Self Image and Attitude

Pride is the greatest downfall of any spiritual disciple. It is highly important to know and acknowledge one's own strengths and weaknesses. By realizing his/her won capabilities and short comings, a person can develop inner confidence through a healthy self-image and good self-esteem. This will naturally be reflected in the person's attitude and behaviour.  One of my teachers used to say this, "I do not have to know how good your meditation is progressing. All I have to do is just look at your behaviour. From there, I can tell whether you have or not progressed in your spiritual practice".  The more confident a person is, the more humble a person should become. This is because he/she would be very well assured of his/her capabilities. Such people do not see the need to the envious of others nor do they have the urge to put other people down to make them look good.       

Internalizing the Teachings

While it is certainly useful to study the dharma from qualified dharma teachers and from sutta discussions, one has to know the teachings relatively well to have a certain level of understandng. But all these knowledge can just be superficial learning at best. This is what we normally call as textbook learning. To really benefit from the learning the dharma, we will have to internalize the teachings. This means making the dharma a key part of our lives. For instance by adhering closely to the precepts and/or leading your life according to the eightfold noble path. A better way to assimilate the teachings is to realise it at higher level so that it becomes a natural part of us. The key thing is to investigate the dharma through our meditation practice. If our mind is quiet enough and our body fully relaxed, chances are that we might be able to feel the soft and gentle energy flow sensation, the silence, inner peace and the bliss for us to investigate the dharma. And coupled with mindfulness, your faith and energy will help to propel you to be trully on the path towards enlightenment.                

Conventional and Ultimate Reality

What is reality to people ?  The answer depends on their different perceptions, viewpoints, beliefs, and value systems etc.  This is because what and how our mind comprehends the things out there in the world (through our five senses) is very much dependent on the conditioning processes which we live in e.g. societal, cultural, religious, political etc. They in turn affects how we feel, perceive, think and consciously be aware of our surroundings through our five senses. So how does this relates to conventional and ultimate reality ? and how does this really matter to me ? Conventional reality is mundane reality which is perceived accordingly to our normal worldy understanding of the nature of things.  But ultimate reality is having the wisdom to look beyond conventional reality. That is to know all sankaras & conditioned phenomenon are impermanent, subject to change, and non-self. By realising the three universal characteristics, we will not cling on to things and are able to let go of them without  mental suffering. Now that is equipping ourselves with the wisdom from the dharma to lead a contended and happy life. 

Anchoring Yourself to Present Moment Consciousness

This is based on my understanding on the different levels of control over our sense bases (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, thinking). Please see the above diagram.  This is because our sense bases are continually being bombarded with external stimuli to keep our mind very busy indeed. One moment we could be watching a car drive past, the next moment we could be distracted by the sound of a loud conversation, and the next instant we could be angry thinking of what happended in the office a short while ago. If we are able to practice mindfulness, it can certainly help us anchor ourselves to the present moment consciousness. The benefit is that we can be calmer, have more mental clarity, and feel more energetic by being in the present moment. We can be in here and now to appreciate the current state of knowing, instead of worrying about the past or thinking about the future. It can bring some degree of inner peace and moments of bliss.    

A Wonderful Way to Breathe Naturally

I recently attended a 10-day silent eight precept meditation retreat in Thailand. Staying over there next to a nature park, I was fortunate to listen to the wise sharing by Luang Por Sumedho, an old and highly respected Buddhist monk in Thailand, I was also impressed by the simple and happy life of the forest Sangha tradition. His attendent was Ajahn Asoko, a senior monk who shared a useful breathing method which combines subtle breathing with energy flow. Now that is good breathing with a very relaxed posture. Moreover by feeling the breathe together with visualisation, I was able to quickly experience natural breathing throughout my whole body.  His method is as follows:        

1. Breathe in slow, gently & deeply to feel the sensation in your nostrils & body to be in here & now.

2. When you breathe in, be aware that your in-breath is awakening, brightening & energizing your mind & body. 

3. When you breathe out, be aware that your out-breath is relaxing your body & releasing tension to give your mind tranquillity.

4. Note your posture and energy flow.

Thorough Cleansing of the Body

Most of us know that the mind affects the body and the body affects the mind. Hence it is ideal if we have both a healthy mind and also a healthy body. Although the body is impermanent, we still have to take good care of our physical body in order to function properly as well as to support us in our spiritual development. After attending a liver & gall bladder detox programme in Koh Samui, Thailand, it dawned on me that our physical body requires a thorough cleansing from the inside out. I used to think that doing colon hydrotherapy is good enough and was very surprised that more stuff could be expelled from going through a proper liver detox programme. It was a relatively tough regime of no solid food, taking fibrogel, laxatives, and olive oil & fruit juice connoction for several days.  But the amount of solid materials that came out was simply amazing - cancer cells, gall stones, cholesterol etc. After going through one programme, I could already feel the much needed physical relief. However, one treatment is not enough as many of us were told that the amount of discharge forms only the tip of the iceberg !!! and a lot more stuff still remained in our bodies. Hence I shall have to return for more treatments.    

Open Awareness Meditation

I recently attended a "Mindful Awareness & Serenity" workshop session with Bhante Aggacitta over the weekend.  One of the key takeaway from the workshop is open awareness or dynamic serenity. It is best to do this meditation with eyes open using the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and contact to be aware of the present moment. We can be aware of present objects through the five senses. However, the mind (sixth sense) can take in past, present, and future objects.  Because the monkey mind can propel us into daydreaming, we can make use of this meditation to help anchor our mind to the present moment. Here are the tips to ensure that happens - free & easy, touch & go. Free & easy means letting the mind go free to wander from one sense base to another, with both the mind & body totally relaxed. Touch & go means moving on and not hanging on to any of the five senses. Another interpretation mens see & see only, hear & hear only.... and so on. Which also means no labelling of any of the five senses, or the mind can easily wander off to create stray thoughts to frustrate our meditation practice. Do not allow the mind to pull our consciousness back to the past or dwell on the imaginery future because thinking of the past & future is just a delusion.