More than 500 years before the birth of Jesus, the Buddha recognized that each one of us has within us the capacity to awaken at any time. In this spirit, I would like to offer these words from Thich Nhat Hanh:
Anything that can help you wake up has Buddha nature. When I am alone and a bird calls me, I return to myself, I breathe, and I smile, and sometimes it calls me once more. I smile and I say to the bird, "I hear already." Not only sounds, but sights can remind you to return to your true self. In the morning when you open your window and see the light streaming in, you can recognize it as the voice of the Dharma, and it becomes part of the Dharmakaya [the teachings of the Buddha; the way to realize understanding and love]. That is why people who are awake see the manifestation of the Dharma in everything. A pebble, a bamboo tree, the cry of a baby, anything can be the voice of the Dharma calling. We should be able to practice like that. . . .
Dharmakaya is not just expressed in words, in sounds. It can express itself in just being. Sometimes if we don't do anything, we help more than if we do a lot. We call that non-action. It is like the calm person on a small boat in a storm. That person does not have to do much, just be himself, and the situation can change. That is also an aspect of Dharmakaya: not talking, not teaching, just being. . . .
Blessings,
Roger
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