When Light Shines, Darkness Becomes The Light
by Thich Nhat Hanh

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From time to time you may become restless, and the restlessness will not go away. At such times, just sit quietly, follow your breathing, smile a half-smile, and shine your awareness on the restlessness. Don't judge it or try to destroy it, because this restlessness is you yourself. It is born, has some period of existence, and fades away, quite naturally. Don't be in too big a hurry to find its source. Don't try too hard to make it disappear. Just illuminate it. You will see that little by little it will change, merging, becoming connected, with you, the observer. Any psychological state which you subject to this illumination will eventually soften and acquire the same nature as the observing mind. 

Throughout your meditation, keep the sun of your awareness shining. Like the physical Sun, which lights every leaf and every blade of grass, our awareness lights our every thought and feeling, allowing us to recognize them, be aware of their birth, duration, and dissolution, without judging or evaluating, welcoming or banishing them. It is important that you do not consider awareness to be your "ally," called on to suppress the "enemies" that are your unruly thoughts. Do not turn your mind into a battlefield. Do not have a war there; for all your feelings --joy, sorrow, anger, hatred-- are part of yourself. Awareness is like an elder brother or sister, gentle and attentive, who is there to guide and enlighten. It is a tolerant and lucid presence, never violent or discriminating. It is there to recognize and identify thoughts and feelings, not to judge them as good or bad, or place them into opposing camps in order to fight with each other. Opposition between good and bad is often compared to light and dark, but if we look at it in a different way, we will see that when light shines, darkness does not disappear. It doesn't leave; it merges with the light. It becomes the light. 

A while ago I invited my guest to smile. To meditate does not mean to fight with a problem. To meditate means to observe. Your smile proves it. It proves that you are being gentle with yourself, that the sun of awareness is shining in you, that you have control of your situation. You are your- self, and you have acquired some peace. It is this peace that makes a child love to be near you. 
 

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When Light Shines, Darkness Becomes The Light How do you relate to the notion that when light shines, darkness becomes the light? Can you share a personal story of a time you were able to observe your thoughts without judging or evaluating? What helps you be gentle with yourself?

Jagdish P Dave wrote: ThichNahtHanhhas bee a great spiritual teacher for me. I am very grateful to him to plant the seeds of learning how to live spiritually.This essay raises important questions in my mind. What is darkne...

david doane wrote: When light shines, darkness lessens and goes away. I guess it's true that darkness becomes the light -- I hadn't thought of it that way -- since Thich Nhat Hanh says it, I will reflect on it f...

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