No coming. No going. No after. No before. I hold you close to me. I release you to be so free. Because I am in you and you are in me.- Thich Nhat Hanh

Today was my last day in the jugghi (slum) after more than four years of spending Thursday afternoons with the children in this community. It was an emotional afternoon and my eyes are still filled with tears. When I arrived all of the children rushed towards me dressed in their best clothes. They had planned a surprise party, prepared dances, purchased snacks, made me cards and gave me presents. One of the girls, Sneha, even drew a picture of me (which of course included my backpack)! It amazes me just how hospitable people are here, even when they have next to nothing. Spending time with these children has been an important part of my time in India because it gave me real insight into how the majority of Delhi's population actually live. Every Thursday afternoon their smiles would light up my face and warm my heart no matter what kind of day I was having. I'm grateful to have had an opportunity to connect with these beautiful children. I'm certain that their presence in my life has done more for me than I could ever do for any of them. 

Today was my weekly trip to the slum I've been working in for more than four years. We usually begin with mindful breathing followed by singing meditation and then a unique mindfulness based activity for the day. This afternoon we practiced mindful eating with popcorn and meditated on all of the factors that contributed to the existence of our popcorn. The children shared with me that when they eat slowly they can really "taste" the popcorn and experience it with their senses. When they eat fast it isn't as enjoyable and they don't realize what a miracle each piece of food is and even though they don't have a lot when they eat like this they feel happy. Unfortunately I wasn't recording when they shared this with me but the photos speak a million words.

 

Today was a tough day. My mom's having surgery in the US and I miss her. The hospital she's at is less than stellar and I found it challenging to communicate with the nursing staff. I was not in a mood to teach or be at school today. I wanted to be with my mom back in the US, not in India! I work out in the mornings before school begins and this morning I wasn't teaching until 10:30 and my classroom is occupied in the morning so I extended my work out. As I was on the elliptical machine tears ran down my face because I wanted to hug my mom and be with her but as I cried my 6th graders began shuffling in to the gym which is below the fitness center at our school. While the children couldn't see me I could see them and watching them run around, jump, play and laugh before their PE class began brought a smile to my teary face. Throughout the day, I held my sadness and didn't repress it but I also was awake to the "aliveness" of my students and I found their energy very healing.

After school I went to work in the jugghi (slum) and after some mindful breathing and singing meditation I had students draw pictures of how they felt when they listened to the bell and breathed. Spending time with these children after a long and tiring day was worth it because their joy was transmitted to me. Sure, I'm still sad about my mom's health but even though I feel sad I can still be awake to the beauty of these precious children. Below are pictures they drew expressing how they "feel" when they practice mindful breathing. Children range in age from 2-12.

It amazes me how the bell literally works magic with the small children I spend time with in a Delhi slum :) The children enjoy mindful breathing and how it makes them feel.

 

While I've done mindful eating with the older children I work with in the jugghi (slum) today was the first time I introduced mindful eating to the younger children. Managing more than 40 small children by myself was made much easier by my mindfulness bell. The children respond well to the sound and it's a great way to lead them through mindful breathing practices and transition the tiny room where we practice together into a space of shanti (peace). Before and after we mindfully ate almonds the children shared their thoughts on what it felt like to reflect on interdependence and the origins of the almond before eating and how this combined with the practice of completely focusing on the sensations of eating the almond was a completeley new and enjoyable experience.

For more than four years I've been volunteering in a Delhi slum. Usually, I bring mindfulness practices to older children but today I had the wonderful opportunity of working with all of the smaller children. I've found that a great introductory practice with children under the age of 8 is "singing meditation." In the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh singing is a part of our practice. I have to admit that initially I wasn't a fan of the singing but after awhile I just let the child in me come out and realizes how this practice really opens my heart. The songs are also a great way to teach English to the children I work with. Children also really respond well to the bell. I use the bell to help teach them belly breathing and how to find their "shanti (peace) place" inside. Song lyrics and a short video clip below :)

 

For the past four years I've been working weekly in a Delhi slum with Hindu, Christian, Muslim children. Today I led them in the practice below and smiling meditation. I've found that these students are extremely receptive to mindfulness practice and look forward to our time together each week. Their openness and warmth touches my heart and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to share in the practice with them. 

