Best Of

I learned from Tibetan Buddhism the idea of good in the beginning, good in the middle and good in the end. Meaning, at the start of practice you want to set a noble intention, actually can't remember what good in the middle is, if its do a technically sound practice or keep the intention. And good in the end is to dedicate the effort to a noble end.

Doing all that sets, and trains, your mind towards an enlightenment goal over more mundane (though still positive) reasons, such as your own mental well being.

I can speak to my own experience that simply saying intention setting and dedication prayers before and after each sitting, and other instances, such as before a meal, have helped change my own mindset over time.

companion option

I like this term companion option. If we are on the Path to Enlightenment/Awareness/Mindfulness/Awakening, everything becomes a potential companion or friend or skilful means.

For example:

• relaxation methods as opposed to stimulation and endless recycling of trivial time wasting
• finding the Buddha/Dharma Nature in all experience, people, encounters etc

• never give up and give up are the same thing

  

Due to a change in circumstances I now have a different layout to my mornings, and as a result I have embarked on a re-reading of Nisargadatta Maharaj's book 'I Am That', which you can download freely as a pdf from the internet.

One of the things he said is that a longing for enlightenment and an earnestness are the most important elements in the search, that if you have these they will take you swiftly towards your goal. That any form of practice was just form for this longing, and that even without practice sitting and focussing on the longing itself would ensure your progress. But also that if you practice without this longing, then the practice would not help.

I found this insightful and also that it fits with Buddhist practice, where the bodhicitta is also meant to take one towards enlightenment. That longing is one of the very last desires to give up. The other thing that I liked about this chapter from 'I Am That' was that he said that the very idea of enlightenment was like a seed planted in the spirit, which would eventually come to fruition.

So a very useful pointer, to keep the longing for enlightenment in your mind, and not to focus too much on the practice.

This is the typical view of those who have been drawn towards the faith/devotional approach to Buddhist practice over the alternatives of meditative practice or scriptural study.
I have hope for practitioners who end up seeing these three paths more as companion options than as being better or worse than each other.