10,000 views

Wow! Today this blog has had over 10,000 views. That's a lot of people! I appreciate it's not necessarily 10,000 people as it could be the same people coming back again, which is even better! And I know people forward particular poems and posts on to their friends, which makes me very happy that what I am saying here resonates with others. The people reading this blog also come from 84 different countries and each continent which means it is being read and shared all over the world. Double wow!
10,000 people coming together and virtually holding hands under an umbrella of mindfulness and being peace. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
And here's an interesting stat, there is one post in particular that has had way more views than any other - it's called 'No mud, no lotus - Thich Nhat Hanh' and has had 2,813 views to date. That's an awful lot of views for one post and I'm curious to know what makes it so attractive.
Thich Nhat Hanh expresses his gratitude by putting his hands together and bowing, and as he bows saying to himself 'a lotus for you, a Buddha to be'. The hands together represent the lotus bud and the idea behind this is to recognise the seed of awakening in each of us. We don't have to be 'Buddhist' to be 'a Buddha to be', all that means it we have the ability to waken and notice what is going on around and within us.
Some more poetic thoughts from this writing -

A Buddha to be,
can that mean me?
one day maybe
not today!
Do I have to drop
all my insincere and ignoble thoughts?
Let go of meanness and greed and
become perfect?
No, just notice what happens
when the seed of anger, or jealousy,
or hate rises up,
notice how it makes me feel
and what it does to others.
Notice what happens
when the seed of peace, or love,
or kindness rises up,
notice how it makes me feel
and what it does to others.

Becoming a Buddha is not a career
or something we work towards
as if it is something we lack.
We can only become a Buddha,
an awakened one,
because of the seed of awakening
that is already present.
All we have to do
is recognise it,
stop pretending it's not for us,
own it, and claim it as our own.
A Buddha to be
that can mean me
and me in you and
you in me.

© 10 Apr 15

A lotus for you, a Buddha to be