No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering

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A key ingredient in building resilience is to anchor our self-concept in the authentic strengths of character that define our uniqueness.

The way to understanding is first to listen to yourself, because the roots of our suffering are deep and connected with the roots of the suffering of others. Sitting and walking mindfully, you direct your attention to the causes underlying the other person’s behavior. So when you get angry and you suffer, don’t try to say or do something to punish the other per- son, because there is a lot of suffering in her already, and punishing her won’t improve the situation at all. Electronic distractions not only fail to help heal the underlying suffering, they may contain stories or images that feed our craving, jealousy, anger, or despair. When I lived in Vietnam during the war, it was difficult to see our way through that dark and heavy time.Rather, we say we “invite the bell” to sound, because the bell is a friend, an enlightened friend that helps us wake up and guides us home to our- selves. The comfort in being able to talk through a problem and have someone listen intently without judgment. Once you have offered your acknowledgment and care to this suffering, it naturally will become less impenetrable and more workable; and then you have the chance to look into it deeply, with kindness (but still always with a solid ground of mindful breathing to support you), and find out why it has come to you. With each breath, we generate mindful energy, bringing mind and body together in the present moment to receive this caring acknowledg- ment of our suffering. This article focuses instead on his rarely-discussed scholastic writings, in particular his interpretations of the Yogācāra school of Buddhist philosophy.

Mindfulness is the capacity to dwell in the present moment, to know what’s happening in the here and now. I began having memories of my own mother on Mother’s Day, birthdays – probably even Groundhog Day – saying that all she wanted for these special days was to spend time with us, her kids. The lack of a spiritual dimension (moral and ethical) in leadership, which frames the development of moral value—from business and politics to family and education—has become a key factor contributing to negative consequences caused by unethical leaders. Similarly, suffering is likely to never go away completely, but the more our immune system strengthens, the less often we suffer, and when we do suffer, our recovery is quicker. Everyone experiences challenges and disappointments– therefore negative emotions are an unavoidable part of life.Notice the negative emotion gradually dissipate and lose its power over you, as new positive emotions are created in its place.

healing medicine The main affliction of our modern civilization is that we don’t know how to handle the suffering inside us and we try to cover it up with all kinds of consumption. When you’re upset with someone, it may seem at first that this other person has no reason to suffer. When we’re able to embrace our suffering, we’re also embracing our ancestors, and the healing goes back through the gener- ations. I like to imagine that light replied, saying, “God, I have to wait for my twin brother, darkness, to be with me.Adapted from No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering by Thich Nhat Hanh © by Thich Nhat Hanh © 2014 Parallax Press. In many traditions, the lotus flower symbolizes purification of mind, body and speech; of awakening and letting go. Perhaps we are working hard at success in one area, but our deepest aspiration is to work in another field or to help people in another way.

And third, this process helps us dissolve the negative emotion by using our character strengths as a lens to address the issue, thus creating a new positive perspective/emotion to undo the effect of the negative emotion.However, when we’re faced with a difficult situation, we often get out of our mindless state and start thinking about our experiences.