Personal Precepts and Daily Activities to Cultivate Oneself

Samp

Hi Folks,

I've been interested in Buddhism for a long time and have dabbled. The more I "try out" or think about Buddhism the more convined I am, so I've decided I'm going to try an experiment and really try to put Buddhism into practice wholeheartedly for two months during which time I'll keep a diary. When I stared thinking about what it would mean mean to "put Buddhism into practice" I struggled a bit to come up with much concrete, but have decided on:

Personal precepts:
1. Stop seeking refuge and sense pleasure in food in the overindulgent way I do at the moment
2. Be absolutely scrupulously honest and stop telling half truths (a very bad habit of mine)

Actions:
Meditate every day (already started doing this a week ago and feeling the benefits already)
Bow to my Rupa before mediation and express gratitude for the teachings.
Review my actions and behaviour in my diary every evening and see what is going on.

What I'd be interested to hear is if anyone else has things they do every day of week or any concrete things they can reflect on (say in a diary) to get a sense of how their "practice" is.

Hope that makes sense.

Cheers

Sam

taiyaki

Question everything. There are two types of questions. The first type of question whatever it is will have an answer in your head as soon as you say it. The second type of question is a question with no answer.

The voice in your head is your ego. It tell you things are good and things are bad. I should do this and I should do that. I am a bad meditator. I am a good meditator. Don't try to be anything. Good. Bad. or Equal.

If you understand what ego is you can catch the ego's game. Throughout your day keep your awareness on your thoughts. Don't judge them let them be.

Meditation in my opinion is about being. Most meditators constantly do do do do do do do this that. Just be. Don't push or pull. Just sit and watch as if you're watching a movie screen.

Also, it is nice to ask a question that you don't have an answer to. Like who am I? or What am I doing here? Where do I go after I die? In zen we call these koans.

Koans basically force you to hit a wall using your words. The words cannot pass the wall. I ask myself honestly, who am I?
I just get this sense of not knowing. That is the wall. Abide in that not knowing as much as you can. If an answer appears, that is ego. There is no answer. Don't look for an answer. Use the "who am I?" as a tool to reach that not knowing.

Hope this helps.

Much love.

Samp

Thanks for that. It is a good point... its is so easy to get on with "doing" things to get along on the path in a "developmental" sort of way that we get caught up in it in the wrong way.

But how do we strike the balance between getting organised to work on ourslves and getting caught up in the developmental model or even not makign the effort to progress.

Sam

taiyaki

When you do something. Do it 100%. Don't think just do it. When you meditate just meditate. When you eat just eat. When you sleep just sleep. When you work just work. Keep this not knowing mind with you everywhere you go. Everything you do. So when you're doing, keep not knowing.

When you're being or just chilling out. Just be 100%.

Just don't make spirituality another ego. Don't try to become the best meditator or the most enlightened being.
Intention is everything. We come to Buddhism to free ourselves from suffering. We leave Buddhism wanting to save all beings from suffering.

The desire to awaken is good. But even that desire will be cast away eventually.

Keep this not knowing mind.

In the spirit of korean zen,
much love!

Samp

"the effort of no effort" eh?

taiyaki

Ha kind of.

To try to be in being is a contradiction.
Try it. It's practically impossible.

Just be. Just watch things. Just hear things. Just taste things. Just feel things.
Being grounds you in the present moment.

When you think, just watch your thinking. Do not judge. Just let things be.

Let it be. Let it be. Ha.

Samp

Thanks for sharing that - I think it is really important, I guess this "just.... "is an important quality of enlightenment. Do you see it that way? Do you have any other thoughts on the qualities of enlightenment.
But also how do we work on cultivating ourselves and "just being" at the same time? Argh!

Sam

taiyaki

I don't know much about enlightenment personally. But Adyashanti has a very interesting view on it. Check it out.

Hope this clears up everything.

SherabDorje

Sam-

It seems like what you're doing is plenty for now. Maybe it's best not to overwhelm yourself. You can certainly keep in touch with us as you progress.

All the best.

taiyaki

Just be. Do what is most obvious in the situation you are in.

So if someone is hungry, you feed them. If someone needs help, you help them.
Don't think should I or shoudn't I..that is mind. Just do it.

