1月4日的團練主題 Practice theme on 4 Jan

新年是大家慶祝、從新開始、親友之間相互祝福的好時刻。正念的其中一個好處是我們每一刻都可以像過新年一樣，每一刻都是美妙的，每一刻都是慶祝、從新開始、珍惜愛和友誼的好機會。

New year is a time for celebration, a time for beginning anew and a time when we bless our friends with good wishes for year.  One of the benefits of mindfulness practice is that we can do these at every moment.  Every moment is a wonderful.  Every moment is a chance for celebration, for beginning anew and for us to treasure love and friendship. 

同時，我們也不要忽略這一刻也存在著很多痛苦：加沙深陷在戰火之中，印尼地震的遇難者親友正在哀悼，四川大地震的受害者家園還沒有完全重建，金融大海嘯讓好多家庭陷入困境，好友的祖母在新年那天去世，等等。

At the same time, we have to remember that there are many sufferings at this moment: Gaza is in flames, families are mourning their loved ones killed in the Indonesian earthquake, victims from the Sichuan earthquake are still re-building their homes, families in difficulties due to the financial crisis, the death of my dear friend’s grandma on new year day, etc.  

在今天的團練，我們靜坐時練習了一行禪師與佛陀的教導，深入觀察無常的特性：我們不能逃避年老、疾病、死亡、以及放棄我們今天所擁有的人和事物。我們的行為和業，是我們唯一所擁有的，我們不能逃避自己的行為和業所帶來的後果。所以我們要每天每刻活在當下，珍惜我們所擁有的，並為我們所愛的人帶來喜悅和減輕痛苦。

Today in the gathering of our Sangha, we practice one of the guided meditation taught by Thay and the Buddha for us to look deeply into the nature of impermanence: we cannot avoid old age, sickness, death, and giving up what we cherish today.  Our actions are our only belongings and we cannot escape the consequences of our actions.  We shall live our days in mindfulness, treasure what we have, offer joy and relieve the suffering of our loved ones.