Contemplation before Sitting is the passage the meditation facilitator reads out loud for all meditators before the meditation in Plum Village tradition. The passage encourages listeners to cultivate compassion for all beings, acknowledge the complexity of our psychology, and remind ourselves of our interconnected nature. In short, this passage can center us in the acknowledgment of complexity and the sense of Unity. Hope this is helpful for you.
It is my belief that our collective practice, as this Plum Village song goes, will keep us solid as a mountain.
Recording Read by Jiyoon Lee, 2024
Transcript of the Contemplation before Sitting
The Sangha (Mindful Community) is invited to go back to our breathing so that our collective energy of Mindfulness brings us together as an organism; going as a river, with no more separation.
Let the whole Sangha breathe as one body, generate Peace as one body, be Free as one body.
Let us transcend the boundaries of a delusive self, liberating ourselves from the superiority complex, the inferiority complex, and the equality complex.
We are aware that the happiness and suffering of all people is also our own happiness and suffering.
We see ourselves in all people and all people in ourselves.
We are one with those caught in situations of oppression; we are also one with the oppressors.
We are one with the wise and good people who are present everywhere in the world.
We are one with those who are able to embrace the whole of this world with their heart of love and their two arms of caring action.
We are a people with enough Peace, Joy, and Freedom to be able to offer Fearlessness and the Joy of Life to living beings around us.
We see that we are not alone.
The Love and the Joy of Great Beings who are present in this world are supporting us, not allowing us to drown in despair, and showing us the way of Understanding, Compassion, and Right Action.