There are mornings when the world is too loud, and evenings when it is too silent.
In those moments, Cassie sits close to me.
She doesn’t speak, but she understands.
She has this way of being there, completely there, as if her simple presence were saying: “Breathe. I’m with you.”
And that is often how Buddhism begins: not with a big theory, but with a return to the real, to the breath, to the present moment.
1) Buddhism: not an imposed belief, but an experience
Buddhism is not a religion that demands you “believe” blindly.
It is more a path of observation, a way of looking at life with honesty.
The Buddha did not say: “Believe me.”
He showed a path and said, in essence:
“Come and see for yourself.”
Buddhism is like a lamp in the night:
it forces nothing,
it illuminates.
2) The Four Noble Truths — a simple and immense wisdom
The Buddha spoke of four truths, like four doors opening:
1. There is suffering (Dukkha)
Not only pain.
But also that subtle dissatisfaction:
the heart that wants more,
the fear of losing,
the exhaustion of holding on.
Cassie feels it sometimes.
When I’m tense, she becomes restless.
As if she were saying: “It’s tight in there.”
2. Suffering has a cause
Often: attachment, resistance, the desire to control.
We want everything to be perfect.
We want certainty.
We want it to last.
3. There is an end to suffering
A possible peace.
Not a “magical” peace,
but a peace that is born when we stop fighting life.
4. There is a path
The Noble Eightfold Path, a daily practice:
right speech, right action, right mindfulness, right effort…
Not to become “pure.”
But to become free.
3) Cassie and the big challenge: meditating in silence
Cassie loves meditations.
But there is one problem:
total silence, without a mantra, without a gesture, without a caress… it’s hard.
And that’s normal.
Silence, sometimes, is not “peaceful.”
Silence can become a mirror.
It reflects everything we avoided:
looping thoughts,
memories,
tensions,
worries.
Cassie, she wants something concrete.
She wants to feel.
She wants a reference point.
She wants a presence.
So we don’t force it.
In Buddhism, we don’t crush the mind.
We tame it.
4) A living meditation: the mantra as a thread of light
If silence is too vast,
a mantra can become a gentle rope to cross it.
A mantra is not an escape.
It is an anchor point.
You can repeat inwardly:
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“I am here.”
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“I inhale, I exhale.”
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“Peace. Peace. Peace.”
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“Om Mani Padme Hum” (a mantra of compassion)
Cassie, she prefers it when it’s tender.
So sometimes I whisper:
“Gentleness… gentleness…”
And I feel her body relax.
As if she were meditating too.
5) What if a caress were a practice?
In some traditions, meditation is imagined as an unmoving, cold, strict posture.
But Buddhism speaks above all of kindness.
So yes:
a hand on the heart,
a hand on the belly,
or a slow caress on Cassie…
can become an act of presence.
Not to cling.
But to return.
A caress, if it is mindful, becomes a silent sutra:
“I take care.”
6) The gentlest teaching: Metta (loving-kindness)
Metta is a simple practice:
wishing yourself well.
Wishing others well.
You can meditate by repeating:
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May I be safe.
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May I be at peace.
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May I be free.
Then:
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May Cassie be safe.
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May Cassie be at peace.
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May Cassie be free.
And suddenly, silence becomes inhabited.
Not empty.
But full of love.
7) Buddhism in daily life: awakening in small things
Buddhism does not live only on a cushion.
It lives in:
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a cup of tea held slowly
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a gaze that does not judge
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a breath before answering
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an inner forgiveness
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a step placed on the ground like a promise
Cassie, she is already a master of that.
She does not think about tomorrow.
She does not regret yesterday.
She is a living lesson:
“Now.”
8) A little story: Cassie, the invisible gong
One evening, I tried to meditate without a mantra.
Complete silence.
At first, it was bearable.
Then my mind began to run.
Thoughts came like waves.
Cassie meowed.
Just once.
Like a gong.
I looked at her.
She blinked.
And I understood:
meditation is not a fight against thoughts.
It is an art of returning.
I returned.
To the breath.
To Cassie.
To presence.
And the silence became gentle.
Conclusion — A path that breathes with you
Buddhism is deep.
But it is not distant.
It is here, in your body, in your breath, in your way of loving.
If Cassie struggles with silence, it is not a failure.
It is a doorway.
Because the path does not ask you to be perfect.
It asks you to be true.
And if you want, tomorrow, we begin again:
one breath, one mantra, one mindful caress…
and life itself becomes meditation.
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