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TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 11

If we focus exclusively on pursuing lifting our arms. Our mind is with can help and support each other
happiness, we may regard suffering our lifting of our arms, and we don’t in recognizing, embracing, and
as something to be ignored or think about the past or the future, transforming suffering. With
resisted. We think of it as something because lifting our arms is what’s mindfulness we are no longer
that gets in the way of happiness. happening in the present moment. afraid of pain. We can even go
But the art of happiness is also the further and make good use of
art of knowing how to suffer well. If To be mindful means to be aware. suffering to generate the energy of
we know how to use our suffering, It’s the energy that knows what is understanding and compassion that
we can transform it and suffer much happening in the present moment. heals us and we can help others to
less. Knowing how to suffer well is Lifting our arms and knowing heal and be happy as well.
essential to realizing true happiness. that we’re lifting our arms—that’s
Generating Mindfulness
mindfulness, mindfulness of our
Healing Medicine action. When we breathe in and
The way we start producing the
we know we’re breathing in, that’s
The main affliction of our modern medicine of mindfulness is by
mindfulness. When we make a
civilization is that we don’t know stopping and taking a conscious
step and we know that the steps
how to handle the suffering inside breath, giving our complete
are taking place, we are mindful
us and we try to cover it up with attention to our in-breath and our
of the steps. Mindfulness is always
all kinds of consumption. Retailers out-breath. When we stop and take
mindfulness of something. It’s the
peddle a plethora of devices to help a breath in this way, we unite body
energy that helps us be aware of
us cover up the suffering inside. But and mind and come back home to
what is happening right now and
unless and until we’re able to face ourselves. We feel our bodies more
right here—in our body, in our
our suffering, we can’t be present fully. We are truly alive only when
feelings, in our perceptions, and
and available to life, and happiness the mind is with the body. The great
around us.
will continue to elude us. news is that oneness of body and
mind can be realized just by one
There are many people who have With mindfulness we are in-breath. Maybe we have not been
enormous suffering, and don’t know no longer afraid of pain. kind enough to our body for some
how to handle it. For many people, We can even go further and time. Recognizing the tension, the
it starts at a very young age. So make good use of suffering pain, the stress in our body, we can
why don’t schools teach our young to generate the energy bathe it in our mindful awareness,
people the way to manage suffering? of understanding and and that is the beginning of healing.
If a student is very unhappy, he can’t compassion that heals us
concentrate and he can’t learn. The and we can help others to If we take care of the suffering inside
suffering of each of us affects others. heal and be happy as well. us, we have more clarity, energy,
The more we learn about the art and strength to help address the
of suffering well, the less suffering suffering of our loved ones, as well
there will be in the world. With mindfulness, you can as the suffering in our community
recognize the presence of the and the world. If, however, we are
Mindfulness is the best way to be suffering in you and in the world. preoccupied with the fear and
with our suffering without being And it’s with that same energy that despair in us, we can’t help remove
overwhelmed by it. Mindfulness is you tenderly embrace the suffering. the suffering of others. There is an
the capacity to dwell in the present By being aware of your in-breath art to suffering well. If we know how
moment, to know what’s happening and out-breath you generate the to take care of our suffering, we not
in the here and now. For example, energy of mindfulness, so you can only suffer much, much less, we also
when we’re lifting our two arms, continue to cradle the suffering. create more happiness around us
we’re conscious of the fact that we’re Practitioners of mindfulness and in the world.