The source of the original article is here...
All the seeds of all the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of today. An Indian Buddhist saying.
I love this saying. For me it carries within it the fundamental message of dependent arising. No single flower or seed is independent of itself. It carries within it the past and the future. All the flowers of yesterday and all the flowers of tomorrow. In this meditation I am coupling this with the Buddhist approach of guardians of the sense doors and for me, this is the essence of the Dharma. In Buddhism, we have the concept of the 5 usual senses, plus the 6th which is the mind itself. Through our senses we open ourselves up to the world and experience it. If we apply mindfulness to these senses we can capture the essence of anything experienced and understand it. We can then decide if it is skillful and unskilful. I like this idea of skillful and unskilful, rather than good and evil. It feels softer and more forgiving somehow, and also somehow more personal. Rather than some higher power deciding our fate based on our thoughts and actions, we decide for ourselves. We are very much in control of our own destiny. Our own Karma!
I came to Buddhism because of its approach to the precepts. The precepts are :-
To refrain from
..harming living beings.
...taking things not freely given.
...sexual misconduct.
...false speech.
...intoxicating drinks and drugs causing heedlessness.
Although each precept describes that which is unskilful, for example "do not take what isn't freely given", unlike many other religions I love the positive view that is presented alongside - for example "Be generous"
Obviously this is explored here at the very high level, but Buddhism requires us to explore these precepts inside ourselves without reference (necessarily) to others. They become our personal measure and we are our own judges here. It is here that the guardians on our sense doors become important. Particularly the guardian on our mind. Our own 'mindfulness of mind'. This is why we meditate I believe. To help us to train ourselves to be mindful and able to catch the unskilful and develop the skillful.
However, coupled with this is the step in the Eightfold path of Right Effort. Although we judge ourselves, at the same time we are encouraged to be gentle on ourselves. Push ourselves, but not too hard. Guilt is a delusion in Buddhism. So we are encouraged to recognise our unskilful actions against the precepts, recognize and learn from them and then move on.
I think that the guardians on our sense doors are even more important today because of the nature of our modern world. We are constantly assailed with images, sounds, smells which probably are not too skillful. (Just take a look at the majority of our advertising. Most advertising these days breaks at least one of these precepts, particularly false speech!) We post our guardians and then with mindfulness, watch the feelings and emotions that are involved. If we can practice and maintain our mindfulness during the day, away from the cushion, then we have at least some chance of not allowing these unskilful elements to take hold. We can keep watch and just allow the positive seeds to develop.
Here we come back to this beautiful Indian saying. All the seeds of all the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of today
With mindfulness we develop our positive seeds and weed out the negative. The Buddha explained to us that actually, we are only alive for 1/64th of a finger snap. Everything before is a memory, everything to come is a plan, a fantasy, a dream. We are constantly being reborn and our actions take us forward to the next 1/64th lifetime. If we are mindful to the precepts, through the guardians on our sense doors, particularly the mind, then suddenly each 1/64th lifetime is important and worthwhile. Each is positive and each takes us forward to the next. We develop positive Karma.
A phrase I like to use here which sums this up is "As Buddhist, we capture and celebrate the most intimate nature of the present moment"
So the more I stay mindful, the more I capture each moment with mindfulness, aware of what I am feeling, thinking, doing, the better the next 1/64th lifetime will be.
This, for me at the moment is dependent arising and this is the experience of Karma. I carry forward the results of my previous lifetimes. Not lifetimes before this body was born, but lifetimes just moments ago. I love this way of thinking and I love the Dharma. And I am only just starting to experience and understand it!
Interestingly, this also underlines for me why I don't feel I make progress on the cushion during formal meditation. My meditation is practice for the following day. To help me stay mindful.
Cultivating mindfulness on this clear spring morning. With the sound of birdsong and the babbling brook, the guardians on my sense doors are far from busy. I feel the gardener in my mind, watching my thoughts, tip his hat in acknowledgment to Mara and her unskilful friends, but call and welcome in the skillful to his home.
Andy Spragg is an experienced Tai Chi instructor with 16 years of teaching experience. Andy is the owner of Re-Vitalise, a company specializing in weekend breaks and retreats in Tai Chi and meditation. These are full board retreats held in tranquil locations throughout the UK.
Andy is a Buddhist and focuses on the synergy between Tai Chi and Buddhist meditation in his teaching.
No comments:
Post a Comment