14 mindfulness trainings
For the next few weeks i am going to be posting here about the 14 mindfulness trainings from Plum Village. These are also available on their website.
“The First Mindfulness Training: Openness
Aware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. We are committed to seeing the Buddhist teachings as a guiding means that help us learn to look deeply and develop understanding and compassion. They are not doctrines to fight, kill, or die for. We understand that fanaticism in its many forms is the result of perceiving things in a dualistic or discriminative manner. We will train ourselves to look at everything with openness and the insight of interbeing in order to transform dogmatism and violence in ourselves and the world.”
Openness in the practice of opening, the mind is one of the essential factors of Mindfulness. Being open to ideas and concepts that are different from the ones that we have formulated ourselves are the very foundations of inner growth.
Ask yourself today, how can increase my openness and willingness to remain open?