Today's MOZEN: Practicing Mindfullness

Words and photos by F LoBuono

Quite a few years back, I was watching a documentary series on my local PBS station. The topic, the world's great religions, has always been of great interest to me. Although raised in one of them, I now practice none - formally. Instead, I gleaned the parts that move me most from each and have used them to create my own belief system. To do this, at least a rudimentary understanding of each is essential. So, I was giving the program my full attention.

Although there are hundreds, if not thousands, of organized religions, the series decided to focus on the largest: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Tibetan Buddhism. There was one scene in particular that was so moving to me that not only have I not forgotten it, I try to employ it in my life on a daily basis. The segment was explaining one of the core principals of Buddhism - that of Mindfullness. As I understand it, the practitioners' ultimate goal is to achieve a sort of total peace commonly known as Enlightenment. And, that can only be achieved through the practice of Mindfullness, i.e. an active sense of your place in the world and that every action you take creates a reaction in return. Even the smallest gestures produce some type of response on some level.

To illustrate this concept, the scene involved a Tibetan Monk walking down what appeared to be ancient stone stairs deep in a forest. As he descended the stairs he noticed a garden slug crawling across his path. Instead of simply passing over the insect OR stepping on it, he bent over, snatched a leaf, used it to scoop up the slug, and moved it to safety.

Why would one even bother?

Because, that's the driving tenet behind Mindfullness - it is to have a sense of awareness to always do the right thing, simply because it is the right thing to do.  ALL living things have a life force that connects them to every other living being. Therefore, all are worthy of our respect. Moving the slug, the simplest of creatures, was a gesture of that respect for life itself. If we can take the few seconds it took to save an insect, think about what we could accomplish if we applied the same sense of compassion to our fellow human beings.

So, on a very hot early Summer's day, as I was making one of my daily sojourns into town, I looked down and noticed a worm struggling to traverse a sidewalk that was so hot I feared that it might melt. It was obvious that he wasn't going to make it. My mind quickly flashed back to that Tibetan Monk and the slug. I bent down, found a small stick and used it as a stretcher of sorts and moved that worm to a nice, cool patch of grass, and continued on my way. Whether the worm survived or not is unknown, nor is it ultimately important (well, maybe not for the worm). What is, is that I made the effort to do the right thing, again, simply because it was the right thing to do. That's enough. And, it wasn't that hard either!

Do the right thing. Practice mindfulness. Be aware of others. WEAR YOUR MASK.