When the Canoe Starts to Tip

Ayyā Medhānandī

Right mindfulness developed with meticulous appreciative attention on the breath enables us to tame the wilderness of the mind. If we are careening off course – just when the canoe starts to tip – we notice and immediately rebalance, regaining awareness and sustaining it as best we can. We continue to polish the mirror of the mind each moment, discovering the joy of seeing its true nature: impermanent, imperfect and empty. With nothing to hold onto in the world, we are free to enter the shrine of Truth. Reflections at the 'Waking Up to the Peace in Our Hearts' IMS retreat, Barre, MA. USA in May, 2013.