Lion's Roar

  • Meditation
  • Buddhist Wisdom
  • Life & Culture
  • The Magazine
  • Buddhadharma
  • Store

Lion's Roar

DONATE SUBSCRIBE
  • Meditation
  • Buddhist Wisdom
  • Life & Culture
  • The Magazine
  • Buddhadharma
  • Store

Leaving the Shore of Illusion

by Leslie Davis| January 22, 2018

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

As a child, Buddhist practitioner Leslie Davis escaped her painful reality by daydreaming. Through meditation, she’s learned to resist the urge to escape into her mind and focus on the present moment.

Woman meditating on the beach.

Photo by Simon Rae.

In the Plum Village Buddhist tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, during our evening sitting meditation practice, we recite an Evening Chant:

With posture upright and stable,
We are seated at the foot of The Bodhi tree.
Body speech and mind, are one, in stillness;
There is no more thought of right and wrong.
Our mind and body dwell in perfect mindfulness.
We discover our original nature, leaving the shore of illusion behind.
Noble Sangha, diligently bring your mind into meditation.
Namo Shakyamunaye Buddhaya

This one line always jumps out at me: We discover our original nature, leaving the shore of illusion behind. What? Leave the shore of illusion behind? Who said anything about leaving? I want to stay on the shore of illusion, set up camp there, bask in the sun, and party hard. I’d rather leave the shore of reality behind and make myself at home on an island of delusion.

Daydreaming became my ever-present and trustworthy ally.

As a child, I relied on my ability to create a safe place in my mind to escape reality because I didn’t feel safe in my world. My alcoholic father moved out when I was 10, but he continued to show up unexpectedly. I feared weekends because I never knew if and when he would appear, expecting us to spend time with him, and pretend to be a happy family again.

When he did show up, he’d watch TV all day, filling our family room with cigarette smoke and the smell of booze. I would sit with him, feeling trapped, and escape to a place in my mind where Dads took kids on hikes, to the beach, and on camping trips. Daydreaming — fantasizing, planning, wondering, and worrying — quickly became my ever-present and trustworthy ally.

When I became an adult, I developed a deep fear of the future. I always wanted to know what would happen next. I thought my anxiety could be soothed if I had all the facts, all the information. When I became a mother, I developed a deep fear of the present. How could I stay at home with my two young children and be present for them, without slipping into my fantasies or alternate realities?

After meditating for a couple of years, I learned that daydreaming leads to a false sense of hope for a past or a future that isn’t real. I had to work hard to develop a sitting and walking meditation practice because daydreaming was my default — my comfort zone, and my best survival skill.

If I don’t pay attention to my breath, my mind will scurry off to the nearest fantasy.

Over time I developed a strong relationship with my breath, I found a mental solidity that helped me stay in the present moment. If I don’t pay attention to my breath, my mind will scurry off to the nearest fantasy, or create a new one to cling to. When I’m with my breath, I don’t need to escape reality. When I’m with my breath, I can handle what is.

When we connect with our breath, we have the opportunity to discover our original nature, our truest self. Fantasies and mental distractions melt away. This awareness brings us into the here and now — the opposite of illusion.

The shore of illusion is a trickster. It tricks us into thinking that we’re safe on its shore. In actuality, if we learn to trust our breath and connect with the present moment, we can leave the shore of illusion behind, finding our true home within ourselves — a place we are always safe.

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

Can you help us at a critical time?

COVID-19 has brought tremendous suffering, uncertainty, fear, and strain to the world.

Our sincere wish is that these Buddhist teachings, guided practices, and stories can be a balm in these difficult times. Over the past month, over 400,000 readers like you have visited our site, reading almost a million pages and streaming over 120,000 hours of video teachings. We want to provide even more Buddhist wisdom but our resources are strained. Can you help us?

No one is free from the pandemic’s impact, including Lion’s Roar. We rely significantly on advertising and newsstand sales to support our work — both of which have dropped precipitously this year. Can you lend your support to Lion’s Roar at this critical time?

SUPPORT LION’S ROAR

Leslie Davis

About Leslie Davis

Leslie J. Davis is a writer who practices meditation and mindfulness in the Plum Village Tradition of Thích Nhất Hạnh. She lives in Ojai, California, with her husband and two teenagers. She has work in The Washington Post, LionsRoar.com, The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism, Mothering Magazine and The Mindfulness Bell. Leslie is the founder of DharmaMamas.com — a community for mindful mothers. She is currently writing a memoir. www.lesliejdavis.com

Topics: Meditation, Plum Village Tradition / Order of Interbeing, Practice in Everyday Life

Related Posts...

Three Questions for Coming Back to Now
by Leslie Davis
Illustration of a Buddha in a lotus.In the Pure Land of the Present Moment
by Sister Dang Nghiem
Woman standing in front of a subway.Take Three Conscious Breaths
by Pema Chödrön

Welcome to LionsRoar.com

By Lion's Roar Staff

We’re glad to have you here. But first: who are “we”? You may very well know us as the publishers of two Buddhist magazines, the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma. Then again, you may not know us at all. Either way, please allow us to re-introduce ourselves: We’re the Shambhala Sun Foundation. We [...]

  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscriber Services
  • Privacy
  • BUDDHIST DIRECTORY
  • About Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
TEACHINGS
  • Chan & Zen
  • Nichiren
  • Pure Land
  • Shin
  • Theravada & Insight
  • Vajrayana & Tibetan
  • More…
LIFE
  • Death & Dying
  • Difficult Times
  • Everyday Life
  • Food & Eating
  • Love & Relationships
  • Wellness & Psychology
  • More…
EXPLORE BUDDHISM
  • By the Numbers
  • FAQs
  • For Beginners
  • Glossary
  • How to Meditate
  • The Buddha
  • More…
NEWS
  • Breaking News
  • Climate Change
  • Contemporary Art
  • Current Events
  • Politics & Society
  • Teachers & Centers
  • More…

© 2021 Lion's Roar | Email: [email protected] | Tel: 902.422.8404 | Published by Lion's Roar Foundation