Remember
With so much emphasis on the here and now, of being mindful, it’s easy to forget that remembering is an important part of our present experience.
Our thoughts, our bodies are part of a flow, a continuum. So while we might be interested in what is happening right here, right now, what we thought, we did, we said (or didn’t think, do or say) in the past will have an effect on the present.
Indeed, one element of the term often translated as ‘mindfulness’* is actually memory. The Buddhist practice of remembering the Buddha (Buddhanasmrti) is just that: remembering the qualities of the Buddha. Qualities that live on in anyone who aspires to be kind, compassionate, wise – and here now with an awareness of what has gone before.
Memories can be joyful, inspiring – and also painful, distressing. Using our awareness or mindfulness of how we are right now can help us to know if it helpful to turn towards that memory or leave it for another day. A simple but powerful example of that beautiful two-winged eagle: wisdom and compassion.
Fly safely.
With a bow
Maitripushpa
