I have many memories that incorporate the pomelo, all of which are happy, and all of which take place during my semester in Shanghai: a family friend handing to me one of the juicy segments during a Mid-Autumn Festival dinner at her home, introducing the fruit to a group of friends during a spur-of-the-moment potluck dinner, munching and marveling away during a quiet four-person card game. For me, the pomelo holds reminiscence, beauty, and human connection.

The name of this blog is also inspired by the last few citric pages of Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra,” when he explains perfect mindfulness:

“Yesterday, in our retreat, we had a tangerine party. Everyone was offered one tangerine. We put the tangerine on the palm of our hand and looked at it, breathing in a way that the tangerine became real. Most of the time when we eat a tangerine, we do not look at it. We think about many other things. To look at a tangerine is to see the blossom forming into the fruit, to see the sunshine and the rain. The tangerine in our palm is the wonderful presence of life. We are able to really see that tangerine and smell its blossom and the warm, moist earth. As the tangerine becomes real, we become real.

Life in that moment becomes real.”

(via ohmyasian)