Being Peace - Thich Nhat Hanh

Every time I read a book to build awareness, I become discontent, because my attention is drawn to the things I can’t grasp as they are outside of my experience or things that I know but can’t apply, things that somehow make me feel like I am less than what I want myself to be. I have this expectation that at the age I am, I “should” be a certain way.  I should be Calm, Poised, Graceful, Compassionate, Disciplined, Worldly, Brave etc.. But none of those qualities are quantifiable and I am left wondering if I really am enough.  The idea of better is limitless. Just like money; I can’t have enough of a better me. 

I finished reading the book, Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh.  It is an insightful read as is most of his books. He has a way with analogy that I enjoy, as it makes me see things from a perspective I didn’t care to see  before.  I am, for most purposes a peaceful person, ’cause I don’t go looking for a conflict.  Yet, now and then Conflict comes my way, and they are mostly with the people I live with or those who are close to me.  I think, being near and around each other somehow magnifies the conflict.    Guess it’s the same as our eyes, the closer you get to the object the more clear the vision.  And clarity of vision shows the many perfections or flaws.   Maybe familiarity does breed Contempt more than Acceptance.  Or maybe Judgment leads to contempt. I have no idea what I am rambling about. 

Getting back to the topic,  I enjoy this Buddhist monk’s simple yet profound explanations.  He states the obvious, if we aren’t happy then we can’t have Peace. So the primary path to Peace is for each person to find his/her happiness. Happiness which isn’t rooted in anyone or anything else other than their self.  I See what he means, when I look at days when I feel complete and nothing shakes my sense of peace and wellbeing, it is usually the day I was joyful, cheerful without reason(of course, the Sun being out plays a major part).  He explains how our mind is like the channels on the TV and we will end up watching/doing the channel we tune into. So being aware of what we are tuning into helps keep us  grounded.  It made me look at the things I tune into.  Most times I see light, but I am aware there is a Darkness within me that comes out when I least expect it to.  Hurts from the past that were never resolved and I dont see any way for resolution, Aches from experience that I can’t let go of and a sense of Blinding Anger(which I do use to get chores long pending done around the house) that stems from the hurt and perceived injustice of life and the cynical sarcastic voice within that goes “Who said Life was Fair”.  With these going on within, I perpetuate them into my outside existence, and my reality aligns as such.  I guess it is time to let go… Mantra for the time will be Let Go! Let Go! Let Go!

I also liked what he said about Listening.  About Compassionate Listening to be exact, which I discovered is not what I do. I don’t always listen with my whole being, without judgment.  Listening with my whole being would entail a sense of quietness of mind and body. As he says, you listen not only with your ears, but every other part of your body.  I think I understand why some people are seemingly more intuitive and attuned to the world than the others. It has nothing to do with superiority or inferiority as it is Listening and responding with their Whole Self.  Mostly, I would have the gist within the first few words and I would be busy formulating a response or I would be pre-occupied with something I wanted to get done so I will be going over the ”To Do” list, when I am supposed to listen. No wonder I feel like I forgot something.  The times I actually Listen Completely, are few.  When I did, I heard the children tell each other jokes and giggles peal out, I hear the woodpecker knock on the chimney, I hear my husbands thoughts(ok, that is exaggeration, although I am usually spot on when I suddenly respond to something he hasn’t yet said), I can hear the noise of myself - a  static hiss, that I hear in the quiet of the night.

He also talks about how we are what we eat.  He mentions how our addictions to certain kinds of foods and drinks contribute to the world hunger without our knowledge.  For instance, he talks of making alcohol and how those very grains that are used to brew the drink, could be used to feed the hungry instead.  For a moment I thought Oh NO!!! he’s going to say the same of Chocolate and Ice cream.  But he didn’t mention them. Phew!!  

Ok Jokes aside. I do think he has a valid point. If we didn’t use agricultural lands for growing tobacco or cocoa or poppy to feed our wants and addictions, instead used them to grow grains that will feed people, things would be different. If the big corporations didnt take over land from small farmers to feed our addictions in the free world market, then even if there was no money, people would be fed.  When people have a filled belly they are happier than when they had an empty one.

He talked about how Animals are slaughtered to feed the growing appetite for meat around the world. He didn’t say don’t eat meat, but that be aware of where the source is, cause the chickens that are cooped, cattle that are confined and fed hormones, all fattened for slaughter, go through very negative emotions that stem from going against their nature.   Their nature is wild, to be in open spaces which we supress by domestication.  When we eat their meat, we imbibe those energies of sadness, frustration, anger, etc.  Of course, we can argue that they don’t have emotions, but the fact is, we don’t know, so we can argue that they feel exactly like we do.  He mentions using organic foods, and finding sources that aren’t cruel.  I wondered how many of us could afford to go Organic with everything, now that the genie of cheaper "Not  Organic" food is rampant.  But he had a point that if we spent more on organic, we would also become aware of how much we ate.  After all the amount of food we need to sustain ourselves is much lesser than what we actually think we should eat as per the present Medical theory.  Eating to sustain ourselves instead of indulging ourselves will keep us healthy and living longer to serve humankind.  Our stomach being about the size of our palms, a fistful of food  should sustain us.

I did agree with his points but I have a little problem giving up coffee, chocolate and ice-cream.. Ok, I can give up Ice-cream and Chocolate but Coffee.. hmmm….

Will stop for now. Have a wonderful Day. Thank you for reading.

Peace
Rashmi