My presence in this world

Practicing mindfulness has brought us the journey inwards. A closer look at what we think, feel and do. With mindfulness we can also look outside to the world with new eyes. For me the next step would be to look at what I will do now, how will I be present in this world. Thich Nhat Hanh once used the following image at the introduction of walking meditation: “I try to walk on the earth as if with each step I kiss mother earth and leave a trail of flowers in my footsteps”
How you are present in society and what you leave behind is very much dependant on how well you are capable of being aware of the present moment. And your awareness of what is the right thing to do.  Again the key is in the words “Your Awareness”, there is a thin line here between being a coach or a moralistic police officer.  A few years ago I was at a retreat in PlumVillage, one of the nice places there is the lotus pond. The monks and nuns put lots of love and effort in taking care of the pond to have beautiful lotus flowers in summer. As I came close to the water to see the plants I noticed a small frog, obviously in trouble. When I came closer to help the frog I saw that one of the legs was snagged by the claws of a small crayfish. So what was the best thing to do? Liberate the frog and deny the crayfish its lunch? Or let the crayfish go on and let the frog die?
Our course of action is not always clear and cannot always be solved by rules and laws. Take a closer look at what is really going on and let your own conscience speak.
Recently there was a meeting of religious and spiritual leaders hosted by pope Francis. The topic was a move to end slavery. Thich Nhat Hanh prepared a speech for the occasion in which he asked attention to the wider roots of slavery, like for instance our need and greed in the west to buy the cheapest clothes or have the newest smart phone at the lowest price. Slavery and exploitation has many roots.

In Buddhism there is a notion of Karma, which means ‘Action’. And as Buddhism tries to look in a non discriminative way, this also means something like ‘Result’. Karma is build of what you think, what your say and what you do. This brings us to the 4^th and 5^th Mindfulness training to study our presence and interaction with the world (full text in the annex):

      Loving speech and Deep listening

      Nourishment and Healing

For me the beauty of these five mindfulness trainings is in the vantage point. They are offered to us as a meditation and an aspiration that you can adopt or not. When I accept these trainings, I speak out that I have the aspiration to practice. After careful meditation on “Aware of the suffering caused by ... ”, it becomes my self-chosen moral standard. For me, accepting these trainings comes from a deeper notion of interbeing. We are all part of a larger whole, my wellbeing is not a separate item.

Let’s enter an open dialog and see where it takes us, let us get to know each other and learn how each of us is dealing with the issues in life. Maybe there will be such thing as a global ethic and a path to a healthy society.