Present Moment, Only Moment

This is in response to Lauren's post of today about the end goal.

Thich Nhat Hahn

The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation

Washing the dishes to wash the dishes

Thirty years ago, when I was still a novice Tu Hieu Pagoda, washing the dishes was hardly a pleasant task. During the Season of Retreat when all the monks returned to the monastery, two novices had to do all the cooking and wash the dishes for sometimes well over one hundred monks. There was no soap. We had only ashes, rice husks, and coconut husks, and that was all. Cleaning such a high stack of bowls was a chore, especially during winter when the water was freezing cold. Then you had to heat up a big pot of water before you could do any scrubbing. Nowadays one stands in a kitchen equipped with liquid soap, special scrubpads, and even running hot water which makes it all the more agreeable. It is easier to enjoy washing the dishes  now. Anyone can wash them in a hurry, then sit down and enjoy a cup of tea afterwards. I can see a machine for washing clothes, although I wash my own things out by hand, but a dishwashing machine is going just a little too far!

While washing the dishes one should only be washing the dishes, which means that while washing the dishes one should be completely aware of the fact that one is washing the dishes. At first glance, that might seems a little silly: why put so much stress on a simple thing? But that’s precisely the point. The fact that I am standing there and washing these bowls is a wondrous reality. I’m being completely myself, following my breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts and actions. There’s no way I can be tossed around mindlessly like a bottle slapped here and there on the waves.

The Good News of Bach, 3.14.2017

Listening to the Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins, BWV 1043, performed by Anne-Sophie Mutter and Salvatore Accord (English Chamber Orchestra).

Start to listen here at 20:02 m.

The End Goal

Maybe my ego is what always prints the bad news- the wrong news. 
Maybe my desires print the bad news.
My anxieties print the bad news. 
My complacency prints the bad news.
My doubts in others prints the bad news. 

Leave behind the world of sorrow, preoccupation and get free. 
The latest good news is that you can do it.

Preoccupation with the end goal:
end goal of having fun
end goal of having sex
end goal of having strong relationships
end goal of being smart
end goal of being productive.

Get free. How can I not make it an end goal?

The Good News of Sharing the Wealth

Several members in our class have participated in our Sunday night Share the Wealth, a potluck dinner/sharing/discussion:

Sharifa

Diana

Chris

Ale

Hello!

My name is Tracy. I am a social worker, wife, and mother of 2 girls, ages 7 and 3.  I am an old student of Mark's, and an old student of meditation and Buddhism and writing. I'm finding my way back to those things through this class.

I haven't written in years! So many years I can't recall. I bought myself a special notebook just to start writing again. I, too, need to find the good news in a world where the hits keep coming and I can't let them knock me down because there is too much work to be done.  Looking forward to learning more about the group 😊

Hi

My name is Sharifa, and I live in St. Louis. I wanted to join this class because I wanted to focus my energy on thinking more positively given the current climate of constant bad news. I also want to be nudged to write a bit more, so I figured this was a good opportunity :).

Excited to write good news and read good news!

The Good News of Generating, 3.9.2017

I have 286 chapters in an almost finished first draft of a manuscript entitled, Our Heroic and Ceaseless 24/7 Struggle against Tsuris.