Practicing Interbeing And Interconnection

This meditation is inspired by the practice and words of Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh who coined the term 'interbeing' to reflect the deep interconnectedness we have with each other, nature and all of life. In this session you reflect on the nature of this interconnectedness and experience being part of a vast, dynamic web of life.

Transcript

So today's meditation is on interbeing and interbeing is an idea that was developed by Thich Nhat Hanh who's a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk.

So we'll start with a quick,

We'll start with a little sort of introduction which is written by Thich Nhat Hanh and then we'll go into a bit of a practice reflecting on interbeing and I'll just be talking you through and it will take about 20 minutes.

So if you just want to get comfortable,

Find a comfortable position,

Make sure your spine is straight,

Your feet are on the ground,

Your bottom on the cushion,

Feel yourself settling in,

Have your hands just relaxed in your lap,

Your eyes closed or slightly hooded,

Gazing down gently in front of you,

And your head tilted slightly,

Your chin tilted slightly forward so that your spine is long and straight.

So just take a moment to get comfortable and feel your body sitting here ready for meditation.

Now bring your attention to your breath,

Notice your breath coming in and out of your body,

No need to change it,

Just notice how your breath is today,

And set an intention for yourself for this time of meditation,

Whether it be have a calm and relaxed mind,

Or to understand things,

Or to be of more benefit to others,

Just think about what your motivation is.

So I'm just going to start with a short piece from Thich Nhat Hanh,

The Buddhist monk who has written a lot about interbeing.

Interbeing is the understanding that nothing exists separately from anything else.

We are all interconnected.

By taking care of another person,

You take care of yourself.

By taking care of yourself,

You take care of the other person.

Happiness and safety are not individual matters.

If you suffer,

I suffer.

There is no way for me to be truly happy if you are suffering.

If you can smile,

I can smile too.

The understanding of interbeing is very important.

It helps us to remove the illusion of loneliness and transform anger that comes from a feeling.

Of separation.

So to start with,

We're going to get grounded and connect ourself down into the earth.

So imagine yourself as a tree.

Imagine that you have roots coming from the bottom of your spine,

Coming down through the chair,

Through the floor,

Into the earth.

And imagine your roots expanding out in the earth,

Spreading out.

And as you feel your roots expand and find their place in the earth,

You'll feel soft and grounded and safe.

Now imagine that your roots are connecting with other plants all around you.

Intertwining,

Interweaving,

And connecting.

Imagine your roots connected to the small creatures under the earth.

Feel your roots connecting with the others here in the room.

All the other people around you.

And now coming up to your trunk.

Imagine what the trunk of your tree looks like.

What sort of bark do you have?

Is it smooth or rough?

What sort of colors is your trunk?

Imagine your body as the trunk of this tree.

Strong and stable.

And now imagine the nutrients coming up from the soil,

From the earth,

Into your trunk to sustain your tree.

All the water and the nutrients coming up into you from the soil.

And now imagine your branches reaching up to the sky,

Reaching out.

What do your branches look like?

What sort of shapes are they?

Notice your leaves,

The colors of your leaves,

And the shape.

And in your branches and your leaves,

Feel your connection with the sun,

With the air around you.

With the breeze as it blows through you.

Notice the birds and the insects and perhaps the animals that make their home in your tree.

And now can you see any flowers on your tree?

What color are they?

What shape?

What might they smell like?

And notice the insects and the bees coming to your flowers for food and nourishment.

And imagine that these flowers are like your creative offerings to the world.

Beautiful and unique.

Thank your tree.

Now come back to your body.

Sitting on the cushion or the chair.

And now I want you to reflect on all the causes and conditions that have allowed you to be here today.

Sitting here,

Doing this meditation.

Are there people or circumstances or things that had to be in place for you to be here?

Consider the food that you've eaten in the last day that's nourished you to be able to come here today.

Think about the people who might have farmed and grown some of this food.

You may have prepared the food.

Think about those who might have brought it to the market or the supermarket.

Consider the animals and the plants that have contributed to this food.

Perhaps even the people who designed the packaging or created the products.

And notice that all of these people and animals and circumstances are part of what's allowed you to be here today and are all connected to your experience today.

Think with gratitude and thanks of the generosity of all of the animals and plants and people that have contributed to bringing you this food to nourish you and allow you to be here.

It's easy in our busy lives to forget or not notice these interconnections that we all have.

We need to be mindful,

Pay attention,

Start to notice these patterns of connection to value them and each other.

And now reflect on this observation from Thich Nhat Hanh.

If you are a poet you will clearly see that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper.

Without a cloud there will be no rain.

Without rain the tree cannot grow.

Without trees we cannot make paper.

The cloud is essential for the paper to exist.

If the cloud is not here the sheet of paper cannot be here either.

So we can say that the cloud and the paper inter-are.

In this way all elements are interbeing in a web of interdependent causes and conditions.

Take a minute to reflect on what this means to you.

And now when you're ready you might choose to dedicate this meditation you could dedicate it to someone who might need help or is unwell you could dedicate it to the well-being of all sentient creatures whatever you'd like to dedicate it to or to your own happiness and well-being.

And when you're ready bring your attention back to your breath coming in and out of your body Feel your body sitting on the chair with a cushion You might want to give your fingers and toes a little wriggle When you're ready open your eyes and try and bring with you some of this sense of interbeing into your day and have a stretch Thank you