Thich Nhat Hanh, Daily News & Analysis, September 19, 2006

I have here a little bag with pebbles inside: one, two, three, four, five and six. These are for sitting meditation. When you have found six pebbles like this, wash them with soap, dry them, and bring them into the meditation hall and sit near the Buddha. Show the Buddha your six pebbles.

I was once driving with a friend in Germany, and he was talking on the cellphone. I realised it was very dangerous. When he stopped near a forest, where we practiced walking meditation, I picked a pinecone and put it in the car. And I said, "Every time you see this pinecone, you see me, and then you won¡¯t talk." So he stopped talking while driving.

But one day, to take an urgent call, he opened the glove compartment and put the pinecone in. He felt uncomfortable talking when he saw me in the pinecone. When I asked, "Where is the pinecone? " he said, "Only yesterday, I really needed to talk, so I hid it."

The pinecone is like the presence of a teacher, of a friend, of Buddha, of a Sangha, a community of practice. It is there to protect you, and it helps you to protect yourself. This pebble is like a pinecone, and I want all of you to have a pebble like this in your pocket, always.

Every time you feel anger coming up in you, every time you feel the absence of peace in you, the absence of solidity and joy, you can put your hand in your pocket and take the pebble in your hand, and begin to breathe: "Breathing in, I calm my body; breathing out I smile," at least three times.

If you find yourself in a situation where you have no peace, if anger is coming up in you, you can do things which you will regret later. Therefore, you need protection, and this pebble is Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. That is why, having found your pebble, go to the Buddha, sit near the Buddha, and show him the pebble. And this pebble will always dwell in your heart with its energy of protection.