“It’s the silence between the notes
that makes the music.”

– Zen Proverb

And it’s in the silent places in our mind where we find peace.
None of us want to be troubled and unhappy, but sometimes we just are.

This lack of peace in our own minds makes us experience and promote an unpeaceful world, causing feeling of disquiet to ripple outward from us.
࿃

ღ(̆̃̃ڿڰۣ✿

So if we think, ‘I can’t do this’, or “What is the use of doing this? We may say that I do this because I want peace, I want happiness, I want healing and transformation. So the practice is the means, and healing and transformation is the end.”

˘˘
This sounds dualistic, but in reality it is a no-dualistic approach to healing, and to practice. We breathe in such a way that healing and peace are right here, in each breath. The means becomes the end, and there is no distinction between them.

“There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way.”

Quotes from Thich Nhat Hanh,
Taken from plumvillageonline: Art of Suffering Retreat: First Talk.
࿃

The sound of the bell brings us back to peace

The Bell Meditation 

We find peace in our mind by using the sound of the bell to bring us back to ‘the safe island of mindfulness.’
It is a simple means of bringing the mind back to it’s natural state of equilibrium.

* The titles here are each links – to Tich’s introduction, and to the bell meditation itself.

As Thich invites the bell to sound, he is also inviting us to share in the peace it radiates. The warm richness of the sound envelops us, inviting our minds to find total relaxation there.

We can use this next half hour to still our minds, and find our freedom within.
Just for the next half hour, where else would we want to be?

And what what better feeling to share with the world. 乂⍲‿⍲乂

Like This:
♫ Monthly Peace Challenge: One Good Thing About Music…
by Kozo Hattori

♭ Zen Proverb via Laurie’s Notes: Bloggers for Peace – Monthly Challenge – Music
♩Heartflow 2013: Plum Village Bell Meditation

✧ Cosmic Loti:  Breathing Meditation by Gen Tharchin
Breathing Peace
 *  Following the breathing meditation given with the bell meditation, gives a sweet feeling of deep relaxation and rejuvenation.

Image Credit:
The Bell