The post titled Mindfulness, My Foot is now up on Buddhism for All. Angela from the Buddhism.net team reflected on it, and invites you to do so too.
🌕 Angela’s Reflections:
It is actually very difficult to sustain continuous unbroken awareness and mindfulness on an object. I once heard a similar story told by a Chinese monk. He said that a student went to see him and said, “I chant 1000 mantras of Amituofo daily. What about you?” The monk replied: “I only chant one Amituofo mantra a day.”
The student laughed: “You are a reputable teacher, and yet you only chant one mantra of Amituofo a day? I chant 1000 mantras every day. You must be ashamed!”
The monk smiled: “You cultivate mindfulness on the mantra only 1000 times a day. What about the rest of the time when you are not chanting the mantra? Where is your mind? I chant one mantra a day but my mindfulness on the mantra is unbroken throughout the day. That’s why I only chant one mantra a day.”
The student immediately bowed, asked for forgiveness and became a dedicated student of the Chinese monk.
🌱 Journal Reflection Prompts for You:
- 📝 What reflections do you have after reading the post?
- 📝 Reflect on your level of awareness. Do you have unbroken continuous mindfulness? Do you know if it’s your right or left foot that first entered the room you’re in?
Featured image, an AI-generated artwork, by Angela Ho.
