In his book -- Why Is The Buddha Smiling? -- Mark Magill explains how you can eliminate sources of distraction in order to tune in to only that which is truly meaningful.
Through a series of practical exercises, guided meditations, ancient parables, and everyday scenarios, he helps you to face down the daily meanderings of your mind -- not by ignoring the distractions, but by observing them from a place of stillness...the Buddhist place of peace.
If you follow his plan to achieve mindfulness, you will increase your "center of gravity" and discover a life that is much more fulfilling. And in the process, you will eventually understand why the Buddha is smiling.
Here now is an excerpt from Mark Magill's enlightening book, Why Is The Buddha Smiling? -- Mindfulness as a Means of Bringing Calm and Insight to Your Life:
DAILY PRACTICE
We could benefit by a lesson from the bees. They make small but repeated efforts, day in and day out over the course of a summer. Drop by drop, they bring in the nectar of a season's worth of flowers and refine it to its essence. By working steadily, they gain a hive full of honey by the fall.
Patient, steady effort, a little each day, will lead to results. The results we are after may vary from person to person. It depends on your application and your ultimate goal. But the practice of mindfulness will reduce the power of the negative emotions. It will bring greater attention. It will bring you closer to the truth.
If you are fortunate enough to have found a path and a teacher, then you probably have some form of practice. Mindfulness is only one of the tools we use along the way. Its aim is to help us train our minds and turn them toward a positive direction.
These are some suggestions for how you can use this practice in the course of each day.
appreciation
Each day when you awake, you can appreciate the fact that you are alive, that you have one more day to work toward your benefit and that of others. You can remind yourself that this life is rare and precious and you'd like to make the best use of it while you have the opportunity.
meditation
Take a little time before you begin your day to find a quiet moment.
- Sit quietly and steady your mind.
- Come back to yourself.
- Follow your breath.
- Sense yourself in your body. Feel the weight of it.
- Find the stillness you can return to during the day.
Ten minutes is fine, twenty is okay. If you're fortunate to have more time and the desire to use it in this manner, wonderful.
motivation
You can begin your day as you sit by setting your motivation. How to you want to live your life? What do you wish to accomplish? These are your motivations. You may have objectives in the world, to achieve success or provide for your family. You can also have inner goals, to help yourself and others, to become more compassionate, to become more mindful.
intention
You can look ahead to the outer events of your day and set your intention for your inner work. What do you want to pay attention to? What do you wish to consider?
- If you want to develop your attention, you can decide that you will pause each half hour to come back to your self and remember your breath or the sensation of your feet on the floor.
- If you are subject to anger, you can decide you want to try to see the moments when it first arises.
- If you are subject to pride, you might decide to catch those moments when you are advertising yourself again.
recollection
We drift all the time, startled to find our thoughts have carried us a million miles away. As you go through the day, you can use the day's activities as a reminder to bring your attention back to the moment. Any simple act will do. Each time you sit down or stand up; each time you hear a car door slam; each time you think about your next meal. As you start out your day, you can set these "alarm clocks" in your mind to bring you back to your intention.
The author goes on, explaining point by point -- from attention to medication and recognition --, and ends this part of his teachings with the following points:
reflection
As your day draws to a close, take a few quiet moments to reflect on how you spent it. If you can sit still and be silent for a few minutes, all the better.
- Review your day. Did you make good use of your precious time? Did you honor the intentions you set for yourself in the morning?
- Review your thoughts, your speech, and your actions during the day. Did you contribute something positive? If you did, then you can rejoice. Did you cause harm for yourself or others? If so, you can apply the four "Rs": Recognition, Regret, Resolution, and Reparation.
- Take stock of yourself. In Tibetan monasteries, the monks place a handful of white and black pebbles before them. They review their day's actions. For each positive act, they select a white pebble. For each negative act, they choose a black one. At the end, they take a tally. Was this day an improvement over the last?
dedication
Before you turn in, you can dedicate your good work. You have had yet one more day of this precious life. You would like your positive efforts to be of some help and use, both for yourself and others.
You can buy Why Is The Buddha Smiling? at Amazon.com
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