Be In The Present

[DS Star]

Once you are fully in the present
moment, you touch all the wonders of
life that are available within you and
around you.

Your eyes are wonders of life.
Your heart is a wonder of life.
The blue sky is a wonder of life.
The songs of the birds are wonders of
life.
If you are available to life, then life
will be available to you.

All the wonders of the Kingdom of nature are available to you today, at
this very moment.

~Thich Nhat Hanh~


So friends,
Don't dwell in the past, for it is already over...
Don't be obsessed with the future, you never know if it will come...
Be in the present, and live your life to its fullest...   

[yontenjamyang]

True. The verses are very true and it can be applied on a worldly basis and also on a spiritual basis.

On a worldly basis, if we live life on a "be in the present" way, then we get to smell the flowers, enjoy the weather, appreciate others, be worry free about the past and the future.  We do live a better life.

But is one live in the present having contemplated the Dharma, then one realizes the opportune human rebirth and takes advantage of this life to accumulate merits and wisdom to liberate one selves and others, that to me is the best. Because one has generated the wish for liberation or omniscience, one actually has pointed our lives on the right direction on the path, then to live in the moment is actually mental quiescence that is so important to achieve ultimate wisdom.

[psylotripitaka]

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that is why it is called the present."

Master Oogway - kung fu panda

[cookie]

Be in the present so that we can share our love, compassion and wisdom to those with us now. But I also believe in working hard for the future, NOW, in order to have the chance to come back in a better and higher form in my next life to be of more benefit to others .

[pgdharma]

We are always busy. We have so much on our minds that it’s challenging to live in the present moment. We spend a lot of time thinking about things that have happened in the past, or thinking and worrying about the future.

In order for us to learn how to live in the present we need mindfulness and understanding. We need to know how to place our mind, how to compose our mind, how to steer our mind in the right direction and to guard our mind from being invaded by greed, anger and delusion. Our task is to cultivate wisdom, loving-kindness and compassion. So in whatever we do, we should try to be as mindful as possible with the view to cultivating wholesome qualities and in whatever situation we may be, we should always try to respond with non-greed, non-anger and non-delusion

[RedLantern]

In Buddhism the ability to live in the moment,with full appreciation of the moment and all that is it offers is called mindfulness.Being mindful and living in the present moment can bring about a sense of relief and serenity.What are you doing that tempts your mind to run away from the present?We love to make things much harder for ourselves and cling to the present moment because we get pay off being a "victim"It feeds the ego and it only makes us less peaceful in the end.It is difficult for us not to cling and rejecting but receive the present moment.

[Benny]

Being mindful and living in the present moment should be embraced by all of us in this day and age. Let today be the day you stop being haunted by the ghost of yesterday. Holding a grudge and harboring anger or resentment is poison to the soul. Get even with people...BUT not those who have hurt us, forget them, instead get even with those who have helped us. Thank you for sharing this post .

[DS Star]

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that is why it is called the present."

Master Oogway - kung fu panda

The wisdom of Master Oogway 

Here is a good quote from a great teacher.

"Our present state of mind is not permanent. It can change into either a negative mind such as anger or a positive mind such as the altruistic wish to attain enlightenment." ~ Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Guide to Dakini Land.

Our state of mind is like a roller coaster, it flips from one side to another... so it is very important for us to always guard our mind and to 'stay in present' - mindfulness 

[Q]

One thing about being in the present that I do not understand is... if we don't look at the future, how do we live at the present day. And if we don't look at the past, how will we live today?

Our past shapes who we are at this moment, and our aspiration for the future shapes the goals we wish to achieve. So being in the present all the time... how is that being in the middle way?