Before touching the earth, the practitioner reads the words below, either aloud or silently. While prostrating, the practitioner contemplates the text that follows. If practicing in a group, one person can read the text aloud while the others touch the earth and contemplate.

Thầy teaches us a practice to transcend the notions of me, the other, and life span.

By Thich Nhat Hanh on May 19, 2024

Before touching the earth, the practitioner reads the words below, either aloud or silently. While prostrating, the practitioner contemplates the text that follows. If practicing in a group, one person can read the text aloud while the others touch the earth and contemplate.

First Earth-Touching 

Touching the earth, I connect with my ancestors and descendants, from both my spiritual and blood families.

[bell]

[With the sound of the bell, the practitioner or the whole group touches the earth.]

My spiritual ancestors are noble teachers, saints, and realized beings throughout the ages, and also my teachers of this lifetime. Whether you are still living or you lived long ago, you are all truly present in me. You have transmitted to me the seeds of peace, wisdom, love, and happiness. You have awakened in me seeds of peace, insight, compassion, and happiness.

When I look at you, my spiritual ancestors, I see those who are perfect in the practice of the Mindfulness Trainings, understanding, and compassion, and those who are still imperfect. I bow down and accept you all as my spiritual ancestors, knowing that within myself are shortcomings and weaknesses.

[Three breaths]

Aware that my practice of the Mindfulness Trainings is not always perfect, and that I am not always as understanding and compassionate as I would like to be, I open my heart to my spiritual descendants and accept you all. Some of you practice the Mindfulness Trainings, understanding, and compassion in a way that invites confidence and respect. There are also those of you who are struggling with many difficulties and are constantly going through ups and downs in your practice. Aware of my own weaknesses and faults, I open my heart and accept you all.

[Three breaths]

In the same way, I accept all of you, my ancestors, on my father’s side and my mother’s side of the family, with all your good qualities, your talents, and your virtuous actions, as well as your faults and your weaknesses.

[Three breaths]

You, my spiritual and blood ancestors and descendants, are all present in me. I am you and you are me. I do not have a separate self. We are all part of a wonderful stream of life constantly flowing together.

[Three breaths]

[bell]

[With the sound of the bell, the practitioner or the whole group stand up.]

Second Earth-Touching 

Touching the earth, I connect with all people and all species that are alive in this moment in the world with me.

[bell]

[With the sound of the bell, the practitioner or the whole group touches the earth.]

I am one with the wonderful pattern of life that radiates out in all directions. I see the close connection between myself and all people and all species, how we share happiness and suffering. 

I am one with the great beings who have transcended birth and death. I see how we can look at all phenomena such as birth and death, happiness and suffering, with a calm gaze. I am one with those wise spiritual friends—who can be found a little bit everywhere—who radiate peace, understanding, and love, who can touch the nourishing and healing wonders of life, who can embrace the whole world with a loving heart and arms of caring action. I am one with those who have enough peace, happiness, and freedom to be able to offer non-fear and the joy of being alive to everyone around them. I do not feel alone or cut off from others. I feel supported by the compassion and joy of great beings, who help me not to drown in despair but to live my life fully, with meaning, peace, and joy. I see myself in each one of you and I see you all in me.

[Three breaths]

I am one with someone who was born disabled or who has become disabled because of war, accident, or illness. I am one with someone who is caught in a situation of war, oppression, or imprisonment. I am one with someone who has never enjoyed happiness and peace in family life. Cut off from my roots, I am hungry for understanding and love, and am always looking for beauty, truth, and goodness, which can give meaning to my life and in which I can take refuge.

[Three breaths]

I am one with someone who is at the point of death, and I am very afraid because I do not know what will become of me. I am one with a child living in a place where there is miserable poverty and disease; my arms and legs are as thin as matchsticks, and I have no future. I am also one with a manufacturer of armaments that are sold to poor countries. I am one with the frog swimming in the pond, but I am also one with the grass snake who needs to feed on the frog. I am the caterpillar and the ant, and also the bird hunting for insects to eat. I am the forest that is being cut down, the rivers and the air that are being polluted. I am also the person who clear-cuts the forest and pollutes the river and the air. I see myself in all species, and I see all species in me.

[Three breaths]

[bell] 

[Then with the sound of the bell, the practitioner or the whole group stand up.]

Third Earth-Touching 

Touching the earth, I let go of all ideas that I am this body and this limited life span.

[bell]

[With the sound of the bell, the practitioner or the whole group touches the earth.]

I know that this body, made of the four elements (earth, water, air, fire), is not truly me, I am not limited by this body. I am a river of the life of spiritual and blood ancestors, which since beginningless time has flowed to the present and will continue to stream onward into the future without end. I am both my ancestors and my descendants. I am life manifesting in thousands of forms. I inter-am with all people and all species, whether they are peaceful and fearless or suffering and afraid. In this moment, I am present everywhere on this planet. I am also present in the past and in the future. The disintegration of this body does not touch me, just as the falling plum blossoms do not mean the end of the plum tree. I see myself as a wave on the surface of the ocean. My true nature is the ocean water. I see myself in all the other waves, and I see all the other waves in me. The appearance or disappearance of the form of the wave does not affect the ocean.

