The Beloved 88 year old Thich Nhat Hanh is dying today. Here is one of my favorite teachings of his on loving. May he feel the presence of the millions of people he has loved over the years as he makes his transition. He says: The first mantra is: “Darling, I am here for you.” When you love someone, the best thing you can offer him/her is your presence. How can you love if you are not there? And you look into his eyes and you say: “Darling, you know something, I am here for you.” You offer him or her your presence, your true presence. You are not preoccupied with the past or the future, your project. You are FOR your beloved one. The second mantra is: “Darling, I know you are there, and I am so happy.” Because you are truly there, you recognize the presence of your beloved one as something very precious, and you use your mindfulness to reocnize that and embrace your beloved one with mindfulness and she will bloom like a flower. To be loved is to be recognized as existing, and these two mantras can bring happiness right away. Even if your beloved one is not there, you can use your telephone and practice the mantra. The third mantra is what you practice when your beloved one suffers: “Darling, I know you suffer. That is why I am here for you.” Before you do something to help her to help him, your presence already can bring some relief. The fourth mantra is a little bit more difficult. That is when you suffer, and you believe that your suffering has been caused by your beloved one. So you suffer so deeply, and you prefer to go to your room and close the door and suffer alone. You get hurt, and you want to punish him/her for having made you suffer. And the mantra is to overcome that. The mantra is: “Darling, I suffer. I am trying my best to practice. Please help me.” You go to him, you go to her, and practice that. And if you can bring yourself to say that mantra, you suffer less right away.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 01:13:25 +0000
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