By Richard Brady in December 1995
By Richard Brady & Audrey Russek
When I first read The Miracle of Mindfulness in the spring of 1988, none of my friends was involved with meditation. It turned out that Chris, a twelfth grade student at the Quaker high school where I teach, became my first Dharma teacher.
Chris had spent his three-week senior project time at a local Zen center.
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By Richard Brady in December 1995
By Richard Brady & Audrey Russek
When I first read The Miracle of Mindfulness in the spring of 1988, none of my friends was involved with meditation. It turned out that Chris, a twelfth grade student at the Quaker high school where I teach, became my first Dharma teacher.
Chris had spent his three-week senior project time at a local Zen center. In a presentation to the school, Chris said that he and a classmate had been reading Eastern philosophy and religion since seventh grade. When he had learned of a Zen center nearby, he decided to "put his body where his mind was." After his presentation, a student in the audience asked whether his meditation had had any effect on his life outside the zendo. Chris responded that many of the effects were subtle and difficult to put into words. "However," he continued, "I can say that I am less angry as a result." I was very moved by Chris' presentation and told him so, going on to say that he had inspired me to try out meditation practice.
In September, I shared this story with students at an assembly where I led the school in a two-minute sitting meditation, presented slides of the monks and nuns in Plum Village, and talked about my experiences during the Winter Retreat there earlier in the year. Several days later, Audrey, a twelfth-grader, shared this story at our all-school worship meeting:
"I've been thinking about the fact that the main change Mr. Brady' s student noticed in himself after he had been meditating on a regular basis was that he was less angry. Lately, I've been so angry myself because I've had all this resentment building up inside over responsibilities that I have to fulfill. I really want to let it all go, but I can't. This makes me even more resentful and angry. The other night I was sitting at my desk around 12:30 a.m. completely stressing because I had so much work to do. I was on the verge of breaking. But I just closed my eyes and took in ten deep breaths, concentrating on my inhaling and exhaling the whole time. When I opened my eyes, I was so relaxed. If any of you are feeling stressed out or angry, just take ten seconds to close your eyes and breathe. The action is so little, but the reward is tremendous."
Audrey Russek is a high school student.
