how to enjoy our practice

the next few entries i will be sharing what i have learned from the plum village tradition's retreat =)

the essence of this style of practice - learning to enjoy ur practice =)
its about dwelling peacefully n happily in the present, learning to use the breath to bring ourselves back to life in the present moment, smiling n at ease...

i shall list 2 helpful techniques here, which actualli been sorta covered in my last entry haha

1. conscious breathing - this is probably the primary technique to help us (as is common with many other schools =))

we may like to recite

breathing in i know that i am breathing in
breathing out i know that i am breathing out

conscious breathing is the key to bringing our body n mind together and the energy to substain mindfulness from moment to moment...

2. use of gatha - there is plenty use of the gathas to help remind us to return to the present moment, here's one nice one

breathing in, i calm my body
breathing out i smile
dwelling in the present moment
i know this is a wonderful moment

these are deceptively simple techniques but trememdously effective means to enhance n enrich our spiritual practice, enjoy! =D

a different flavor of zen

just completed a weekend retreat at PKS under the guidance of venerables from the Plum Village in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh...

one of the first activity was... singing!

my my, some of the first thoughts that went thru my head was - zen dun sing!
haha interesting narrow egoic definitions of what zen is or not ;)

could feel some resistance energy within...
letting go the thoughts, residing in the uncomfortable sensations
(i am not realli that enthu to sing at a zen retreat i suppose haha =P)
...then just doing it for the weekend =)


breathing in i smile =)

breathing out i relax ahh...

(one of the many many gathas Plum village like to employ in our practice)

ahhh.... it was a realli wonderful retreat loh =D
like a sundae morning breeze...
so gentle, so refreshing, so much loving kindness at the retreat =)
a truly different flavor of zen but i am loving it!
this style of practicing realli knows how to enjoy
reminds mi of the famous one liner -


present moment, wonderful moment =)




Waking up in the morning, i smile =)
knowing there are 24 brand new hours before me.
i vow to live fully in each moment,
and look at beings with eyes of compassion.
(another wonderful gatha)



thank u venerables for your wonderful teachings and sharings...
palms together, deep bow...

and oh another interesting note, one of the venerables was my JC schoolmate =O
what a small world, respect her for her devotion and dedication to the practice of wisdom and compassion, another deep bow...

sharing at Dana Citta

did some sharing at Dana Citta today with the wonderful gang of kevin n co of the Om music workshop...

there was heavy rain pitter patter pitter patter
but it didn't dampen the spirits of the gp at all n we started off with some wonderful music playing =)
i later shared on mindfulness also did a simple raisins meditation,
n everyone had fun with the raisins =)
but next time i think i muz rem to remind pple not to gobble up the raisins the moment they are being passed the raisins haha =P

the group is using buddhist music to inspire spiritual practice, i think its wonderful work and fantastic music keep it up u guys =D
n i understand there's an upcoming concert so JIA YOU all the best =D
thanks for the opportunity to share =)
reminds mi to keep up my own mindfulness practice loh keke =P