From Blooming of a Lotus by Thich Nhat Hanh, adapted from EXERCISE ONE:

Joy of Meditation as Nourishment

Breathing-in, I know I am breathing in.                           In

Breathing-out, I know I am breathing out.                      Out

Breathing-in, I see myself as a flower.                            Flower

Breathing-out, I feel fresh.                                             Fresh

Breathing in, I see myself                                              Mountain

As a mountain.

      Breathing out, I feel solid.                                             Solid

Breathing in, I see myself as still water.                       Still water

      Breathing out, I reflect all that is.                                Reflecting

Breathing in, I see myself as space.                             Space

Breathing out, I feel free.                                             Free

Reflections on the Practice  

 

 

This week I introduced the children I work with in a nearby slum to mindful eating. Here are their reflections on mindfully eating a chocolate covered berry vs. normally eating a chocolate covered berry!

When I am teaching my 6th graders or the children I work with in a Delhi slum to take care of their strong emotions I draw from the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and some of his senior Dharma teachers/Monastics. BCOOL is a strategy I have them employ.

BCOOL: 1.) Breathe 2.) Calm 3.) Observe 4.) OK 5.) Love

Learning to take care of our feelings in a concrete way is a way we can love ourselves and others so we aren't the victim of our reactions and we can act in a more skillful way to transform situations for the better. I teach them the importance of stopping when they are upset.

One of my 6th graders wrote in her journal:

First when I was getting annoyed with my brother, I thought of Ms. S's acronym BCOOL. So I started. Then, when I calmed down and observed why I I was feeling this way I started to feel okay. Then I remembered how much I loved my brother and hugged him. - Danielle

Here are the students I work with in Delhi slum chanting BCOOL!

 

For the past 4 years I've been volunteering in Delhi slum. Soon after Thich Nhat Hanh's visit to India in the fall of 2008 I began bringing mindfulness practices to the Hindu, Christian, and Muslim children I work with. When I teach them to invite the bell I draw from my teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh's instructions but I substitute “love” for the “Buddha.” :) This video contains some of their reflections on inviting the bell:  

 

Thich Nhat Hanh's Instructions on How to Invite the Bell:

 

In the old days when there were no telephones, people who lived far apart were not able to talk to each other. When the telephone was invented, it was like a miracle. Now we are used to the telephone, so we don’t see how wonderful it is. But it’s really a miraculous invention. Every time we use the telephone and hear the voice of a loved one who lives far away, it can make us very happy.The bell is a kind of telephone because listening to the sound of the bell is like listening to the voice of someone very dear.

 

The sound of the bell is the voice of the Buddha within, because there is a Buddha within every one of us. That is the capacity of being mindful, of being compassionate and understanding. So listening to the sound of the bell is listening to the voice of understanding and compassion within us, calling us home, reminding us to be more at peace with ourselves and with the world. When we are distracted we need the voice of the Buddha within calling us back, saying “come home, come home to yourself. Don’t lose yourself in anger, in frustration." We listen attentively to that voice. Listening to the bell can be very wonderful, and it can bring us a lot of peace and joy. It can bring us back to our true home.

If while breathing in and out you enjoy it, you are practicing correctly. If you suffer while you breathe in and out, that is not correct practice. You are the one who knows whether your practice is correct or not.

 

If you feel it’s pleasant, wonderful, refreshing, it is correct. When we are away from our true home for a long time, we long to return to it. In our true home, we feel at peace. We feel we don’t have to run anywhere and that we are free of problems. We can relax and be ourselves. It’s wonderful to be the way you are. You are already what you want to become. You don’t need to be someone or something else.

Look at the apple tree. It’s wonderful for the apple tree just to be the apple tree. It doesn’t have to become something else. It’s wonderful that I am myself, that you are yourself. We only need to let ourselves be what we already are, and enjoy ourselves just as we are. That feeling, that realization, is our true home. Each of us has a true home inside.

