Finding my Buddha smile on the banks of the Niagara...

The Stupa containing 10,000 small buddha statues & other relics

The Chang Sam 10,000 Buddhas Chinese Buddhist Monastery sits on River St. right next to a Hampton's Inn and across from the Whitewater Walk, one of Niagara's top tourist attractions. So you can understand why the 1st time I saw it I thought it was a Chinese food restaurant.


Who'da thunk that I would find a Buddhist Temple in Niagara Falls of all places? It's not all that surprising that the natural beauty that is the falls inspires the spirit.  After all, I had felt it myself not only in front of the falls but exploring further down the river.  Having done the "strip" with the Falls and the ferris wheel and the souvenir shops, I rented a bike and ventured away from it all to the opposite end of the Niagara River; hoping for some quiet reflection and interaction with nature.
I had heard about the whirlpool area of the River and a hiking path that would take you all the way down to the water's edge. I set out early in hopes of avoiding anybody else. The weather was amazing; bright, clear and sunny with a crisp fresh cool in the air; something I had come to miss during my time of never-ending hot sunny Caribbean days. There is something about feeling the warmth of the sun on your face and the tickle of cool air on your skin that makes you feel vibrant and alive.  The hike down to the water was beautiful.  The canopy of trees allowing glistening pockets of sun to peek through and illuminate the rocks.  The earth was soft and squishy below my feet.  The path led me down, down and then out to a clearing...


Wow.

The whirlpool

The sun, the air, the view...the solitude.  How is it that when you are alone in nature; sometimes that is when you feel the most connected?  

I haven't meditated in a while.  Sat down and made the effort to sit.  It had become an effort.  It seemed like such a chore, such a heavy thing.  And so I haven't…in a long while.   But when I reached the clearing that opened up to the "whirlpool"; I was inspired.  I spent over an hour there, by myself.  I wasn't meditating the entire time although everything I did from that moment forward was meditative.  I took pictures, dipped my feet in the brisk water, practiced yoga poses on the rocks,  sat and watched how the sunlight played on top of the water's surface and finally meditated.  20 minutes of stillness…well…I'm lucky if I found 20 seconds of actual stillness but the practice felt…glorious.  

I am not an expert.  I consider myself a novice at best.  But following are some thoughts I had while meditating:  

Sometimes (ok almost always) it's hard to quiet your mind enough to feel like you are even in the moment.  When I find that my mind must concentrate on something that will hold the attention more than breath, I listen.  I concentrate on noticing each new sound.  It gives my mind something to do other than chase thoughts and I find I can actually be in the moment by experiencing the sound and silence around me.  

When I was meditating by Niagara; this technique was really helpful.  I noticed the roaring of the rapids, constant but distant.  Right at my feet, I also heard water but it was the gentle lapping by the shoreline of water tapping the rocks.  I suddenly felt like the roaring of the rapids in the distance was like life; the sound of loud, constant movement and that the gentle lapping was my inner stillness.  The "rapids" in life are usually what grabs our attention, especially if we put ourselves in the thick of it.  The noise can be deafening. So much so that we don't even realize that there is a place at the water's edge where the pace slows to create a peace and tranquility in its soundscape.  That place is accessible within ourselves.  The outside doesn't change.  The rapids are there; roaring; calling out for attention.  But the gentle lapping, although softer, is closer and is more aligned with our true nature. The goal is to make the peaceful lapping louder and let the rapids fade into white noise.  

"paddling" in the Niagara River

downward dog on the rocks

getting my meditation on!