Mindfulness as a Foundation for Wellness: Part 4
Click for Part 1 / Click for Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 5
Source in the public domain of this video is HERE
Here is the continuation of the transcription of Thich Nhat Hanh’s talk at Google Headquarters of September 2011. This is what the great Zen teacher wanted most to convey to folks working at one of the world’s most dynamic and innovative tech companies. We can say, therefore, that it is Thich Nhat Hanh’s heartfelt message to us who live in a busy, hectic, and constantly changing world driven by the ubiquitous advanced technology that plays a crucial role in everything today. Special thanks to my research assistant Christine Atchison for helping me out in this
How to incorporate short mindful moments into your daily routine
Eating
When you eat your breakfast, you have a chance to practice [the] mindfulness [of] eating. You don’t have to think about your projects, your work. Every moment of breakfast is an opportunity for us to get in touch with the wonders of life. Today we will have a chance to share a meal together in mindfulness. Holding a piece of bread, you might like to stop your thinking and look deeply into the piece of bread.
Mindfully, you breath in and might get in touch with the fact that the piece of bread that you are holding contains the whole universe. There is the sunshine that helped the wheat to grow; there is the cloud that provided rain for the wheat to grow; the earth is in there—time, space, and everything in the cosmos has come together in order to produce that piece of bread. And that insight you can get in just a few seconds of looking mindfully at that piece of bread.
If you keep thinking about the past, or the future, or your projects, you miss the bread. You miss the Kingdom of God that the bread is bringing to you. And when you put the piece of bread you might like to enjoy just chewing the bread—getting in touch with the wonders of life instead of chewing your projects, your worries, your fear. You stop all your thinking. You just enjoy eating your breakfast. And that is practice. You don’t need to set aside time for practicing. [49:54]
Taking a Shower,
Brushing Our Teeth
When you take a shower, that is time for practic[ing] mindfulness. You might enjoy your mindful breathing and become aware of the water, of your body, and you can create joy and happiness while taking a shower. The essential [thing] is to stop thinking. The thinking will carry you away and [will not] allow you to live that moment of life.
René Descartes said ‘I think therefore I am’. I’m not very sure of that because if you think so much you will go around your thinking. Your thinking might not be productive at all. It will carry you to many realms and make you worry more and angrier and so on. So, if you are carried away by your thinking, you are not there. That’s why: [perhaps it’s better to say] I think therefore I am not there. It’s better to stop the thinking in order to be there.
When we brush our teeth, we might choose to brush our teeth in such a way that makes freedom and joy and happiness possible during the time of brushing our teeth. It may take two minutes or three minutes. The essential is to stop your thinking, even if you have a lot of things to do. Stop your thinking and enjoy brushing your teeth. When I brush my teeth, I usually touch on the fact that I am over 80 and still have some teeth to brush and it is enough to make me happy.
Brush your teeth in such a way that freedom is possible. Joy and happiness are possible during the time of toothbrush. That is a challenge and I know you can do it. Do not think about your work, your projects. Just enjoy being there and brushing your teeth. That moment … you can live it deeply also because you can always touch the wonders of life, the Kingdom of God in the here and the now.
We used to distinguish between time for work and free time. Buddha has changed our way of thinking. Suppose you have free time, some free time. And if you do not know how to make use of your free time your time is not really free. If you keep thinking and worrying, that time does not make you happy. That time is not for working, of course, but you continue to think about it; you continue to worry about it. And that thinking is not productive. (54:13).