When you are tired, just sleep. When you are hungry, just eat. When you need to study, just study.
You work on yourself by finding your true nature. Once you find your true nature (satori) you will probably have to cultivate that for some time.

In korean zen, we believe in sudden enlightenment or awakening and then years of gradual cultivation.
Find your true nature and save all beings!

With love!

Samp

Thanks SherabDorje, I think you are right - I probably have set myself a high enough bar and I'll be interested to see how my mind wriggles out of it over the next while! But what I was hoping to get some feedback on in this thread is how others get their practice going and check out that they are actually working on themselves rather than being slothful. I agree with the idea of the conundrum of the "effort of no effort" but from what I see in the basic teachings on Buddhism the Buddha was definately telling us to go to work on ourselves and that it was important to do so.

Or even thinking about later teachings - if we think about Shantidavas Poem there is a very very stong injunction to work hard on oneself.

Anybody any thoughts on that?

Sam

taiyaki

Sorry that I am being so frank with you.

The very act of you running around trying to be this or that is what is going to prevent you from seeing your true nature.
The mind that judges. I am being lazy. Or I am doing well. Is what is going to prevent you from seeing what you really are.

Just keep that in mind for future references.
Seek and cultivate yourself as much as you can.

Just remember: the seeker is sought.

I hope the best on your journey!

shanyin

Perhaps take a look at the eightfold path.

http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/eightfoldpath.html

Give it a good read.

Good luck!

Samp

Hi Shayin that is good advice,

I've been trying to get back to basics by going through the 4 Noble Truths and the eightfold path - the link you have supplied is to a very interesting rendition, thank-you for that.

I am still wondering if anyone will comment on their own practice and how they ensure it is sufficiently "vigorous" if that is the right word!

Sam

ThailandTom

I have been interested in and practiced buddhism for over 2 years now, my practice has been pretty lame at times but who is perfect.. We should not strive to be perfect or to be anything. I posted this quote in another post but it is quite important to keep in mind I think, it is from ajahn chah, a notorious monk from Thailand that is now deceased. He stated that to reach nirvana you need to not desire to reach it, you have to not strive to get to that point.

I looked back through the 8 fold path and realized how badly my practice is at the moment, it is good to remember the 8 fold path, it is basic but fundamental. The paradoxical thing is though, right concentration, right effort, these things require drive, strive to reach a point, or am I wrong here?

Theswingisyellow

Taiyaki,
Thank you for the video. Very nice :thumbsup:
All the best,
Todd

Samp

Hi TTom,

I think you are right, it is almost paradoxical that we need to work on ourselves, yet we need to "desire not to reach it". I guess right effort means workign for our development mindfully and without craving for any outcome.

I wonder if this is what is sometimes (humourously?) referred to as "the effort of no effort".

But it is so easy to slip into not really working towards developing ourselves.

On a different note - how is Thailand, are you in a Buddist training over there?

SamP

ThailandTom

There are quite a few paradoxical aspects to some of the dharma, but I guess with a lot of it, we should not take things so literally and dwell on them too much, this won't help at all.
What has really helped me in recent days is that I finally started to realize that I am not separate from everybody else and that there is so much we cannot control in this world, so just let it be. This simple thought really does help with a lot of life's problems when you are mindful of it throughout the day.

Without putting in any effort how can one advance spiritually down the dharma path.I am having trouble with meditation, I haven't done so since taking valium daily, I find it impossible to concentrate. But owel, this is just another thing to accept and not dwell on I guess.

Thailand is good thanks, I have been here 11 months now and came here on an impulse from the UK. I was so fed up of life in the UK, the weather, the culture, the mentality of the people, so I simply left 6 months before the end of my university course lol... I am not in buddhist training as such, well I guess the vast majority of the people on this forum are, you do not have to be in asia to be a buddhist. Ajahn Brahm who is a monk born in the UK, moved to Thailand and now lives in Australia as a monk says it is sometimes better for your practice to live in a western country as you are not accepted so easily. Therefore you need to push yourself more and make the effort. Here in Hua Hin where I live, it has not rained for over 11 weeks no, this is normal for this time of year in this region so say. Literally every day has been the same, blue sky and 28-32 degrees C, for 11 weeks!!

sndymorn

I don't know much about enlightenment personally. But Adyashanti has a very interesting view on it. Check it out.

Hope this clears up everything.

I like this outlook.

Thanks