Hakone Zendo

Shared by Peter on 1/14/24

Through meditation, we practice mindfulness. So what is mindfulness? Mindfulness is a skill that involves focusing attention on the present moment, rather than dwelling on the past or thinking about the future. 

When I learnt practicing meditation for the first time, I was told to be mindful of my breathing–breathe in and breathe out.  The more I practice meditation the more I realize it’s all about focusing on my true conscious experience of the present moment. Each time I breathe in, I feel thankful for being alive. Each time  I breathe out, I just feel like letting go of all those worries and unhappiness.  Nothing can be more joyful than being alive with no worries, right?  I often don’t appreciate this great joy because of my tendency to take things for granted.  It is also because I’m not mindful enough of the present moment. 

We often show a lack of mindfulness of the present moment because we get our mind full of the past and the future.   We might be possessed by sorrows in the past, and fear for the future. 

Time is like a river stream. You cannot touch the same water twice. It is a good metaphor for our life journey. The only moment we can enjoy is the present moment, not in the past because it was gone, not in the future because it has not arrived yet. 

Mindfulness (of the present moment) helps us focus our energy on doing things NOW for tomorrows. We don’t have 100% control over what might happen tomorrow. But we can do just like a farmer does – be mindful of sowing good seeds NOW in preparing for a good harvest LATER. “ Why Worry? If you can solve your problem, then what is the need of worrying? If you cannot solve it, then what is the use of worrying?”

The past was gone, and we cannot change a thing in the PAST.  With the power of mindfulness (of the present moment), we learn to let go of the agony of the past. 

With the power of mindfulness, we are motivated to live a FULL life, not a wasted life of regretting, sorrowing, fearing and despairing. 

With the power of mindfulness, we learn to understand and develop a clear perspective towards life.  “It is not life that causes suffering, but our expectation that life should be the way we want.”