What if we could tune our body and mind, like a fine instrument, to peacefulness? What if we could be calm, relaxed and peaceful all the time? In this episode we return to a simple, effective mindfulness practice to de-stress. We also try to strengthen our motivation to become a peaceful person beyond ourselves alone. 

Mindfulness Practice to De-stress 

1. Aspire to become a calm and peaceful person, even in challenging situations.
2. Try to be mindful of whether you’re feeling calm and when you start to become tense.
3. Calm yourself. When you start to feel tension or stress, turn toward calming yourself—rather than doing anything to affect the situation. This is vital.
4. When you notice tension and stress, start breathing deeply from the diaphragm, feeling your stomach expand. Or, if possible, close your eyes and begin a brief breathing meditation (see below). 
5. Breathe deeply and say to yourself “calm” “relaxed”. Try to tune your body to these feelings...calm...relaxed. 
6. Continue this Diaphragmatic breathing or a breathing meditation until you feel relaxed. This might take only a minute or it might take much longer.
7. Remember the world is empty and dreamlike.
8. Put a little smile on your face. Try to have fun and find joy in things.
9. Keep trying this mindfulness practice and calming technique whenever you need it. You’ll get better at with practice, and eventually you will be able to tame your mind and be calm all day. 

Relaxing Meditation 

If you find yourself getting stressed—and have time and space for a five minute meditation—this can help you reset your state to calm and relaxed. 

1. Close your eyes.
2. Check that you have a nice straight back.
3. Breathe through nostrils.
4. You can put your hands in the mudra of meditative equipoise. Place your hands in your lap, the right hand resting in the left, and the thumbs gently touching forming a bridge. 
5. Breathe deeply from your diaphragm.
6. Count, starting at one, as you breathe in. 1….2….3….4….5
7. Count as you exhale, but exhale more slowly as your breathe out. 1….2….3….4….5….6…..7….8…..9….10
8. You can meditate for only as long as it takes your body and mind to enter a more peaceful state. 
9. When you arise from your meditation, look at your experiences as a projection of your mind, like a dream. 
10. Try to stay peaceful. Relax. Enjoy.

Hunger is the foremost illness; 

Saṇkhāras the foremost suffering. 

For one who knows this as it really is, 

Nirvana is the foremost happiness. (203)*

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 54.

This is the third of a series to help us with problems, anxiety and fear during these difficult times caused by the Covid 19 pandemic. We can transform our activities into a deeply spiritual practice by having the compassionate intention to alleviate the suffering of others. Simply by remembering that we are staying at home out of compassion for those who might become ill, our same actions have the function of compassion, which has five effects:

• It purifies our bad karma 
• Creates good karma
• Makes our mind strong and resilient
• Lessons problems between people
• Creates the cause of enlightenment 

“In every life situation, you need compassion. When you live with your family, you need compassion. Without compassion, your family life is full of problems and suffering.” —Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche

References

Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. (August, 1997). Practicing the Good Heart [oral teaching]. Retrieved from https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/chapter-five-practicing-good-heart

Parsons, S. (March 31, 2020). China’s Divorce Spike Is a Warning to Rest of Locked-Down World. Bloomberg [online article]. Retrieved from 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-31/divorces-spike-in-china-after-coronavirus-quarantines

By being present we actually experience life. It is only in this moment that we live. Being present can help us enjoy the gift that is this day, this hour, this sunset, this connection. By the simple practice of reminding yourself to “be present,” we can bring ourselves back into the moment and free be from worrying about the future or dwelling on the past. This episode is the second in a series to help people through the challenges caused by the Coronaviris, such anxiety, worry and isolation.

Do not pursue the past.

Do not lose yourself in the future. 

The past no longer is.

The future has not yet come. 

Looking deeply at life as it is

In the very here and now,

The practitioner dwells

In stability and freedom.

