Walking meditation is also a powerful methodology for healing, as we automatically discard our distress and anxiety while we are doing it. If we closely observe animals when they are injured or hurt, we would notice that they retreat to a safe place and slow their breathing and metabolism down, so that their internal energies of healing are activated. They do not eat, remaining still and quiet they come to a deep rest and heal as they stop. This is all done instinctively; no one has taught them about Samatha - it is simply the first step animals take in healing themselves. If our modern medical doctors would learn this lesson from animals and the Buddha they could guide their patients to stop and meditate, enter inner silence and enhance the recovery process by allowing the internal energies of healing to arise. All of the components of walking meditation - Samatha, Vipassana and healing - become a single focus as we maintain our awareness of being in the present moment. We just need to practice it.

I will describe two forms of walking meditation. The first will be a general introduction. The second will be more specific about healing our internal distress and dis-ease with ourselves. I will be drawing predominantly from the writings (1996a) and dharma talks (1996b) given by Thay Nhat Hanh, my Buddhist teacher, who introduced me to walking meditation.

Walking meditation brings us back to the present moment, which is the only location where we can fully be alive. We start by breathing in and out with full attention to the in-breath and to the out-breath. Co-ordinating our breath with our steps we breathe in, saying silently to ourselves - “Breathing in” -as we take two or three slow steps. Then as we breathe out, we say - “Breathing out” - as we simultaneously take two or three slow steps. Practice this for several minutes just to get used to the concentration and the co-ordination of breath and steps and be fully aware of breathing in and out, and of walking slowly step by step. Sometimes you will take two steps, sometimes three or four steps, sometimes there will be more steps on the out-breath than on the in-breath. Allow the breath and lungs to find a natural rhythm with your steps. It is the concentration and awareness that matters, not whether you take two or three steps, but do remember to wear a half smile on your lips!

If you take two steps with the in-breath, say to yourself -

If you take three steps on the out-breath, say to yourself -

As you take each step, you can add a concentration that brings you solidly into contact with the earth. Concentrate on your foot touching the ground in this sequence - heel, ball of foot, toe. This particular concentration assists you to be fully with your stepping on the earth, keeping you in the present moment.

Thay Nhat Hanh has a much loved gatha to assist the process of walking, breathing and awareness:

The meditation begins with the first two lines, which you say silently to yourself as you breathe and walk:

You say “Arrived” with each step as you breathe in, and “ Home” with each step as you breathe out, so if you are taking three steps on the in-breath and three steps on the out-breath it would go like this:

    Thay Nhat Hanh refers to these opening lines as a means to come home to the present moment, to cut through mental clutter, anxieties and projects and be established right here and now in the awareness of breathing and walking. There is nothing else to do except slow down and come to rest in the present, and truly nourish yourself. Practice this for several minutes then move on to the next exercise and proceed in exactly the same way.

You say “Here” with each step on the in-breath, “Now” with each step on the out-breath. This consolidates the practice of the first two lines, securing yourself more solidly in the present moment. Continue with this for a while until you begin to feel calm and stable, then move on to the next exercise.

You say “Solid” with each step on the in-breath, and “Free” with each step on the out-breath. In the present moment you become established in your true nature, free from your anxieties and mental agitations. As you feel the solidity and freedom as real within you, then move to the final exercise.

Breathing in say “Ultimate” with each step, and as you breathe out say “I dwell” with each step. The Ultimate dimension of Divinity, Buddha consciousness, Christ consciousness, is available to us when we stop and experience deeply our true nature of the heart. That is where our steps in walking meditation take us, although we may not be aware of it. It is important not to just say the words and do the steps in a mechanical way. It is, as Thay Nhat Hanh constantly points out, the real thing of arriving at the true home of our stability, freedom and liberation. Practice is the thing to do. Enjoy it, as it will surprise you with the treasures it brings to your consciousness. One of the biggest surprises is that everything you seek is already within you, you simply have to find your way to it.

At the university where I teach, I park my car quite a distance from my office. I walk from the parking lot and take a detour around the greenhouses of the Botany department and come to the Rideau River that runs along one side of the campus. From there I have a kilometer of riverbank to practice walking meditation before I arrive at my office building. It is quite secluded in parts and the river has sets of rapids that greatly enrich my walk. One section of the path takes my steps through a cedar grove, and I always feel a sacred blessing from these beautiful trees. I begin the walking meditation from my car, and slow my walking right down to a 3 - 3 rhythm when I enter the wooded section of my path. The path is never the same, as the seasons change its character. Autumn leaves give way to snowfall as winter leaves her embrace. My clothes and footwear change, yet my steps and breathing the gatha in and out remain constant. The rustle of autumn leaves is replaced by the crunch of snow and ice, which gives way to the mud and rain of spring before the heat of summer allows me to walk in sandals or barefoot. The birds and foliage change with the seasons, as does the river - iced over in winter, turbulent in the spring and calm in summer and fall. Students with their books and friends congregate by the river bank when the weather is sunny. The changing seasons bring so much to me that every day is a wonderful day for my walking meditation, irrespective of weather conditions.

I notice the changes in the seasonal round of nature, yet remain with my breathing and walking so that I am not drawn into thought. It takes me approximately twenty five minutes to arrive at my office, and I am in a clear, calm state and better able to teach, to be of assistance to students and colleagues and to bring my own sense of joy to the corridors and classrooms of the university. On leaving the university I retrace my steps of walking meditation along the river before going home, or to appointments in the city, and the experience engenders the same calm and clarity. This walk is Paradise, and a constant reminder to me for those occasions when I am not in touch with my true nature. This walk brings home to me the lesson of Thay Nhat Hanh’s remark that we do not need to walk on water, or over hot coals. We simply need to walk on the earth and touch her deeply with our full awareness. That is all that walking meditation is.

As we walk in meditation, the walking is an end in itself as well as a means. We let go of our distress and suffering while placing steps of calm and clarity on the earth. This happens whether we are aware of it or not. There are, however, occasions when we are so consumed by distress and strong emotions that a direct approach to address the distress is necessary. When we are very upset or distressed by a life situation, we cannot sit to meditate, nor can we walk with calm on the earth. We can, however, adapt walking meditation to handle our distress and strong emotions. There is a story about Ananda, who was the Buddha’s personal attendant for over forty years. At the time of the Buddha’s impending death, Ananda was overcome by such strong emotions of grief and loss that the Buddha instructed him to go and practice walking meditation to find calm and clarity. This Ananda did, and restored himself to calm so he could serve the Buddha and himself from this consciousness. We can learn a great deal from Ananda’s example in terms of applying walking meditation to situations of distress, strong emotions and crisis. There are many situations that could be referred to, but let me draw on one that is very common to us all - that is the distress of anger. When angry we cannot possibly sit down and meditate, nor can we walk in a calm and peaceful way. Yet we can use the instruments of breathing, walking and gatha to first of all acknowledge the distress of anger within us, own it as our own, and then take steps into calm and responsibility. In this manner we take care of our anger and do not let it loose on the world. The concentration and focus of walking meditation diffuses the energy of anger so that with clarity we can take appropriate steps rather than have the anger drive us to do and say things that are harmful.

Begin by breathing in and out, and as you take three steps on the in-breath say “In”, “In”, “In”. As you take three steps on the out-breath say “Out”, “Out”, “Out”. Continue in this manner for at least five minutes, until you notice that your breathing and walking begin to gradually slow down. Then follow the next steps, taking your time with each stage of the meditation. At first I would recommend ten breaths with each set:

       Instead of anger we can substitute the particular distress that is overwhelming us at the time, whether it be grief, fear, jealousy or some other form of distress. We have to believe that as we calm and take care of our distress, our body and mind have the capacity to heal us and release the cause of the distress, especially when we do walking meditation. Remember that the purpose of walking meditation is to bring us home to the present moment, and there we can heal the scars and traumas that we have stored as seeds, deep in our unconscious. With each step we restore ourselves to our true nature. We literally walk ourselves out of crisis by taking care of the distress and releasing the energy of it into the ground. Furthermore we find the clarity to know what to do or say in situations of crisis.

When I visited my son in Glasgow during his crisis with drugs and dealing, I was alone in his squalid room for several hours. I knew I had to find a way to deal with the alarm and fear that arose inside me. For several hours I walked slowly in Alexander’s room doing walking meditation. I began to calm myself and arrived at a point of knowing what to do about the situation. If I panicked, or judged, or got angry I would only make the situation worse, and be of no help or support to my son, so it was essential that I found that calm, clear space within me. Walking meditation enabled me to get there.

At the Buddha’s birth, there is a story of him taking seven steps, and from each footprint a lotus flower bloomed. The Buddha in us can do the same, for we touch the same ground of being when we are in the present moment, and as we walk in meditation we provide a bridge for everyone and extend lotus blooms to all.