Long Walks On Leafy Streets

2/9/2015 near 100 Van Buren St NW, Washington, DC
I just finished my evening silent sitting. As written in earlier posts, this involves simply sitting and letting the mind relax completely, enjoying the silence or whatever sounds maybe heard. Easier said than done, though. Thoughts keep running through the mind like waves. Eventually they do decrease in amplitude, though, and one is able to truly enjoy the silence. In my case my neighborhood is quite still at this twilight hour, except for the sound of the trains passing by now and then. Silence is a blessing. It makes one feel so blissful.

My mental peace has been enhanced by an increase in meditation lately and in general trying to be more mindful in my life. It is amazing how much clearer the thinking is and how much energy there is in the body when the mind is calmer. Last night we were at the SriLankan Buddhist Vihara on 16th street.
We were there for the usual Sunday night meditation with the Washington Mindfulness Community. We meditated for a total of 70 minutes, in two sessions. Normally we meditate for a total of 50 minutes. The longer meditation is even more helpful in calming the mind, because it provides more time for the waves to die down.

Thich Nhat Hanh says that meditation without insight is less meaningful. It is not the purpose simply to calm the mind or empty it, although those are helpful in and of themselves. It is a common criticism of Eastern religions that it is all about feeling peaceful and blissful inside, in other words, it makes you a little self-indulgent. Actually the world will be a better place if we all are peaceful inside and love ourselves, because much of the violence is caused by people who are not. But there is more to meditation. It is about rising beyond one’s ego and the constant flow of thought created by the ego and resulting mental formations and seeing life as it truly is. What you see when you reach that stage is up to you. Even the Buddha told his followers to not blindly follow his teachings, but to experiment by themselves and realize the truth on their own.

I was also able to enjoy nature and even help nature a little bit last week. On Saturday I was fortunate to have a little extra time for running, so I went running in Rock Creek Park. I walked up to Blair Road on Van Buren Street and ran from there all the way to 16th street. This street forms the eastern border of the park at this point. The short Whittier trail starts just north of Van Buren on 16th street and leads you to the valley trail. It was a tolerably cold morning. Temperatures in the upper thirties and low forties but nothing very difficult. There were a few runners and walkers on the trails and on Beach Drive. I cannot tell you what a difference it makes to run on the mud trail, along the creek. Running is always enjoyable, in the city or on a track, but running in the woods on a trail is uplifting for the body and spirit.

I ran back to Van Buren and all the way to Georgia Ave, for a total of about 4 miles. On the way home I had to go down a flight of steps to reach our street from Van Buren Street. These steps provide a short cut to our home. They are also a favorite place for young people to sit and shoot the breeze while drinking, because they are somewhat hidden from view of houses and the streets. I always find soda or beer cans and bottles there and sometimes I collect them. I filled up a plastic bag found on the street completely with cans and bottles. It was good to see the place a little bit cleaner and even better to know that these cans or bottles will not end up polluting our earth. In fact they will help it by getting recycled so that less resources are wasted in making new material.

Directory Previous