In my tradition, we use the temple bells to remind us to
come back to the present moment. Every time we hear the bell, we stop talking,
stop our thinking, and return to ourselves, breathing in and out and
smiling. Whatever we are doing, we
pause for a moment and just enjoy our breathing. Sometimes we also recite this
verse:
Listen, listen. This wonderful sound brings me back to my
true Self.
When we breathe in, we say, "Listen, listen," and
when we breathe out, we say, "This wonderful sound brings me back to my
true Self."
Since I have come to the West, I have not heard many
Buddhist temple bells. But fortunately, there are church bells all over Europe.
There do not seem to be as many in the United States; I think that is a pity.
Whenever I go to a lecture in Switzerland, I always make use of the church
bells to practice mindfulness. When the bell rings, I stop talking, and all of
us listen to the full sound of the bell. We enjoy it so much. ( I think it is
better than the lecture!) When we
hear the bell, we can pause and enjoy our breathing and get in touch with the
wonders of life all around us---the flowers, the children, the beautiful
sounds. Every time we get back in touch with ourselves, the conditions become
favorable for us to encounter life in the present moment.
One day in Berkeley, I proposed to professors and students
at the University of California that every time a bell on campus sounds, the
professors and students should pause in order to breathe consciously. Every one of us should take time to
enjoy being alive! We should not just be rushing around all day. We have to
learn to really enjoy our church bells and our school bells. Bells are
beautiful and they can wake us up.
If you have a bell at home, you can practice breathing and
smiling with its lovely sound. But
you do not have to carry a bell into your office or factory. You can use any
sound to remind you to pause, breathe in and out, and enjoy the present moment.
The bell that goes off when you forget to fasten your seat belt in your car is
a bell of mindfulness. Even non-sounds, such as the rays of sunlight coming
through the window, are bells of mindfulness that can remind us to return to
ourselves, breathe, smile and live fully in the present moment.
