory, it is only when I am not washing the dishes that I find it very unpleasant to wash the dishes. But when you really stand in front of the sink, roll up your sleeves, and put your hands in the warm sink to wash the dishes, your heart is very happy.

I like to wash dishes,I enjoy washing dishes, and I like to feel every moment when the dishes, chopsticks, water and my hands are together. At this time, I would think, if I am eager to get things done, in order to complete the task, I can just sit down and have a snack and a cup of tea. But if so, washing dishes becomes unpleasant and the result is meaningless.

For the life that is miraculous every minute, it will leave a little regret. The dishes are here, and I am washing the dishes, which in itself is a miracle! If I can't wash the dishes happily, and I just want to finish the washing quickly, so that I can eat snacks and have a cup of tea, then I shouldn't be able to enjoy the snacks and tea well when the washing is actually finished.

Even if I had a snack with a fork, I might be thinking about what to do next. As a result, the deliciousness and delicacy of this snack, and the joy of enjoying this delicacy, will disappear.

I will keep falling into the cage of the future, completely divorced from reality, unable to feel the moment. Every thought and every action triggered with the light of awareness will become sacred. But under the radiance of this light, there is no boundary between god and mortal.

Although washing dishes takes me a lot of time, I live deeply in every moment and I feel happy.

Washing dishes is both a way and an end. We wash dishes in order to obtain clean dishes; we wash dishes in order to wash the dishes themselves, in order to fully feel every moment when washing dishes, in order to truly perceive the existence of life and life.

The small banana tree has three leaves,When I was a monk in Vietnam, I realized some of its truths from observing the banana tree .

The first banana leaf is fully stretched, bathed in sunlight and rain, and full of vitality.

The second leaf is slightly stretched, but not fully expanded.

The third leaf, which is the smallest, has not been expanded yet.

I noticed that when the first leaf is opened, it will help the second and third to grow. It will try to open, and then absorb sunlight and rain. When the breeze blows, it sways.

The first and second leaves see their past in the third leaf, so when the first leaf begins to wither and wither, it will not cry. It knows that it can continue to grow on the second and third leaves. In the end, it will return to the dust, nourish the whole banana tree, and nourish the banana leaves where life is still alive.

The meaning of life is the same. We live for a certain thing, for a certain purpose, through the first leaf, I can see my shadow.

Only by living a good life can I help my juniors and pass on my happiness, my hope and the best place to them. And they will use the same method to nourish the unborn family offspring.

Source of the article: "Live at this moment"