Washing the Rice

"The Miracle of Mindfulness." It was written by a Buddhist monk named Thich Nhat Hahn.



He said, "While washing the dishes one should only be washing the dishes, which means that while washing the dishes one should be completely aware of the fact that one is washing the dishes. At first glance, that might seem a little silly: why put so much stress on a simple thing? But that's precisely the point. The fact that I am standing there and washing these bowls is a wondrous reality. I'm being completely myself, following my breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts and actions. There's no way I can be tossed around mindlessly like a bottle slapped here and there on the waves."

Sounds like the proverbial "stranger in a strange land". Our culture values productivity, espousing multi-tasking as a way of getting there, just as Buddhism values happiness and espouses the Eight Fold Path as its method. Society looks at washing the dishes as a necessary evil to be endured. No value placed in it what so ever, when we are wealthy enough, we pay someone else to do it for us (as little as we possibly can most often). This however, is our folly.

Not taking the time to be present only contributes and reinforces our busy "Monkey Mind". Even something as trivial as washing the dishes, or mowing the lawn or even washing the rice (as the Buddhist monk's saying goes) has immense inherent merit. When washing the dishes, feel the plate, the cloth, the warm pool of water, the way the rinse water feels different, the soil on the plate through the cloth as it is cleansed. Only then, after the dishes are done, do move on.

Move on the you son or daughter, your mother or father, your husband or wife, your loved one(s) and when you do move on, give them 100 percent of your attention, as you did the dishes. Focus, only on them.

When you are spending time with your loved ones, be truly present with them as well.