Tuesday - Mindful Activity
1. Mindful Activity
“The doer of good delights here and hereafter;
he delights in both worlds.
The thought, ‘Good have I done’, delights him,
and he delights even more
when gone to realms of bliss.”
- Dhammapada 18
The
meditative mind can also be brought to our daily activities off the
cushion. It is here that we set up the conditions that enable us to
achieve calmness and tranquillity and which give us an opportunity to
act in a beneficial way in relation to others.
It is a common fallacy
that our practice is only what takes place in the rarefied atmosphere of
our formal sessions or on retreat.
Nothing could be further from the
truth. It is important that in our daily activities we remain mindful
and that we treat people with respect and kindness.
It is unlikely that a
‘nasty boss’ will get very far in his meditation sessions if he behaves
unethically during the rest of his waking hours.
Try sending mettΔ to
someone you have just intentionally wronged - fairly impossible isn’t
it? Wouldn’t it be better to have treated them well in the first place?
We
have looked at the Five Precepts and it is essential that an ethical
code such as this governs our actions. We may be unable to commit wholly
to it at this stage but gradually we can extend our observance of each
precept.
They are not commandments or eternal laws; they are simply ways
of training our behaviour in order that we can make the best decisions
about our actions.
Secure in this background we can act skilfully rather
than unskilfully in every aspect of our lives.
In
addition to behaving ethically we can introduce an attitude of
mindfulness into our daily activities. At particular moments during the
day we can decide to give our whole attention to whatever we are doing.
This is part of living an examined life and is very useful in
establishing a consistent approach to our development.
Naturally it is
more difficult to be wholly mindful of an activity in daily life than to
be mindful of the breathing in meditation but it is possible.
Start
with simple activities and take care about how you carry them out. Don’t
expect to be able initially to retain complete concentration on the
activity but give it a try. Begin with just a few things and increase
them gradually.
Don’t become annoyed when distractions and interruptions
inevitably occur. Work with a sense of wonder: even the simplest tasks
will interest you. Give them your full attention.
In
addition to the formal practice I would like you to try incorporating
two exercises into your daily routine this week to extend mindfulness:
1. Mindful Activity
Choose
a simple activity that you carry out each day. Maybe washing the
dishes, getting dressed, or tidying your home. Use the same activity
each day. Whichever activity you have chosen resolve to give your whole
attention to it.
As in meditation, when the mind wanders from the
activity bring it back to the job in hand. Be wholly with the activity,
however mundane. Stop planning, fantasising, remembering.
Do the
activity for the sake of doing it - not to get it over with. Know it
intimately. Bring mindfulness to carrying out the task. Work with the
same activity each day.
2. Reconnecting
Choose
an object or sound with which you come into contact several times each
day. It could be a bunch of keys, a pen, a door-handle, or the sound of
the telephone ringing.
Whenever
you come into contact with that object or sound stop for a moment and
be aware of the breath as it enters the body. Another alternative is to
mentally note “May all beings be happy” each time you become aware of
the object or sound you have chosen.
Use these two exercises in addition
to your formal meditation for the next week as a way of extending the
process of developing mindfulness to our mundane activities.
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Contemplation - Day 67
397. Having
cut off all fetters,
fearless,
beyond attachment,
-
unbound -
him,
I call a brahmin.
398. Having
cut the strap and thong,
the
rope and bridle;
having
removed the bar
- awakened -
him,
I call a brahmin.
399. Enduring
abuse, flogging
and
punishments without anger;
empowered
- most effectively - by patience:
him,
I call a brahmin.
400. Free
from anger;
devout,
virtuous,
free
from craving, self-controlled,
-
bearing his final body -
him,
I call a brahmin.
Last modified: Thursday, 12 January 2017, 7:13 pm
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