Solid as a Mountain – Parallel Verses for the Year of the Horse

Plum Village joyfully offers these parallel verses to welcome Tết, the Lunar New Year of the Horse.

What is this Tradition all about?

Every Lunar New Year’s Eve, our beloved teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, has established a tradition of offering the sangha a simple poetic couplet in calligraphy which can inspire and nurture our mindfulness practice throughout the year. Thay’s innovation has been to offer the couplet in English, French and Vietnamese (rather than in Chinese characters). The Plum Village Community is very happy to continue this beautiful tradition.

In Plum Village practice centers all around the world, we print out these calligraphies (keeping the diamond form), paste them onto colorful cards, and pin them up around the dining halls, meditation halls and living quarters in preparation to celebrate the Lunar New Year. We also hang them from early-blossoming Japonica and Plum branches that we bring in to brighten our rooms, as a symbol of the coming spring.

While reciting these phrases we can combine each line with our breathing. For example, we can contemplate “Solid as a mountain” as we breathe in, and contemplate “Free as a white cloud” as we breathe out. These words are not a declaration, but a living aspiration that we wish to nurture.

We place the two complementary diamonds as a pair, near each other (above, below, or beside). You can print out and post the couplets on your fridge, doors, or near light switches as an auspicious reminder to be mindful of their message, and renew ourselves by applying them in our daily lives. You can be creative with where to post and how to practice these phrases.

How to Practice with this Year’s Gathas?

Solid as a Mountain

This exercise helps us to stand firmly when we are upset by vehement feelings. Whenever we feel despair, anxiety, fear, or anger, we are carried right into the heart of a whirlwind. We are like a tree standing in a gale. If we look up, we shall see our branches bending as if they are about to break and be carried away by the storm. But if we look down at the trunk and the roots, we should know that the roots of the tree are held firmly in the earth, and we shall feel more stable and relaxed.

Body and mind are like that. When there is a hurricane of emotions in us, if we know how to withdraw from the storm—that is, if we know how to withdraw from the turmoil in our brain—we shall not be swept away. We must transfer our attention to a place in our abdomen called the tantien acupoint (about four fingers’ width below the navel) and breathe deeply and slowly according to the formula “mountain, solid.”

In doing this, we shall see that we are not just our emotions. Emotions come and go, but we shall remain. When we are oppressed by our emotions, we feel very insecure and fragile; we may feel that we are in danger of losing life itself. Some people do not know how to deal with their strong emotions. When they are suffering greatly from despair, fear, or anger, they think that the only way to put an end to their suffering is to put an end to their life. But those who know how to sit in meditation and practice breathing with the exercise “mountain, solid” can weather such times of difficulty and suffering.

This exercise can also be practiced as we lie on our back. We can direct our attention to the rising and falling of the lower abdomen and keep it there. This will enable us to leave the storm and not fall back into it. We practice this abdominal breathing until our heart and mind have calmed down and the storms passed.

However, we should not wait until we find ourselves in difficulty to practice. If we have not cultivated the habit of practicing, we shall not know what to do, and our emotions may once again overwhelm and oppress us. To make a good habit, we can practice every day; in that way, whenever painful feelings arise, we shall know quite naturally how to transform them.

In addition, we can explain this practice to young people to help them not be victims of their strong emotions.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh (The Blooming of a Lotus: Essential Guided Meditations for Mindfulness, Healing, and Transformation)

Free as a White Cloud

Freedom is our practice, because every minute the practice can help bring freedom to us—freedom from forgetfulness. We forget that life is a wonder. To be alive, to be present on this planet—full of life, full of wonders—is happiness. Knowing that the Kingdom of God, the Pure Land of the Buddha is available in the here and now. Sometimes our intellect recognizes that the wonders of life, the kingdom, is here and now and yet we cannot get in touch with them because of our anger, our depression, our uncertainty, our despair. And that is what freedom is: first of all, freedom from our afflictions. We practice right mindfulness in order to come home to the here and the now, so that we can touch the Kingdom of God, the Pure Land of the Buddha, the wonders of life.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh (Excerpt from Thay's Dharma talk on 13 May 2004)

Dear beloved community, it is a great source of joy to know that we have each other and a beautiful path of practice. May we all have the courage to heal and reconcile with our past, so that we can touch more freedom in the present and continue beautifully into the future. May we all continue practicing together, creating peace, stability, and freedom in every step and with every breath!

From Plum Village, we wish you a peaceful and happy Lunar New Year!

Download the Parallel Verses Calligraphed by Br. Phap Huu

Download the parallel verses in English, French, German, Spanish or Vietnamese to print on A4. (Various sizes)