 

Our true home always calls to us, day and night, in a very clear voice. It keeps sending us waves of love and concern, but they don’t reach us because we are so busy. So when we hear the sound of the bell, we remember that the bell is there to help us to go back to our true home, and we let go of everything—talking, thinking, playing, singing, being with friends, or even meditating! We give it all up and go back to our true home.

 

When we listen to the sound of the bell, the reason we don’t talk or think or do anything, is because we are listening to the voice of a person we love and respect a lot. Just stand quietly and listen with all your heart. If there are three sounds, listen and breathe deeply during the entire period. As you concentrate, you can say to yourself, “Breathing in, I feel fine; breathing out, I feel happy.” Feeling happy is very important. What is the use of breathing and practicing if you don’t feel well, if you don’t feel happy? The deepest desire in each of us is to be happy and to bring happiness to the people and other beings around us.

 

You might like to invite the bell yourself. We say “Invite the bell to sound,” not “Hit the bell,” because we want to be kind and not do violence to the bell. Here is how to do it. First, before you invite the bell to sound you bow to the bell like you bow to a bodhisattva, a wise and compassionate being. You look at the bell you bow to it, to show your respect. Then you pick up the bell with your right hand and you put it in the palm of your left hand. You leave the bell cushion on the floor and use the palm of your hand as the cushion. Your open hand holding the bell looks very beautiful, like a chrysanthemum or a lotus flower with five petals. Our hand is the lotus and the bell is the precious jewel in the lotus. We can look at it and say, “Oh, the jewel in the lotus,” or in Sanskrit, om mani padme hum.

 

Hold the bell up in front of you at eye level, look at it, and smile. Then breathe in and out three times while you silently recite the following gatha, or poem:

Body, speech, and mind in perfect oneness,

I send my heart along with the sound of this bell.

May the hearers awaken from forgetfulness

And transcend the path of anxiety and sorrow.

 

It’s okay if, as you ring the bell, you happen to forget the gatha, but do your best to remember it.

As you breathe in, recite the first line:

Body, speech, and mind in perfect oneness.

This means you have concentration.

As you breathe out, recite the second line :

I send my heart along with the sound of this bell.

This means you send your love to the world.

 

With your next in-breath, recite:

May the hearers awaken from forgetfulness.

Forgetfulness is the opposite of mindfulness, and the sound of the bell helps us to be mindful. Hearing the voice of the Buddha, we come back to the present moment.

With your next out-breath, recite:

And transcend the path of anxiety and sorrow.

 

After you have practiced breathing in and out like this while reciting the gatha, you will feel much better; your mind and body are now united, you are concentrated, and you have the beautiful wish that everyone who hears this bell feels no sorrow, anger, or anxiety, and that they enjoy breathing and smiling.  Breathing in and out two times with the gatha, you are now qualified to be a bell master. You have enough peace, calm and concentration. Even if you are still very young, just six or seven years old, you can be a good bell master.

 

Now you are ready to invite the bell to sound. When inviting the bell, we always give a wake-up sound first to prepare the bell and to prepare everyone for the full sound of the bell that will follow, so that they are not surprised by it. We make this by touching the bell inviter to the bell and leaving it there as we breathe in; this is called “waking up the bell” or making a “half-sound” of the bell. Everyone stops thinking and talking and gets ready to receive the full sound of the bell.

 

Between the waking-up sound of the bell and its full sound, you breathe in and out once because everyone needs about 10 seconds or 15 seconds to finish whatever they are doing and prepare themselves to receive the sound of the bell, to receive the call of the Buddha. When you listen to the Buddha you should be concentrated. So you practice breathing in and out, and then invite a full sound of the bell.

 

Those who are listening to the sound of the bell silently recite the following gatha:

Listen, listen,

This wonderful sound brings me back to my true home.

“Listen, listen” means we listen with all our concentration while we breathe in. While we breathe out, we smile and say, “This wonderful sound brings me back to my true home.” And we listen to the sound of the bell, the voice of the Buddha inside, calling each of us back to our true home, the place of peace, tolerance, and love.