Remembering Who We Are

Between the Community Dharma Leadership Program (CDL) at Spirit Rock and Teacher Development Group (TDG) at InsightLA, I am mentored by my dear teacher and friend, Diana Gould. For the CDL homework, we’re supposed to prepare talks. And for TDG mentoring program, my mentor is supposed to observe me teach. I have given talks before to cover Diana when she goes on her long retreats and enjoy doing it for the “Young Adult Practice Group” on Sundays every once in a while whenever their regular teachers are not available.

So I am preparing a talk this week on the 4 Foundations of Mindfulness, which is also known as “Satipatthana Sutta” in Buddhist context. Quite simply and secularly put, this is the set of “instructions” Buddha gave for mindful meditation practice, which consequently can lead to liberation from suffering. These days the word, “mindfulness” has become a buzz word and the meditation practice has become increasingly popular thanks to Jon Kabat-Zinn who derived this practice from the Buddhist teaching into the secular context.

As I read some discourses and listen to other teachers talk on the Satipatthana Sutta, I am reminded that the practice is all about “remembering” who we are. In Buddhism, it is called, Buddha nature. We may also call “higher self.” And bottom line is all about “love.”

After Kobe Bryant tragic helicopter crash, I felt a palpable sense of love all over the city. Whether you were a Kobe fan or even sports fan, we all felt the loss. I felt the similar “goodness” in people when we had the Northridge Earthquake as well as after 9/11. Regardless of the strife and tragedies we witness in our city, our country, and in our world, we all have this “Buddha nature” somewhere in us. Yet many of us have so much baggage accumulated on top of the “Buddha nature,” and it takes a diligent work to uncover what’s underneath. Mindfulness meditation practice is just one of many, many modalities that help us see our habitual mind, stories and beliefs we carry with us. It’s certainly helping me. Remember we’re all angels. If we can remember who we are all the time, I think we’ll all be practicing loving kindness even when we’re driving! Meditation practice is highly recommended!

#YouCanSitWithUs