[Sundaycommunity] I Am Not in Here By Thich Nhat Hanh

[Dwyer Sullivan]

Thank you Art for that beautiful description by Thich Nhat Hanh of our
ongoing life.Especially meaningful for us elders.
Peace, Dwyer

On Wed, Jan 26, 2022 at 11:01 AM Arthur Blomme via Sundaycommunity <
sundaycommunity at lists.integralshift.ca> wrote:

>
>
> I Am Not in Here
> By Thich Nhat Hanh
>
> I have a disciple in Vietnam who wants to build a stupa for my ashes when
> I die. He and others want to put a plaque with the words, “Here lies my
> beloved teacher.” I told them not to waste the temple land.
>
> “Do not put me in a small pot and put me in there” I said. “I don’t want
> to continue like that. It would be better to scatter the ashes outside to
> help the trees to grow.”
>
> I suggested that, if they still insist on building a stupa, they have the
> plaque say, “I am not in here.” But in case people don’t get it, they could
> add a second plaque, “I am not out there either.” If still people don’t
> understand, then you can write on the third and last plaque, “I may be
> found in your way of breathing and walking.”
>
> This body of mine will disintegrate, but my actions will continue me. In
> my daily life I always practice to see my continuation all around me. We
> don’t need to wait until the total dissolution of this body to continue—we
> continue in every moment.
>
> If you think that I am only this body, then you have not truly seen me.
> When you look at my friends, you see my continuation. When you see someone
> walking with compassion, you know he is my continuation.
>
> I don’t see why we have to say “I will die,” because I can already see
> myself in you, in other people, and in future generations.
>
> Even when the cloud is not there, it continues as snow or rain. It is
> impossible for a cloud to die. It can become rain or ice, but it cannot
> become nothing. The cloud does not need to have a soul in order to
> continue. There’s no beginning and no end. I will never die. There will be
> a dissolution of this body, but that does not mean my death.
>
> I will continue, always.
>
> Excerpted from Thich Nhat Hanh “At Home in the World: Stories & Essential
> Teachings from a Monk’s Life” (2015)
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Act Justly, Love Tenderly, Walk Humbly With Your God
    - Micah 6:8
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