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Besides meditation, how do you practice Buddhism?
dantepw
Veteran
Practically speaking, what are the habits you have added to your daily life that makes you a practitioner?
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By doing better at making decisions from the heart, from a place of compassion rather from anywhere else. Meditation is what brings it all together. But I do keep the 4NT and the N8FP in mind often, and I wear my mala as a reminder, under my shirt. I say refuge vows daily and I make sure I mean them sincerely versus when I had to recite the Lord's Prayer and didn't even know what the words meant, lol.
My Buddhist practice isn't really something where I can say "I do x and y and z" because it is my life. Life is my practice. Meditation and retreats and sangha discussions help me to make better decisions as I go through life. Rituals and other things enable me to find a place in myself where I can cope in a gentler way with myself and with others.
I read suttas pretty much everyday.
Mindfulness does great for me - I can branch out with it and it's a bit of a mind expander - even though you 'think' less - I guess it really helps clear up the clutter for me and it's a welcome game changer.
@silver you mean being mindful of the phyiscal sensations/emotions instead of being mindful of the inner chatter, correct?
"Besides meditation, how do you practice Buddhism?"
By helping others...and in doing so, I help the self by becoming less self-centred...It's part and parcel of Dharma practice
@Shoshin could you please be more specific?
Do you help others by making donations, offering your time to talk/complete tasks, etc? Is this like a routine for you (for instance, every month going to an asylum helping take care of people) or you do so whenever you have the opportunity?
By taking the Boddhisattva Vows.
The best way I can put it is, that I'm actually aware of my surroundings - all of them, hearing things in life, seeing - all that is better in a way - it is a little bit like waking up but maybe not the way others mean it - can't be sure. The most shocking/surprising thing about it is, I've watched tv shows and movies before - lots of times and I am noticing things in them that I swear weren't there before. I KNOW that I'm not thinking about 4 or 5 other personal matters that clutter up my head.
Keeping the precepts, cultivating metta, practicing dana.
Trying to make perfect the 6 paramitas.
I do chanting practice, so while chanting I do self reflection, repent, resolution. and then in daily life I do practice the resolution, such as trying not to say speak ill of others, or not lying, not getting angry at others ect. and other practice I do is dharma offering, such as telling people about Lotus Sutra, how wonderful the teachings of Shakymuni Buddha are.
Mindfulness or in my case mindlessness ... and chanting. Interacting with cyber-Buddhists mostly here.
I am trying to become a non-practitioner as 'practitioner' sounds a little contrived, habitual and frankly too Buddhist dependent ...
You mean like every time I visit the NewBuddhist forum
No on a serious note....every time I get the opportunity to I help other sentient beings, I help (which happens to be on a daily bases)....not so much donating money (I don't have much money to donate) but time I have plenty of...If I'm in the fortunate position to help then I help and if I can't I can't...
Showing acts of kindness is in a sense not something one plans on doing, normally it's just done automatically...If there's someone in need and if I can help I help, it's as simple as that...Nothing special....
Before, Buddhism was more theory and philosophy for me which helped to avoid ignorance or blind belief to take over my brain. Althought before to learn dhyan mine acts were not as per Buddhism through mind and understanding completely.
Meditation helped me to stop immediate reaction to external happenings immediately and leanred to have patience which helped to avoid many disputes with people. 'Let it go' the thing I practice in daily basis. I do not meditate regularly.
These days I am focussed mainly on the practice of mindfulness, based on the four frames of reference in the Satipatthana Sutta.
https://suttacentral.net/en/mn10
I like watching waves and clouds and stuff, but I would probably do that anyway.
Lately, I've been terrible at practicing, and it shows in my attitude and general feelings. Thank you for reminding me that I need to do things.
I escort moths outside.
I allow spiders to live indoors and watch TV.
Currently, with Great Effort, and some difficulty.....
@SpinyNorman and how is it going?
I've been having some trouble let me mind rest lately :P
It does vary, but I find if I can be mindful and aware of what is happening I can deal with things much better and see them in a bigger perspective - and it makes my experience richer and more interesting too. I find it definitely helps to have a regular sitting practice.
My mind can be very restless and busy at times, the best approach often seems to be just accepting it how it is - and then things seem to calm down a bit.
One trick that I've found working (which is quite silly, if you ask me!) is physically touching your head and pretending your taking the thought out off your mind and putting it away somewhere else.
After finding out it worked to me I've been touching my head all day long, lol.
@dantepw
Besides meditation, how do you practice Buddhism?
Buddhist meditation is simply a window into experiencing that which is.
A Buddhist practice is our discovery of that window endlessly expanding all around us.
Are you sure that there really is a "besides"?
If we're talking about sitting meditation then yes, there's lots besides that.
