Oneness

I love walking in the rain, my steps in sync with the droplets. One rainy night, as I enjoyed the refreshing air cleansed by the rain, I noticed a little snail. He was crawling slowly toward the grass on a sidewalk littered with the remains of his companions, all crushed to death by passers-by.

I picked up a leaf and prodded him to move a bit faster. I found myself talking to him— "If you don't move faster, you will surely be stomped to death like your friends!"— and saw that he was slowly crawling back into his shell for protection.

Looking closely at him, so fragile, struggling for survival, I felt a deep sense of love for him. His desire to live and to breathe was just as grand as mine. In our shared worlds, his existence is just as important as mine. Yet for humans like me, it is so easy to carelessly kill him with our steps.

By our irresponsible ways of living and consuming, we humans are extinguishing the rights of many species to live on this beautiful planet, and those of our own future generations. We act as if we were the only species on this planet, superior to all.

Without the sun, we cannot exist.
Without the water, we cannot exist.
Without the minerals, we cannot exist.
Without the trees, we cannot exist.

When we have the awareness of interconnectedness, we will naturally want to live in such a way that we cause less harm to our beloved planet. We will respect the rights of all other species as brothers and sisters of one big family. Then together we can transform the suffering of our planet by living mindfully and gently as individuals, societies, and as a global community.

true faith fragrance

Painting Spring

Right where you stand,
is the valley of endless spring.
- Dogen

Left home at a very young age for the West, I was determined to see the world and live a life of my own. My parents were heartbroken, yet nothing could stop me from setting out to explore the world. Like a little river on the mountaintop, I wanted to see and swim in the vast ocean! For as long as I could remember, I had incessantly searched for a paradise outside of myself, believing that it was somewhere on the other side of the horizon. Yet, even after traveling to so many stunning lands, I never arrived, nor was I ever content where I was for long, until one day I arrived at the refuge of Thay’s teachings.

I came to learn that I really had no need to run or to search. All I needed to do was simply be present with what was right in front of me, here and now, with my breath and my whole being. I learned to breathe. I learned to walk. I learned to be with the natural enviornment. I learned to be with myself.

Mindfulness has taught me to live life deeply—whenever I am able to—and helped me touch the wonders of life all around me and within me, something I had dreamed of being able to do since a young teenager. I feel so blessed to finally have a tiny taste of living that dream, a dream that does not require much wealth or great success, but the freedom of being able to simply live life deeply and beautifully.

Smiles often bloom on my face as I discover the wonders of life around me. Thanks to the practice, the world has once again been revealed beautifully to me. The practice has helped me see, hear, touch, and just be with life. As I began to see miracles every day and everywhere, I began to touch the child inside me and to create the way I did when I was a kid. I delight in the child-like freedom of expressing my experiences and feelings without worrying about being perfect or being judged. I try to remember always that I am a child of Mother Earth and how I love her and wish to protect her in every way that I can.

I have happily arrived home, here on Earth. I have touched and painted endless spring.


true faith fragrance

《培育內心的平靜》 交通方式 Transportation

12月8日公開演講

1.地址:臺灣師範大學圖書館校區，教育大樓201演講廳 (台北市大安區和平東路一段129號)，因校區車位有限，故請使用公共交通工具。
2.Google地圖http://goo.gl/sbu12
3.校區地圖 http://www.ntnu.edu.tw/ga/map/images/ntnu_map2.jpg
4.捷運：新店線古亭站，5號出口往和平東路方向 直行約8分鐘即可到達。或是新店線台電大樓站(3號出口)，2號出口往師大路方向直行約8分鐘即可到達。
5.公車：搭乘15、18、235、237、278、295、662、663、672、907、和平幹線至「師大站」或 「師大一站」。

Public Talk, 12/8.

1.Address: Conference Hall 201 in Education Building,Main Campus Ⅱ,National Taiwan Normal University (129, Heping East Road Section 1, Taipei)
2.Google map http://goo.gl/sbu12
3.Campus map http://www.ntnu.edu.tw/ga/map/images/ntnu_map2.jpg
4.MRT: Guting Station, Exit 5 (ByDanshui Line, Xindian Line, or Nanshijiou Line)
After exiting the station, walking along He-ping East Road about 8 minutes, the NTNUSCE is on the left side.
5.Bus: Nat'l Taiwan Normal U.1 Stop or Nat's Taiwan Normal U. Stop (3,15,18,74,235,237,672,278, and He-ping Line)

 
12月9日-13日正念禪修營

1.地點：桃園寶蓮寺(桃園縣觀音鄉大同村1鄰4號)，地圖http://goo.gl/ePmgM
因道場停車位有限，故請盡量搭乘公共交通工具。
2.搭乘公車：請至中壢火車站，火車站左前方的「桃園客運」搭乘「中壢→觀音」班車(約15-20分鐘一班車，車資47元)，請於「寶蓮寺站」下車。
桃園客運路線圖
http://www.tybus.com.tw/images/path/1470.jpg
3.高鐵轉乘：請至高鐵桃園站，再轉搭計程車約15分鐘。
台灣高鐵http://www.thsrc.com.tw/tc/?lc=tc

Mindfulness Retreat, 12/9-12/13

By Car, Map http://goo.gl/m29rg
By public transportation, please contact with us be email if you need details in English. Thank you