成佛有什麼用？What is the use of becoming a Buddha?
This is a rhetorical question often asked by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
We always have the presumption that life is for a purpose and every thing we do should contribute to that purpose, otherwise it's useless. This ubiquitous utilitarianism dominates our modern society.
It's so deep and prevalent that we can't even recognize we are acting under its influence.
I was reading the book "The Miracle of Mindfulness" by Thich Nhat Hanh this week. He emphasizes on being mindful of one's breath, body movements, feelings and emotions a lot. That means we should be aware of our in breath and out breath at every moment, even when we are doing our work or talking to somebody.
While I seem to know what he's saying, I don't really understand why we should do that? Why should we be aware of our breath when it goes so well automatically? Why do we bother to mind it if human beings have evolved such a long way to make our breath a no brainer?
Unfortunately, I can't ask Thich Nhat Hanh in person.
Maybe mindfulness of our body and breath is just a door to concentration and insight. Knowing we are inhaling or exhaling and distinguishing short or long breath is not the final goal of mindful practice. When we are calm and our mind is clear, we can see through the illusions we create with our mind consciousness and touch the true nature of the world.
But see how I am caught in utilitarianism again here.
Buddhism practice is not "for" anything.
I want to ask "If we can just bury all those suffering in the basement of our consciousness, why do we have to practice mindfulness and touch it?" Say if we have physical agony or emotional pain here and there, but while watching TV we can forget them. Why shouldn't we just do that and keep running away from suffering?
I think the practice of mindfulness is not "doing" anything but simply "stopping". One doesn't "make effort to focus attention on breath" but just "stop wandering". That's why Thich Nhat Hanh always says "come back" rather than "go seek it".
Maybe the practice of being mindful of our breath is just a way to stop our monkey mind, leading us back to our true home, Nirvana.
So there's no reason for being mindful because it's a realization that there's no reason for us to run away or run after anything anymore. When you stop, it's not because you have some reason to stop but because there's no reason to run. That is mindfulness.
Jill
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