—Buddha, Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone

“The miracle of mindfulness is, first of all, that you are here. Being truly here is very important—being here for yourself, and for the one you love. How can you love if you are not here? A fundamental condition for love is your own presence. In order to love, you must be here. That is certain.”--Thich Nhat Hann 

“Fortunately, being here is not a difficult thing to accomplish. It is enough to breathe and let go of thinking or planning. Just come back to yourself, concentrate on your breath, and smile. You are here, body and mind together. You are here, alive, completely alive. That is a miracle.”--Thich Nhat Hann 

References

Buddha. Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone. Beginners Mind Sangha [website PDF]. Retrieved from 

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56cf7b141bbee0d2dcf8f7a1/t/5729213b9f72666203df42cd/1462313276936/Sutra+on+Knowing+the+Better+Way+to+Live+Alone.pdf

Thich Nhat Hanh. You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment, 2010. 

This episode is about a very old Buddhist practice called ‘transforming adversity into the spiritual path’ and is intended to give quick relief and peace in these challenging times. Our world has changed so much since the arising of the coronavirus pandemic. We can transform our personal struggles and anxiety into the spiritual path by cherishing others. This will bring us inner calm, happiness and solve tension between people.

This practice involves cherishing others in three ways:

1. Making ourselves calm and relaxed for the benefit of others. Practice the relaxing breathing meditation (see instructions below).
2. Being mindful of our actions in order to protect those who are at-risk of great suffering from Covid-19.
3. Cherishing those we are spending most of our time with. In Buddhism love is a verb. We cherish others by behaving in ways and doing things to make them happy or peaceful.

A Simple Breathing Meditation to Relax your Body and Mind

1. Straighten your back comfortably. Rest your hands in the lap. Close your eyes.
2. Breathe deeply from the diaphragm, feeling your stomach expand.
3. Breathe out more slowly than you breathe in. 
4. Count during your inhalation, starting at one.
5. Count during your exhalation, also beginning at one and making sure your count is longer during the breath out. This way of breathing has a physiological effect of calming the body.
6. Continue this breathing meditation until you feel peaceful in your body and mind. 
7. Breath, enjoy and abide in this peacefulness. More experienced meditators can do this meditation for an extended period. Do it as long as you enjoy it.
8. At the end of your meditation, breathe out slowly and say inwardly to yourself “calm” “relaxed”. Try to tune your body to these feelings...calm...relaxed. 
9. Put a little smile on your face. Try to find joy in things.

Whenever you start feeling stressed, you can do this breathing meditation with your eyes open during your daily activities. Do it until you feel relaxed. This might take only a minute or it may take longer. You’ll get better at this calming technique with practice. With enough practice, eventually you can tame your mind and be calm all day. Ideally, meditate every morning to set the tone of your day to one of peace and calm.    

References and Links

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 2. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pp 173-175.

Attachment is defined as a mental affliction, which is a habit that robs causes us suffering. Attachment arises like this:

We encounter something pleasant + inappropriate attention/exaggerating its good qualities = attachment arises (the feeling we can not be happy without it)

Sometimes we are attached to people being different than they are, to being right, drugs, alcohol, or unhealthy food. In all these cases, it is not the person or object that makes us unhappy, but our attachment that causes us to suffer.

What attachment is not:

Letting go of attachment does not mean that we don’t own things, but that those things don’t own us. 

Letting go of attachment doesn’t mean that we don’t have love others, but that we love them without attachment. 

Longing gives rise to grief; 

Longing gives rise to fear. 

For someone released from longing 

There is no grief; 

And from where would come fear? (212) 

Affection gives rise to grief; 

Affection gives rise to fear. 

For someone released from affection 

There is no grief; 

And from where would come fear? (213) 

Infatuation gives rise to grief; 

Infatuation gives rise to fear. 

For someone released from infatuation

There is no grief; And from where would come fear? (214) 

Sensual craving gives rise to grief; 

Sensual craving gives rise to fear. 

For someone released from sensual craving There is no grief; 

And from where would come fear? (215) 

Craving gives rise to grief; 

Craving gives rise to fear. 

For someone released from craving 

There is no grief; 

And from where would come fear?

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 56-57

It is so easy to get entangled with the pressures of work, family dramas, relationship issues etc. The body and mind are finely tuned to handle acute stress, but not the prolonged, daily stress we experience from these emotional entanglements. How then do we follow the Buddha’s advice, “Don’t get entangled with what you long for or dislike”? In this episode, we explore how we turn situations and people into things we long for or dislike. We can engage in a mindfulness practice to stop ourselves from getting stressed, angry or attached by reminding ourselves: “Don’t get entangled. It is empty.”