@SpinyNorman
If what one discovers in one posture of meditation, is confined to that one particular posture, then such a meditative understanding and application would indeed be a pretty choppy affair.
Ay curumba. Nothing besides meditation. We are either aware or besides ourself.
http://www.peterrussell.com/PassingThoughts/PathNoPath.php
I work in health care, so acting out the precepts and Bodhisattva Vows is almost a part and parcel of the job. But maybe it's just that I'm not jaded yet...
I listen to a few lectures for entertainment and motivation.
But I've found the practice becomes who you are. It turns on and off by itself. I don't try to do it.
Much better
@Earthninja nice point, dude! We do end up reaching that level from "practice" to "habit" and then it just feels way natural. I managed to do it with social interaction, I used to be really shy and had to practice to talk to people for several months, but now it's just part of me!
We go from...
Unconsciously self centered
to
Consciously self centered
to
Consciously other centered
to
Unconsciously other centered
I might add that many things can replace self centered and other centered but it pretty much amounts to the same thing I think. Anyway, I said that to say this: Much of what I do I no longer consider a practice...it simply is now. But things that I still practice:
Right speech - I ask myself if my words are true, beneficial, desired and timely almost every time I speak. Unfortunately, 98% of the time it is right after I speak that I ask. The exciting news is that is used to be 99% of the time that it was after it was too late...and before that 100% of the time.
I'd say that a good 5-8% of the time I notice the first negative thought of a potential series and stop it in its tracks. The other 92-95% of the time it could be minutes or hours later that I catch it. Once again, it is a vast improvement. Once upon a time, I couldn't have told you that I had thoughts.
I watch...
Tee Hee
If we take relaxing/stilling the mind, right speech (silence for the gibbering) and other concentrated practices into our normal life as a practitioner what happens?
... Here is a clue ...
Iz plan!
I've been really beating myself up about doing too much reading and watching without any sitting. I'm terrible and sticking to any sort of schedule or regiment so reading this makes me feel better. For the most part dharma podcast, guided meditations, a few books, and really focusing on right speech make up my practice. When my mind is running laps at some point something I heard or read will pop up and bring me back to mindfulness. I'm trying to work on right speech at work. I just started a new position and the office chatter so far is frequently negative so I've been trying my best to be mindful of what I say, when I say it and who I say it too. Other then that it seems that ever since I started down this path every moment is an attempt to come back to here and now.
listen to dhamma talks, think over
reading dhamma books, think over
I rather like that. The Buddha once said in a sutra somewhere that the whole of the spiritual life is about being friendly:
... Seems like a plan ... I does my best
I try my best to compliment others as often as possible. It seems a better path than that of correction.
Besides meditation?
Hard to tell.
Since I started my practice I have less anger, less depression, less of an appetite for destruction (self and otherwise), less guilt, less confusion, less fear and have curbed my harmful ways
I have lost hatred, harmful relationships and greed.
I have more love, more happiness, more of an appetite for knowledge, more equanimity, more confidence, more courage and have more expanded my sense of individuality to account for both of the Two Truths.
I have grasped the logic of metta, formed healthy relationships and am more compassionate and generous with time and worldly resources.
I have not added to my practice at all, I'm just sticking with it.
Agreed however, I think burnout can happen before we get jaded.
Through Effort.
I know I'm not as 'good' as I could be.
I'm certain though, that I'm much better than I was.......
I "bite my tongue" a lot more these days. Particularly when my emotions are running rampant!
I'm not exactly on top of it, but I'm slowing down my mind's reaction time when my upstairs neighbor is noisy at inconvenient (dead of night) times. (Does that count?)
Live life - walk, run, stumble fall, get up and walk, run,...
And do my best to appreciate all of it.
(No - it doesn't always work out that way, but I always try and often (strangely) succeed.
Peace to all
Hi
Where is the best place to read and or listen to suttas online please?
As for me, I bear in mind the 4NT and 8FP in my day. I have a pendant with the 8 spoked wheel on, which hangs on my wardrobe. So I see this when I get up and get dressed and this reminds me to practice the 8fp and precepts and sets me up for the day.
I have two children (6 and 4 months) and lack of sleep lately has led me to being a little short-tempered with my eldest daughter and husband. So I use Buddhism to help me to control my anger sometimes. If I feel I'm getting annoyed and I feel like it's going to get worse I walk away and just think about my behaviour. It works 9/10 times. So not only does Buddhism help my anger but anger helps my Buddhism
Hello, @BexM , welcome.
Try this website.
Hope you find whatever points you in the right direction!
Thank you @federica
You'll do.
Bravo.
We all start somewhere. A journey of a thousand days, starts every moment. 
Some just pick the right nose ...
