January 8 – The ruby inside

Dear Friends,

A poem by Kabir:

The small ruby everyone wants has fallen out on the road.
Some think it is east of us, others west of us.
Some say, “among primitive earth rocks,” others, “in the deep waters.”

Kabir’s instinct told him it was inside, and what it was worth,
And he wrapped it up carefully in his heart cloth.

Kabir suggests that the treasure we seek is inside, so part of our practice is paying attention to the body.

In The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English, Bhante Gunaratana starts chapter 4 by reviewing the contemplation of body parts. The body is an amazing thing. National Geographic has a neat reference on The Human Body.

The traditional meditation practice on body parts contemplates 32 parts. The Insight Meditation South Bay has a description of this practice. They write that “This traditional way of investigating the body supports the development of both concentration and insight, and dispels attachment to concepts about the body.”

If you want to try a body parts meditation, you can check out this one from Mark Nunberg:
http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/543/talk/29770/
or this short chant by Bob Stahl:
http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/268/talk/36973/

Another way to pay attention to your body is to practice gratitude for the body. Tricycle Magazine has a suggested practice:
https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/mindfulness-exercise-gratitude-body/

So in that vein (get it?), I’ll express gratitude to my fingers for typing, my eyes for reading, …

With best wishes,
Andrea