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14 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS

use of that insight, he won’t bite, consciously call up our experience peace with our suffering, treating it
because he knows he’ll get caught of the past to help ourselves tenderly, and looking deeply at the
by the hook. treasure the good things we are roots of our pain. It requires that
having right now. we let go of useless, unnecessary
Often, we just bite onto our craving sufferings and take a closer look at
or grudge, and let the hook take In the past we probably did suffer our idea of happiness.
us. We get caught and attached to from one thing or another. It may
these situations that are not worthy even have felt like a kind of hell. Finally, it requires that we
of our concern. If mindfulness and If we remember that suffering, nourish happiness daily, with
concentration are there, then insight not letting ourselves get carried acknowledgment, understanding,
will be there and we can make use away by it, we can use it to remind and compassion for ourselves and
of it to swim away, free. ourselves, “How lucky I am right for those around us. We offer these
now. I’m not in that situation. I can practices to ourselves, to our loved
In springtime when there is a lot of be happy”—that is insight; and ones, and to the larger community.
pollen in the air, some of us have a in that moment, our joy, and our This is the art of suffering and the
hard time breathing due to allergies. happiness can grow very quickly. art of happiness. With each breath,
Even when we aren’t trying to run we ease suffering and generate
five miles and we just want to sit The essence of our practice can joy. With each step, the flower of
or lie down, we can’t breathe very be described as transforming insight blooms.
well. So in wintertime, when there’s suffering into happiness. It’s not
no pollen, instead of complaining a complicated practice, but it From No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of
about the cold, we can remember requires us to cultivate mindfulness, Transforming Suffering, by Thich
how in April or May we couldn’t go concentration, and insight. Nhat Hanh. © 2014 by United
out at all. Now our lungs are clear, Buddhist Church. Published with the
we can take a brisk walk outside It requires first of all that we come permission of Parallax Press. www.
and we can breathe very well. We home to ourselves, that we make parallax.org EH

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