Don’t get entangled 

With what you long for or dislike.

Not seeing what you long for is suffering;

So also is seeing what you dislike. (210)* 

Therefore, do not turn anything 

Into something longed for, 

For then it’s dreadful to lose. 

Without longing or dislike, 

No bonds exist.

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 56.

The ancient meditation known as the ‘the magical practice of taking and giving’ is a profound method to:

• transform our suffering into a tool to help others
• purify our negative karma
• make our mind strong and resilient 
• develop universal compassion
• eventually attain enlightenment

In this episode, we learn how to do this practice formally, seated, as well as in daily life. This practice can be done with our eyes open, whenever we see someone suffering. It can help us make our own suffering meaningful and easier to bear, and even purify the karmic causes of it. 

Practicing what one shouldn’t, 

Not practicing what one should, 

Having abandoned the goal, 

Clinging to what is dear, 

One comes to envy those who practice. (209)*

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 56.

This episode is devoted to the meditation of loving-kindness, a profound method to develop love for all living beings. It creates immeasurable good karma, diminishes ill will toward others and creates the cause of our own enlightenment. Scientific research has also been done on the results of people practicing this meditation. 

Research indicates these benefits:

1. Increases positive emotions. One study showed that seven weeks of practicing the loving-kindness meditation increased multiple positive emotions including love, joy, contentment, gratitude, pride, hope, interest, amusement, and awe.
2. Quiets your inner critic
3. Strengthens capacity for empathy
4. Decreases migraines
5. Increases compassion 
6. Slows the aging process. In another eye-opening study researchers found that women with experience in loving-kindness meditation had relatively longer telomere length (a biological marker of aging) when compared to age-matched controls.

Loving-kindness Prayer Within the Meditation 

May you be happy

May you be well

May your body and mind be at ease

May all good fortune and successes in life come to you

May you be healthy

May you have all the wealth you need

May your happiness increase day by day 

May you never know a day of sadness

May you experience the supreme happiness of enlightenment. 

Verse 206-208 of The Dhammapada

It’s good to see the noble ones; 

Their company is always a delight. 

Free from the sight of fools,

One would constantly be happy.

One who keeps company with fools

Will grieve for a long, long time. 

Living with fools is painful,

As is living with foes.

Living with the wise is delightful,

Like relatives gathered together.

Therefore:

You should always follow a good, intelligent person

Who is wise, insightful, learned,

Committed to virtue, dutiful and noble, 

As the moon follows the path of the stars. (208)

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

References

Abrahmson, L. 6 Amazing Benefits of Loving Kindness Meditation Backed by Science. Lifehack (blog post). Retrieved from https://www.lifehack.org/361244/6-amazing-benefits-loving-kindness-meditation-backed-science

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 54-55.

To bring more joy and lessen the stress in our lives, we can turn to the practice of kindfulness. Mindfulness, the conscious awareness of our thoughts and intentions, tuned into ways to be kind to others is ‘kindfulness.’ First coined by the monk Ajahn Brahm, kindfulness is a gentle way to more align our life with the law of karma. According to the law of karma, every act of kindness creates the cause for our own future happiness. Being kind usually makes us feel pretty good in the moment too! 

Research also indicates that kindness has many good effects on our heath and even slows the aging process! Dr David Hamilton, author of The Five Side-Effects Of Kindness, says, “Being kind generates the “kindness” hormone oxytocin, which also happens to be a major cardiovascular hormone. It keeps the arteries clear and lowers blood pressure by reducing levels of harmful free radicals and inflammation, which cause disease. These are also the main culprits for causing ageing to our cells, so you could also say that kindness slows the ageing process.”

Tasting the flavor 

Of solitude and peace,

One becomes free of distress and evil,

Drinking the flavor of Dharma joy. (Verse 205)

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 54.

Carlyle, R. (2018, May 20). Kindfulness: It’s the new twist on mindfulness — being consciously kind to others. The best thing? It’s good for you, too. Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5750811/Kindfulness-new-twist-mindfulness-consciously-kind-others.html