HANA MATSURI:
MEDITATIONS ON SPIRITUALITY AND MYSTICISM
By The Rev. Susan Manker-Seale
April 4, 2004
Opening Meditation:
Peace is every step.
The shining red sun is my heart.
Each flower smiles with me.
How green, how fresh all that grows.
How cool the wind blows.
Peace is every step.
It turns the endless path to joy.
(--Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, p. ix)
Meditation 1: Spirituality
Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment,
I know this is a wonderful moment!
(--Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step, p. 10)
Today, we celebrate Hana Matsuri, the Japanese flower festival of the birth of the Buddha. Spiritual practice is a foundation of the Buddhist tradition, and I will use the Buddhist priest Thich Nhat Hanh's writings on mindfulness and meditation to explore this concept and engage in simple meditations. The meditation periods will of necessity be very short, but you can carry these practices back to your homes and spend more time as you wish.
The root meaning of the word "spirit" is "breath." Spirituality is learning to breathe. Spirituality is getting in touch with the animating force in living beings, in oneself. It is mindfulness, as Thich Nhat Hanh says with these words:
Taking hold of your breath is itself mindfulness. Your breath is the wondrous method of taking hold of your consciousness. As one religious community says in its rule, "One should not lose oneself in mind-dispersion or one's surroundings. Learn to practice breathing in order to regain control of body and mind, to practice mindfulness, and to develop concentration and wisdom." (The Miracle of Mindfulness, p. 22)
It is said that the Buddha searched many years for enlightenment and didn't find it. He searched everywhere. It was only when he gave up and meditated under the Bo tree that he finally understood. Did he concentrate on his breath? Did he feel the oneness and the animating force of all living things? Did he realize his purpose in life?
I invite you to join in a simple meditation on breath. To begin, I will give you a few instructions, and then we will follow the instructions of Thich Nhat Hanh, after which I will ring the bell and we will have a few minutes of silence followed by music. Place your feet flat on the floor. For those who wish to sit on the floor, please do so. You may take the time right now to move along the aisles and sit against the walls, or in back.
Rest your hands gently on your lap, placing your left hand, palm side up, in your right palm.
Now begin to follow your breath and to relax all of your muscles. Concentrate on keeping your spinal column straight and on following your breath. As for everything else, let it go. Let go of everything. If you want to relax the worry-tightened muscles in your face, let the half smile come to your face. As the half smile appears, all the facial muscles begin to relax. The longer the half smile is maintained, the better. It is the same smile you see on the face of the Buddha. (The Miracle of Mindfulness, pp. 34-35)
As you follow your breath, you may repeat this poem in your mind if you choose:
Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment,
I know this is a wonderful moment! (Repeat)
(--Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step, p. 10)
[Ring bell - Silence - 2 minutes]
[Choir - "Deep Peace"]
Meditation 2: Mysticism
Look deeply: I arrive in every second
to be a bud on a spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.
I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
in order to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and
death of all that are alive.
(Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step, p. 123)
Mystical experience is the direct experience of the divine, of ultimate reality, of the animating force in all living things, of the oneness that connects and suffuses all. It is the deep peace of the running wave. It is being a bud on a spring branch. It is to be in touch with the rhythm of your heart.
More people have mystical experiences than you might think. They can happen while standing on a busy street corner, or alone in your bed at night. They can happen when you are old or young. Such experiences do not require a searching heart or a particular daily practice. But we do need to recognize that such a sense of oneness is transforming, and spiritual practice and mindfulness can prepare us for living in touch with ultimate reality in whatever way is present to us.
That sense of oneness is a common thread in spiritual and mystical experience. As Thich Nhat Hanh says, "the great body of reality is indivisible. It cannot be cut into pieces with separate existences of their own." (p. 47) Meditation can help us to sense that oneness as we practice mindfulness and awareness. For as Hanh also says, "Meditation is not evasion. It is a serene encounter with reality."
I invite you once again to enter into that state of mindfulness we call meditation, but first, mark song 352 in your hymnals by placing your order of service there. It's called "Find a Stillness," and we'll sing it very softly after the period of silence. Now, place your feet on the floor or sit cross-legged, spine straight, one palm inside the other, gentle smile, focusing on your breath. As you breath in and out, this time, slowly become aware of your body, of your arms and legs, your bottom in the chair. Feel the air flow around you and inside and out with your breath. Send your senses out into the room and feel your connection with all living things. Expand your consciousness beyond this room, if you can. Focus on being mindful of the rhythm of your heart and of all living beings. You are one.
[ring bell - silence - 2 minutes]
[sing hymn 352 - "Find a Stillness" very softly]
Meditation 3: Spiritual Practice
Today, you might not find true harmony. These meditations are extremely short and probably a little frustrating. But you can find that stillness at home, where you can spend a half hour just on your breath, and another half hour coming into touch with your body. In time, you may find yourself experiencing the sense of oneness that comes with sustained focus on reality. It doesn't take a particular practice, a particular way of sitting, but it does take mindfulness, and that is something you can practice anytime, anywhere. Even in the middle of a meeting, you can take a moment to refocus on your breath, on your body, and relax into the stillness that brings you back into harmony.
Walking, meditating, writing, praying, creating worship are all spiritual practices if you do them with mindfulness. Even washing the dishes or changing a diaper can be a spiritual practice.
There is a Zen story about the Buddha who, instead of speaking before the gathering of over a thousand monks and nuns, simply held up a flower. For a long time, there was silence, as everyone thought very hard, trying to figure out the profound meaning the Buddha was imparting. Then, one monk smiled and the Buddha smiled back. As Thich Nhat Hanh says, "When someone holds up a flower and shows it to you, he wants you to see it. If you keep thinking, you miss the flower." (Peace Is Every Step, p 43)
Reality in itself is profound. Pay attention. Open yourself to what surrounds you and is you. There is a rightness to the universe and a oneness in creation. May you find that harmony in your life.
Put your order of service on hymn 391, "Voice Still and Small." We'll stay seated to sing that quietly after the silent meditation. This time, I will not guide you into meditation, only to remind you to settle your body, focus on your breath, sense your oneness, find the stillness.
[ring bell - silence - 2 minutes]
[closing song 391 - "Voice Still and Small"]
Closing Words:
Hanh wrote this poem on seeing a flower, a Dahlia:
Standing quietly by the fence,
you smile your wondrous smile.
I am speechless, and my senses are filled
by the sounds of your beautiful song,
beginningless and endless.
I bow deeply to you.
(Peace Is Every Step, p. 44)
Whether it be a voice deep inside or a flower by the fence, the world calls out to be heard and to be seen. May you revel in the oneness that is all, that is you. You may sit quietly during the postlude, or come up to ladle sweet tea over the baby Buddha.
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Northwest Tucson