looking at your hand

Whose hand is this
that never died?
Who is it who was born in the past?
Who is it who will die in the future?

If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.

To be born means that something that did not exist comes into existence. But the day we are 'born' is not our beginning. It is a day of continuation. But that should not make us less happy when we celebrate our 'Happy Continuation Day.'

Since we are never born, how can we cease to be? This is what the Heart Sutra reveals to us. When we have a tangible experience of non-birth and non-death, we know ourselves beyond duality. The meditation on 'no separate self'' is one way to pass through the gate of birth and death.

Your hand proves that you have never been born and you will never die. The thread of life has never been interrupted from time without beginning until now. Previous generations, all the way back to single-cell beings, are present in your hand at this moment. You can observe and experience this. Your hand is always available as a subject for meditation.


an excerpt from Present Moment, Wonderful Moment: Mindfulness Verses For Daily Living by Thich Nhat Hanh



I dedicate this post to Denise Sanematsu Kato, dear friend and sister of the Heart, may your Path be clear and full of light, may you be happy and peaceful, may you live in joy and kindness, may your practice bloom into compassion and understanding.

Thank you for being there. Breathing in, breathing out, we are always together.