we are indeed our own secure abiding;
how could it be otherwise?
So with due care we attend to ourselves.
Dhammapada v. 380
How do we exercise ‘due care’ towards ourselves without becoming selfish? Another expression for due care is right mindfulness. We train ourselves to watch, carefully. When caring turns into clinging, the heart grows cold; ‘me’ and ‘mine’ take over as kindness and balanced discernment fade away. We can trust in the power of mindfulness to reveal this process, as and when it is happening. And so gradually we learn to read our hearts: what does it feel like, in the whole body/mind, when the heart is open, receptive and interested? What does it feel like when the heart is closed with resentment, bitterness and fear? Carefully feeling our way into, around, over and under, the many moments of obstruction, life teaches us how to let go. If we could let go fully, we would feel secure totally.
With Metta,
Bhikkhu Munindo
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