Don’t say that I will depart tomorrow — even today I am still arriving.
Look deeply: every second I am arriving to be a bud on a Spring branch, to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings, 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, to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death of all that is alive.
I am the mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river. And I am the bird that swoops down to swallow the mayfly.
I am the frog swimming happily in the clear water of a pond. And I am the grass-snake that silently feeds itself on the frog.
I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones, my legs as thin as bamboo sticks. And I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to Uganda.
I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat, who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea pirate. And I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and loving.
I am a member of the politburo, with plenty of power in my hands. And I am the man who has to pay his “debt of blood” to my people dying slowly in a forced-labor camp.
My joy is like Spring, so warm it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth. My pain is like a river of tears, so vast it fills the four oceans.
Please call me by my true names, so I can hear all my cries and my laughter at once, so I can see that my joy and pain are one.
Please call me by my true names, so I can wake up, and so the door of my heart can be left open, the door of compassion.
by Thich Nhat Hanh
Choden read this poem in his practice – Buddhist Approach to Compassion this morning, so thought it timely to share. You can also find it read by Thich Nhat Hanh himself along with is commentary, as well as in song form, here…
Hope you enjoy it.
Jacky
Calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh
Author: Jacky Seery
Jacky Seery works for the Mindfulness Association as Communications Manager, running and managing their Membership program with Lisa. She is also a MA tutor for Mindfulness, Compassion and Insight, Mindfulness Teacher Training, Living Well to Die Well and Mindful Qigong courses within the UK. Jacky is also qualified to teach Qi Gong, Tai Chi and Yoga. Jacky graduated with MSc in Mindfulness Studies with the University of Aberdeen in 2018, having conducted in depth research in relation to the impact of a mindfulness course on family carers.
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