Contemplative Monday

The following is from 'The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh' (click)

and published by 'Shambhala Pocket Classics'.

SEEDS (continued from last week)

"Sometimes we act without intention, but that is also action.

"Habit energy" is pushing us; it pushes us to do things without our being aware.

Sometimes we do something without knowing we're doing it.

Even when we don't want to do something, we still do it.

Sometimes we say, "I didn't want to do it, but it's stronger than me, it pushed me."

So that is a seed, a habit energy,

 that may have come from many generations in the past.

We have inherited a lot. 

With mindfulness, we can become aware of the habit energy

that has been passed down to us.

We might see that our parents or grandparents

 were also very weak in ways similar to us.

We can be aware without judgement 

that our negative habits come from these ancestral roots.

We can smile at our shortcomings, at our habit energy.

With awareness, we have a choice; we can act another way.

We can end the cycle of suffering right now."