Reptile, Buddha - Not one, not two

     "Pema Chödrön has talked about how the practice of seeing herself as Buddha helped her open up her practice to everything she experienced. She said she did this by labeling whatever she was feeling as buddha. For example, if she was hungry, she would call herself 'hungry buddha.' When you feel afraid, that is 'fearful buddha' or 'scaredy-cat buddha.' She used examples, such as, if you have indigestion, that is 'buddha with heartburn.' Similarly, we could say, if you are bored, recognize that as 'bored buddha.' If you are enraged, that is 'angry Buddha;' if you are in a jealous state, then recognize that right now you are 'jealous buddha.' In Zen meditation, you might regard yourself as 'thinking Buddha,' which is more constructive than wishing you were not thinking or feeling like a failure when you are thinking. Recognizing and acknowledging your actual experience is the first step in accepting whatever you are experiencing as being something completely acceptable to practice with. The space created by being aware of our experience interrupts the domino effect of one feeling or reaction automatically cascading into the next."

         Phelan JP.  Practicing with Fear. Mindfulness - published online 06 September 2012. 

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia