Why do I sometimes feel a heavy weight on my heart?

Thay answers questions on 21 June 2014. Question 6

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(French)
Why do I sometimes feel as if there is
a heavy ball on my heart?

Why do I sometimes feel as if there is
a great, heavy ball

weighing down in my heart?

The practice of mindfulness may help

us to find out why that feeling...
comes...again

Sometimes something has been transmitted to you

by your mother, your father, your ancestors,

some sorrow,

some fear,

some worries

And it's good that you have encountered

the practice of mindfulness

because with the practice of mindfulness

we can help transform that for our mother,

for our father,

for our ancestors

Because we are the continuation of

our father, our mother, our ancestors

They are still in us

with their happiness and their suffering,

their talents and also their shortcomings

So that feeling may be a result of...

some worries, some fears, some anger

by former generations

We have to accept them

We have to accept them

So you practice breathing in

and you accept it:

"this is a feeling of heaviness..

"in my chest"

And it can be transformed by

the practice of mindfulness,

by the practice of love and understanding

And you are aware you are breathing in

for your mother, for your father,

for your ancestors

And you know that the practice of smiling,

of releasing,

of compassion

can very well transform
that kind of sorrow,

that kind of anxiety, that kind of fear

And you do that out of love

You do that for your mother,
for your father

for your grandfather,
your grandmother and so on

Many of us feel a kind of suffering

that we do not understand

We don't understand
why we suffer like that

We have not created that suffering,

the reason why it is there

The only answer is that it has
been transmitted to us

by society, by ancestors

And we have to accept first

And accepting makes it easier

And then the next step is to

breathe in and out mindfully

and smile to it

And realise that the practice

of mindfulness, concentration and insight

can help transform,

because understanding and compassion

these are two kind of energies
that have the power to transform everything

It is like the sunshine

The sunshine can melt the snow

and dry...

and help...dry the tears

So if we practice
understanding suffering and compassion

it can help transform the

suffering of our father, our mother in us,

our own suffering

And sometimes it can be done very quickly

provided that you don't worry,

that you know it can be transformed

And after five minutes
of breathing, walking

or resting, you may feel that it is gone

And the next time when it comes,
you do the same

and if you continue like that,

one day it will disappear

and will not come back

But we have to keep the practice

We need someone to remind us to practice

That is why it is wonderful

to have co-practitioners

in our neighbourhood, our family

Everytime we feel that, we remember to practice

and if we do not remember to practice

someone else will tell us

to go back to our in-breath and
out-breath and practice

Thank you for asking the question

It helps many people

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