Bleeding Edge

Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Master Monk passed away this past week of January 2022. 

Go in peace beloved Master.

Go in peace till we meet again…

Meanwhile, Thank you for the gift of wisdom you shared with me and the world. 

Grateful for your farewell meditation :

“This body is not me.

I am not limited by this body.

I am life without boundaries.

I have never been born, and I shall never die. 

Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars, manifestations from my wondrous true mind.

Since before time, I have been free. 

Birth and death are only doors through which we pass, sacred thresholds on our journey. 

Birth and death are a game of hide-and-seek. 

So laugh with me, hold my hand, let us say good-bye, say good-bye, to meet again soon.

We meet today. 

We will meet again tomorrow.

We will meet at the source every moment.

We meet each other in all forms of life. 

‘I Am Not in Here’ 

Thich Nhat Hanh had a disciple in Vietnam who wanted to build a stupa for his ashes when he dies and the Master answered his request in the following way: 

“He and others want to built a stupa that includes a plaque with the words “Here lies my beloved teacher.” 

I told them not to waste the temple land. “Do not put me in a small pot and put me in there!” I said. “I don’t want to continue like that. 

It would be better to scatter the ashes outside to help the trees to grow. 

I suggested that, if they still insist on building a stupa, they have the plaque say, “I am not in here.” 

But in case people don’t get it, they could add a second plaque, “I am not out there either.” If people still don’t understand, then you can write on the third and last plaque, “I may be found in your way of breathing and walking.” 

This body of mine will disintegrate, but my actions will continue me. 

In my daily life, I always practice to see my continuation all around me. We don’t need to wait until the total dissolution of this body to continue — we continue in every moment. 

If you think that I am only this body, then you have not truly seen me. When you look at my friends, you see my continuation. When you see someone walking with mindfulness and compassion, you know he is my continuation. 

I don’t see why we have to say “I will die,” because I can already see myself in you, in other people, and in future generations. 

Even when the cloud is not there, it continues as snow or rain. 

It is impossible for a cloud to die. It can become rain or ice, but it cannot become nothing. The cloud does not need to have a soul in order to continue. 

There’s no beginning and no end. I will never die. There will be a dissolution of this body, but that does not mean my death. 

Do this because I will continue, always”

“We are life without limit.” 

“We are not caught in birth, we are not caught in death, we are not caught in being, and we are not caught in non-being. This is the truth of reality.” 

“Watering the seeds of happiness is a very important practice for the sick or dying. All of us have seeds of happiness inside us, and in difficult moments when we are sick or when we are dying, there should be a friend sitting with us to help us touch the seeds of happiness within. Otherwise seeds of fear, of regret or of despair can easily overwhelm us.” 

It is only because of our misunderstanding that we think the person we love no longer exists after they ‘pass away.’ 

This is because we are attached to one of the forms, one of the many manifestations of that person. 

When that form is gone, we suffer and feel sad. The person we love is still there. He is around us, within us and smiling at us. In our delusion we cannot recognize him, and we say: ‘He no longer is.’ 

We ask over and over, ‘Where are you? Why did you leave me all alone?’ 

Our pain is great because of our misunderstanding. But the cloud is not lost. Our beloved is not lost. 

The cloud is manifesting in a different form. 

Our beloved is manifesting in a different form. 

If we can understand this, then we will suffer much less.” 

“I am a continuation like the rain is the continuation of the cloud.” 

“We all exist as part of a wonderful stream of life.”

—Thich Nhat Hanh : “No Death – No Fear”

Yours, 

Dr Churchill

PS: 

My prayers are with you… 

Thich Nhat Hanh — monk — 1926-2022