Life’s most basic functions, such as the beating of the heart, maintaining the blood pressure and body temperature, and regulations of the hormonal levels, are not things that we have to learn how to do. Eating, breathing, and drinking are never learned. Because they are never learned, they are never forgotten. You can consciously choose to breathe quickly or slowly; eat more, less, or none; and drink two, four, or eight cups of water a day. We can fool ourselves into thinking that we do a lot to maintain our own lives. However, the most important things in life are done automatically for us. Have you ever observed your body breathing by itself, without any effort on your part? Can you sense the incredi¬ble mystery and beauty of a breath? Think for a moment. . . think about life itself. Who does this life belong to? Who allows us the simple beauty of the breath?

I always throw some “play” of sorts into my lectures. It doesn’t require any special tools or instruments. It only requires that we use our bodies as playthings: bang on the stomach as you would on a drum; stretch out your cheeks like rubber bands; knead your body like dough or caress it gently as you would a flower. If I do use something, it is a crude, ingenious Vietnamese wooden xylophone called a tapo, or a wooden flute. There is no set melody or rhythm. No set notes or songs. I just play it to the natural rhythm of my inner being. After a while, it coalesces into music, song, even a dance.