you can touch nirvana right now

steph gilmore

 
The wave can live her life as a wave, and at the same time she can live the life of water. She does not have to die in order to become water, because the wave is water already in the present moment.

Nirvana means the extinction of all notions and concepts, including the concepts of birth and death, being and nonbeing, coming and going, but it does not mean the extinction of life. Nirvana is the ultimate dimension of life, a state of coolness, peace, and joy.

It is not a state to be attained after you die. You can touch nirvana right now by breathing, walking, and drinking your tea in mindfulness. Everything and everyone are dwelling in nirvana. You have been “nirvanized” since the very non-beginning of time!

If we can live our daily life deeply, we’ll be able to touch nirvana right in the here and now.

 

Thich Nhat Hanh

 

with empty mind really penetrated

the entire sutra

 

The past is already past.
Don’t try to regain it.
The present does not stay.
Don’t try to touch it.

From moment to moment.
The future has not come;
Don’t think about it
Beforehand.

Whatever comes to the eye,
Leave it be.
There are no commandments
To be kept;
There’s no filth to be cleansed.

With empty mind really
Penetrated, the dharmas
Have no life.

When you can be like this,
You’ve completed
The ultimate attainment.

Layman Pang