Updated Daily Practice Routine

Been absent for a while...

So many happenings...

It has evolved to the following nuancing currently:

1. Recite King of Prayers - To re-commit myself to Pure land Rebirth Aspiration
2. Do Confession of Downfall Prostrations to 35 Buddhas - For Daily Purification
3. Recite Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga - Daily Lam Rim Prayer
4. Recite Guru Rinpoche Mantra - Dedicate to the success of the Maitreya Project
5. Illuminating Silence - Resting in Openness of Mind for short while, with body-breath as anchor

End of formal practice.  For the rest of my busy and chaotic Daily Life:

6. Conscious Pause to access Presence - Release storyline, Relax & Rest in Openness of Mind.

7. Developing Patience - Recognise danger of following negative emotions, Recall Karmic Causality, Remember (1) self-cherishing only causes suffering, (2) my wish to benefit others, and (3) the transitory & illusory nature of all mental events

8. Transforming Perspective - Do Tonglen (1) Quietly breathe in hurt & pain on behalf of others, (2) breathe out benefit & joy to others  

 May all of us continue to enjoy our practice and be well and happy.
Amituofo. =)

No need to do anything about the emotion, it will go away

I am using the 3R technique when practicing with emotions...

sometimes when the emotion is strong, I struggled, found it hard to refrain from the storyline, found it hard to just return to the physical moment... struggling back and forth back and forth

today as I was struggling with this particular emotion, it dawned on me there is nothing to do, there was absolutely nothing to do, forget about the methods and techniques and 3R...

little insight on impermanence, in this case, the impermanent nature of our emotions, they come and go...

nothing has changed actually, yet...

a little smile on my face =)

Amituofo.

Reflection on the 4 Reminders

The 4 Reminders are preliminary practices in the Tibetan Tradition.  I have found them incredibly useful in reminding myself the importance and urgency of Dharma practice on a daily basis.

1. Precious Human Rebirth
2. Impermanence
3. Karma
4. Samsara

1. On our precious human rebirth, especially after reading Lama Zopa Rinpoche's book, I feel immensely grateful for the precious human rebirth, having the 8 freedoms and 10 richness, and knowing therefore how difficult it is to obtain such a rebirth. This is the first message of the urgency of practice.

2. On impermanence, the Tibetan saying comes to my mind, "Tomorrow or next life, which comes first I don't know." Impermanence reinforces the message, highlighting the fragility of the human life.

3. On Karma, understanding that we are having this lifetime must be due to diligent efforts made in past lives, and that without diligent efforts this lifetime, causes to encounter the Dharma will not be created for future lives. Meaning if I waste this precious opportunity to do Dharma practice, I am not just wasting this one lifetime, but that I am potentially squandering countless past lives' efforts as well as future lives. Much more is at stake than I can imagine.

4. On Samsara, understanding the nature of Samsara is suffering. If I do not practice then untold suffering awaits in future lives.

All these comes together as:
1. Being grateful for this precious human rebirth
2. Wishing that my life & practice will be of benefit to all
3. Reinforcing my aspiration for rebirth in Amituofo Pure Land

The Perfect Human Rebirth

Just read the book: The Perfect Human Rebirth by Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Highly recommended to recharge our motivation to do Dharma Practice as it will remind us of the preciousness of the perfect human rebirth and not to waste this precious opportunity to practice.

This quote from within the book sums it up:

When we understand the freedoms and richness we have with this perfect human rebirth and how difficult it is to find this life again, there is no way we can feel any comfort unless we are practicing Dharma.

General Reflection after reading:

1. To waste this precious human rebirth is to squander the efforts of past, present life and future lives.
2. Grateful for this perfect human rebirth, I pray that may my life be of benefit to all beings.

Specific Reflection for practitioners like me seeking Pure Land rebirth:

4. Core daily practice must revolve around daily reminder of re-birth aspiration.

I vow that, along with other Pure Land cultivators,
I will be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss,
See Amituofo, escape Birth and Death,
And rescue all, as the Buddha does.

5. Dedication of Merit to all beings.

May the merit and virtue accrued from this work adorn Amituofo Pure land,
repay the four great kindness above,
and relieve the suffering of those on the three paths below.

May those who see or hear of these efforts generate the Bodhi-mind,
spend their lives devoted to the Buddha Dharma,
and finally be reborn together in the land of Ultimate Bliss. Amituofo.

Both reflections done under the following context:

3. Tomorrow or next life which comes first, I don't know.

Latest naunce of my daily practice routine

It has evolved to the following nuancing currently:

1. Renewing Vows - Repentance, Bodhisattva Vows and Rebirth Aspiration
2. Reciting Amituofo - 10 recitation method
3. Illuminating Silence - Staying present for a short while, with breath &/or sounds as anchors
4. Dedications of Merits
5. Reading - For weekend evening practice, I would try to end with a short article.

End of formal practice.  Steps back into the busy and chaotic Daily Life:

6. Conscious Pause: It is easy to underestimate the extent of our waking sleep.  Occasionally, I become aware of my waking sleep, but usually I will just fall back into the waking sleep immediately.  So the practice here to make the intention to stay conscious for a while more.

 7. Transforming Negativities - During the day, I try to watch out for the manifestation of negative emotions, recognise, refrain, and feeling the physical discomfort, relax into the present moment. I find the quote "like a dream; like an illusion" very helpful.

And just today, when I slipped into an well grooved habitual anger pattern, and when I recognised what was going on, I started to lament "I should be beyond this by now", and then a question popped into my mind like a koan, "who should be beyond this?", ha-ha a tiny moment of insight for me and I laughed quietly to myself at my folly...

Tendency to slip back into old negative habitual energies remains strong.  To motivate my practice I need to now and then remind myself of the preciousness of this human life:

8. Reminding Precious Human Life - The Tibetan Quote is still very helpful - "Tomorrow or next life. Which comes first, I don't know."

 May all of us continue to enjoy our practice and be well and happy.
Amituofo. =)

Lucid Dream

Had a  lucid dream last night.  Haven't had one for quite a while.
Had two interesting experiences in that dream.

First was spiritual.
Having became lucid, I tried to see what happens when I chant Amituofo.
The sky was suddenly filled with thousands of golden shining Amituofo.
Was awed and inspired.
Amituofo.

Second was more mundane.
Yesterday evening was reading a book on gravity with my son.
So I played with gravity a little.
Just need to "de-gravity" objects I looked at, and the object floated.
E.g. when I looked at cars, they flipped into the sky without gravity.
Interesting ha-ha

But this all lasted for a short time only, I later on slipped back unconscious into the dream again...

Recognize, Refrain, Return

A particular nuance:

1. Recognize that I am caught in a self-centred dream
2. Holding onto the self-centred thoughts, exactly the dream! - Refrain
3. Return to the mind before thinking - Only go straight Don't Know...

Sometimes when I am caught in a strong emotion, even with recognition that I am caught in an emotion, it is not exactly easy to refrain from holding onto the thoughts (e.g. angry thoughts) because they seem so solid, so real and so juicy!

It is therefore helpful to remind that I am caught in a self-centred dream.
Or to remind myself that this is "like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a reflection" (as extracted from a line from the diamond sutra.
Such reminders can help to put the emotional outburst into a more balanced perspective and makes it easier for me to transit from recognize to refrain and returning to the here and now.

May all of us continue to enjoy our practice and be well and happy.
Amituofo. =)