My Dharma body and spiritual life are not subject to birth and death. I see myself present before the manifestation of this body and after its decomposition. Even in this moment, I see how I exist elsewhere than in this body. My life span is not limited to eighty or ninety years. My life span, just like the life span of a leaf or the buddhas, is unlimited. I can go beyond the idea that I am a body separate in space and time from all other manifestations of life.

[Three breaths]

[bell]

[With the sound of the bell, the practitioner or the whole group stand up.]

Explanation

We suffer because we are caught by the notions of me, the other, and life span. The Three Earth Touchings help us to transcend all these notions. Practicing the first Earth Touching, we visualize our ancestors and our descendants. We prostrate ourselves, with our four limbs and forehead touching the ground. The closer our body can be in contact with the earth, the better. In this position, we start to relax all the muscles of our body. We let go of everything we consider to be “me” or “mine” so that we can become one with the stream of life of our ancestors and descendants, which is our own stream of life. We have both blood and spiritual ancestors and descendants.

When we touch the earth like this, we can more easily reconcile with our ancestors. If we are angry with our father, our mother, our teacher, our brother, or our sister, this Earth Touching will help us to reconcile with them. Our father, mother, uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters are all our ancestors and descendants. Each one born before us is our ancestor. Each one born after us is our descendant. Some of our ancestors had many talents, and some were unskilful. Nevertheless, they are our ancestors, and we have to accept them all. Our ancestors, descendants, parents, our brothers and sisters, all have certain good qualities as well as some shortcomings. The same is true for ourselves. Therefore we accept them as they are. Whether they are skilful or unskilful, they are still our ancestors and descendants. Our parents are simply parents. Whether they were good or unsatisfactory parents, they are still our parents.

Our teachers have given birth to our spiritual life, and have accepted us as their students. In the same way we accept our fellow practitioners and our teachers. Even if they have shortcomings, their ups and downs, and they make mistakes, they are still our spiritual ancestors and descendants. Our acceptance and reconciliation is the only path that can help them. It is important to practice the first Earth Touching every day, with all our heart, especially when we have difficulties with our teachers and fellow practitioners.

During the second Earth Touching, we are in touch with all people and all beings alive in the present moment. As in the first exercise, we contemplate the text while prostrating with our four limbs and forehead on the earth. We can turn to the bodhisattvas, great beings alive in the world in this moment. Whether we call them “bodhisattvas” or not, they are bodhisattvas because they have solidity, freedom, and love. They are a little bit everywhere, for example, in humanitarian organizations like Doctors Without Borders or Schools Without Borders. There are so many people everywhere in the world working to relieve suffering thanks to their love, solidity, and freedom. Amongst those engaged in humanitarian work, some have solidity, freedom, peace, and happiness. Thanks to these qualities, they do not drown in the ocean of suffering that they face daily. 

We can connect with them, take refuge in them, to become stronger. They are very close; in fact, right here. They are not necessarily elders. Sometimes they are still very young, but we can already recognize in them the solidity, freedom, peace, and happiness that we need. We feel gratitude for their presence. Now that we have touched the energy of bodhisattvas, we can get in contact with beings who are still drowning in the ocean of suffering: the victims of wars in the Middle East, hungry children in the developing world, prisoners, people who are suffering, oppressed and exploited, children who did not have the chance to go to school and instead have to search for scraps of food thrown out with the rubbish . . . They are all us. We are the frog who swims freely in the autumn pond, but the snake needs food to survive as well. This kind of suffering is part of life. When we are in touch with the suffering of all beings, we do not drown in it, because we have a place of refuge. The bodhisattvas and great beings are our refuge. They are present in our Sangha. Those who suffer are also in our Sangha. We are one with them. As soon as we recognize this, our facial expression as we look at them will already communicate that we understand their suffering. 

The third Earth Touching encompasses time and space. “Touching the earth, I abandon the idea that I am only this body.” In France, a group of women have been protesting for their right to choose abortion. Concurrently, another group of women organized a protest march against the first group. Those who support the right to choose defend their view in this way: this body is mine; I must have the right to do what I like with my body. According to Buddhist wisdom, this view is not quite right: our body is not only ours; it also belongs to our ancestors, our parents, our descendants, to humanity and the whole cosmos. The peace and joy of my body are linked to the peace and joy of other bodies.

In the third Earth Touching, we see that we are not only this body, which was born on a certain day of a certain month in a certain year. The Buddha has reminded us of this truth in numerous sutras: this body is not me. When we practice correctly the first Earth Touching, we can already see this truth: our ancestors are us; our parents, our brothers, our sisters, and our children are us. We are so much more than we think we are. In this Earth Touching, we unite ourselves with the whole stream of life. What I consider to be “me” transcends the limits of this physical body.

I train myself to abandon the belief that this body is me, and that I am only this body. I practice to understand that my life span is not limited to eighty or ninety years. I can see my existence before the manifestation of this body and after its decomposition. My life span is unlimited. This is the third Touching of the Earth. The insight from the third exercise comes from practicing the first and second. If we have succeeded in practicing the first two, we have already practiced the third.

Practicing deeply these Earth Touchings every day, we can liberate ourselves from birth and death.

This is an excerpt from Chanting from the Heart, Volume 2 by Thích Nhất Hạnh, published by Parallax Press.