The Bell

Even with the best intention—and even with a longstanding mindfulness
practice, we all have the tendency to run into the future or go
back into the past, to search for happiness elsewhere. A bell of mindfulness,
whether it is an actual bell or some other sound, is a wonderful
reminder to come back to ourselves, to come back to life here in the
present moment.
The sound of the bell is the voice of the Buddha within. Every
one of us has Buddha nature—the capacity for compassionate, clear,
understanding nature—within us. So when we hear the sound of the
bell, if we like practicing mindfulness, we can respond to that intervention
with respect and appreciation. In my tradition, every time we
hear the bell, we pause. We stop moving, talking, and thinking, and we
listen to the voice of the heart.
We don’t say that we “hit the bell” or “strike the bell.” Rather,
we say we “invite the bell” to sound, because the bell is a friend, an
enlightened friend that helps us wake up and guides us home to ourselves.
Gentleness and nonviolence are characteristics of the sound of
the bell. Its sound is gentle but very powerful.
When you hear the sound of the bell, take the opportunity to come
home to yourself and enjoy your breathing. Take a few moments to
inhale and exhale deeply and touch a little happiness. If you want to experience what the end of suffering will feel like, it is in the here and
the now with this breath. If you want nirvana, it’s right here.

Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I smile.