Feb 20, 2012
Dear Thay, Dear Sangha, Dear Virtual Community
Today, we close our Three Month Winter Retreat and our Moment by moment class. The Third Noble Truth--the end of suffering is discussed by our teachers. We are encouraged to look into our suffering and to be aware of what is real and how much we create in our own mind. What is our real experience and what is suffering because that is what we label it? We are reminded that the path is not a straight line and our view of our suffering can change depending where we are on the path. We are reminded that we are not just one thing, we are many things. We can look deeply to see where we have a skillful relationship with our suffering and where we have a not-yet-skillful relationship. As our monastics recite, 'when a monk goes into the world, he looks straight ahead and walks mindfullly'. May we all cultivate the ability to stay compassionately on the path--walking with mindfulness and concentration. In this way, we offer our beauty, presence, and practice each other. Our practice is not a conceptual exercise, it is one to be lived in real life, moment by moment, each and every day.
Our teachers ask, does anything really end? With Right View we see there is no beginning and no end. Our course has ended, but it has also just begun as the 3,000 practitioners in 40 countries who are following the course walk mindfully into the world. We bow in gratittude to all of you and to our wonderful teachers who show us the way in this life.
Find your path. Enjoy your step. Enjoy your breath. Treasure your life.