THE FOUNDATION of BUDDHIST THOUGHT

The Environment and The Posture

The Environment

It is good to have a place in your home for your practice which is clean and tidy. I know that some of you cannot have a very spacious, relaxed room but wherever the place, however small, make it tidy and clean, somewhere where your mind feels relaxed. That is the first step.

How can we make our room tidy? I know I have a problem with this! How can we do it in such a way that it is not just an ordinary action? In Buddhism there is a strong tradition taught by many great masters to see cleaning things (such as our room, our dishes, our environment) as cleaning our delusions, cleaning our minds. Although physically we are cleaning objects, it is very useful to think, "I am cleaning this external dirt but at the same time I am cleaning my mind which is full of attachment, anger, jealousy."

It is particularly helpful when we are experiencing a specifically unhealthy emotion such as attachment or anger. While we are suffering strong attachment we can think "At the same time as I am cleaning away this dirt I am cleaning away this attachment which is causing me such pain. In the same way as the dust is making these objects dirty similarly my attachment is making me unhappy and internally ugly. Therefore I am cleaning my mind at the same time". There are many stories of practitioners whose entire practice is cleaning the rooms of the Sangha and who have achieved amazing results doing it. In this way you can transform these mundane activities into purifying activities. Purification is not only about reciting mantras - if we constantly think that this attachment, this anger, this jealousy is something that needs to be cleaned away in this way, all these activities can be a process of purification.

Secondly - and again this is not compulsory - if you are a committed Buddhist and as long as your partner or family have no objection, it is good to have some sort of representative of the Buddha: an image or a photo. Again, it is very helpful to our mind. Sometimes when I visit museums and I look at abstract art, because I am not good at interpreting these things and do not know the significance of this art, I wonder what sort of impression this art will leave on my mind. I have no doubt, however, that if I look at an image of a Buddha my mind will immediately be drawn back. Even if a few moments ago my mind was everywhere as soon as I see this image my mind is drawn back. Just saying the word "Buddha", as a Buddhist can have an amazing effect to awaken the mind.

I know that some of you have difficulties because your partners or friends are not involved in Buddhist practice and having an image could cause problems. But if you do not have those problems then even if it is in your bedroom you can have a small Buddha image. It will help. Our sight is very powerful. What we see during the day can very often influence our dreams at night. Therefore what we see during the day does leave imprints on our minds. If that is the case then seeing a Buddha's image on a daily basis is amazing. Also having an image of the Buddha in front of us when we meditate is good, even though the main point is our mind. The purpose is to make our mind more positive and less negative, and different things will help us do that. It can be very helpful to have an image. Particularly for those who feel lonely in their homes I think having Buddha's image will help - something is there with you. If your mind says this is the Buddha's image, an image of a fully enlightened person, then I think this can help combat loneliness.

If you are a beginner just one Buddha image - a small nice painting or postcard - is enough. Sometimes having a big collection is an obstacle, you have more attachment instead of reducing it! You do not need more than that because one image can represent all of the Buddha's qualities. It is not wrong to have lots, but if you do have lots already it is good to arrange them nicely and tidily. And however much you have you should place the Buddha image at the centre. Whatever else you have right at the centre put the Buddha's image - the historical Buddha. He is the founder of these teachings and the entire focus should be on him.

Thirdly, if you can and again this is optional, have a small offering. Some flowers or fruit or something you feel to make a gift. Not necessarily elaborate or traditional but something that you feel is an offering, that from the bottom of your heart you want to offer to that representative. It is not decoration - offering is different from decoration.

If you buy delicious cake then after the offering obviously the Buddha image cannot eat it so you should eat it yourself! The first thing is that when you buy it you should not think "I will offer that and then I will eat it!" But you should buy it with the full intention that you want to make an offering, but at the end of the day you can take it and have it.

The Posture

You will need a cushion to sit on. It does not necessarily have to be a traditional meditation cushion - it could be a pillow from the bed. Ideally it shouldn't be too soft, it should be a little bit hard. A chair is also okay, but not something comfortable like a sofa because after a few minutes you will fall asleep!

Your clothes should be loose and light, loose to help with the breathing and with sitting cross-legged and light so you don't feel too heavy. Monk's and nun's clothes are very convenient as you can adjust them very easily. The point is not to wear clothes which are too hot as it immediately makes your mind dull and the more you take your mind into meditation the more your body will warm up. If you meditate on a daily basis then your clothes are important.

Sit as comfortably as possible with crossed legs but the most important thing is your back being straight and feeling relaxed within the posture. Your entire body should be relaxed but there needs to be a straightness to your back, although the muscles should always be relaxed. This is very important when you are doing meditation. Particularly as a beginner spend a couple of months concentrating on just getting that body posture right. Try to make yourself feel comfortable and this process will help your mind. In the long term it will help if you spend months trying to get this right.

Now lets look at A 45-Minute Session