'Body sitting, quiet, being breathed.' These words have become my mantra, as I sit, meditating. They help set the precise tone for practice, away from 'I', into the pure experience of sensing body. I also use those same words while guiding others. Ruth's words . . . I have made them my own.
I am also very fortunate to spend much of my time in an environment filled with the embodied presence of 'Body sitting, quiet, being breathed'. When one becomes old and frail and forgetful, 'Body sitting, quiet, being breathed' gets forced upon one's way of being.
Whenever I succumb to being too busy, sooner or later, the sight of an elder patiently sitting stops me. And I remember the spacious place where awareness reigns, outside of thoughts. How am I feeling? What is happening in the body? What am I hearing? Where is breath? Becoming reacquainted with myself.
Every day at work, one hundred Buddha-likes to inspire me with their live images of 'Body sitting, quiet, being breathed' . . . I am so lucky.
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Thank you, that is a beautiful reminder for getting old gracefully and remaining at peace with the world as it is and becomes :-)
ReplyDeleteAlthough some of these elders are far from being wise :), they do give through their posture the gift of inspiration for practice: slowing down, sitting still, being.
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