Every day, we are in the midst of miracles, miracles that we don't even recognize: blue skies, white clouds, green grass, the dark, curious eyes of our children—our own eyes, too. All of this is a miracle.
32 mindfulness exercises, quoted from Chapter 8 of The Miracle of Mindfulness:
First of all, we set a mindfulness goal for the first time: to read this article without distractions.
Second goal: Do at least one of the following 32 mindfulness exercises every day in the future.
1. When you wake up in the morning, smile gently
Hang a tree branch or other sign on the ceiling or wall, or even the word "laugh", so you can see it as soon as you open your eyes. This sign serves as a reminder.
Take advantage of the moments before you get up to take your breath and gently inhale and exhale three breaths while smiling softly and following your breath.
2. At your leisure, smile softly
No matter where you sit or stand, remember to smile gently.
Look at a child, a leaf, a painting on a wall, or any other relatively still life and keep smiling.
Inhale and exhale three times quietly. Smile softly and see where you are focused as your true self.
3. Smile softly when listening to music
Listen to a piece of music for two or three minutes.
Focus on lyrics, tunes, melodies, and musical contexts.
Pay attention to your breath and smile gently.
4. When you're angry, smile softly
When you realize you're angry, smile softly.
Breathe in and out three times quietly, keeping a smile.
5. Lie flat and relax your whole body
Lie flat on your back and don't use cushions or pillows for support.
Relax your arms and lay them flat at your sides, with your feet slightly spread outward.
Smile softly.
Gently inhale and exhale. Focus on your breathing.
Relaxes muscles throughout the body. Relax every inch of your muscles as if it were about to sink into the ground, or as smooth as a piece of silk hanging in the breeze.
Relax completely, just focus on your breath and smile.
Think of yourself as a cat, lying limp in front of the warm fire. When the cat's muscles are relaxed, it will not resist anyone's touch.
Breathe fifteen times continuously.
6. Sit and relax
Sit on your knees or half-knee, cross your legs (Indian sitting), kneel (Japanese sitting), or even put your feet on the ground in a chair.
Smile softly.
Inhale and exhale, and keep smiling.
Just relax.
7. Take a deep breath
Lie flat on your back.
Breathe smoothly and gently, focusing on the ups and downs of your stomach.
When you start to inhale, let your abdomen bulge so that air can be carried into your lower lungs.
When the upper lungs begin to fill with air, your ribcage will begin to bulge.
The abdomen will shrink.
Don't let yourself get tired.
Continue to practice breathing ten times like this.
In general, the exhalation will take longer than the inhalation.
8. Measure your breath with your steps
Take a leisurely stroll in the garden, along the river or on a country path.
Breathe as you normally would. Use your steps to measure the length of your breath – the time it takes to exhale and inhale.
After continuing like this for a few minutes, start taking most steps to lengthen your breathing, trying to lengthen your breathing time.
Don't force yourself to stretch the inhale, just be natural. Observe carefully to see if you want to deliberately lengthen the inhale.
Continue to breathe ten times like this.
Now, take one more step to lengthen the exhale.
Pay attention to whether the inhale is also elongated by taking an extra step, and only elongate the inhale if you feel that the elongation will bring joy.
Breathe like this twenty times and then resume your normal breathing. After five minutes, you can start the exercise of lengthening your breathing again. When I feel a little tired, I resume my normal breathing.
After repeating several exercises to lengthen the breath, the exhalation and inhalation times will gradually become equal.
Don't practice for too long, just practice breathing for an equal amount of ten to twenty times.
Then I went back to my normal breathing.
9. Count your breaths
Sit on your knees or half-knee, or take a walk.
As you inhale, be mindful: I'm inhaling, one.
As you exhale, be mindful as well: I'm exhaling, one.
Remember to breathe from your abdomen.
When you start your second inhale, be mindful: I'm inhaling, two.
Then exhale slowly, also mindfully: I'm exhaling, two. Count like this all the way up to ten, and then count from the beginning. If you make a mistake or forget to count, go back to one and start over.
10. When listening to music, follow your breathing.
Listen to a piece of music.
Breathe deeply, softly, steadily.
Follow your breath, but be the master of it, while being aware of the melody and context of the music.
Don't get lost in the music, keep being your breath and your own master.
11. When talking, follow your breathing
Breathe deeply, softly, steadily.
Follow your breath as you listen to your friends and your own answers.
Keep practicing just like you would when listening to music.
12. Follow your breathing
Sit on your knees or half-knee, or take a walk.
Inhale gently and normally from the abdomen, and be mindful: I am inhaling as I normally would.
When I exhale, I am also mindful: I am exhaling as I normally would. Continue to breathe three times like this.
On the fourth breath, elongate the inhale, and remain mindful: I am inhaling deeply; Exhale mindfully: I'm exhaling deeply. Continue to breathe three times.
Now, follow your breath attentively, being aware of every movement in your abdomen and lungs.
Follow the breath in and out. Be mindful: I'm inhaling and following my inhale throughout. I'm exhaling and following my exhalation throughout.
Continue to breathe twenty times like this. Go back to your normal breath.
After five minutes, repeat the exercise.
Remember to smile as you breathe.
Once you can master this exercise, you can move on to the next one.
13. Use your breath to calm your body and mind to know joy
Sit on your knees or sit on your knees.
Smile softly.
Follow your breath.
When your body and mind are quiet, continue to breathe very gently and be mindful: I'm inhaling to make the whole breath light and peaceful. I'm exhaling, letting the whole breath light and peaceful.
Breathing three times like this gives rise to the thought in mindfulness that I am inhaling and that my body and mind are calm and joyful. I was exhaling, my body and mind were calm and joyful.
Continuing this thought in mindfulness for five to ten minutes, or an hour, is fine: it depends on your condition and how much time you have. Start and end the exercise with relaxation and gentleness.
If you want to stop, gently massage the muscles in your eyes, cheeks and legs with both hands before returning to your normal sitting position.
Wait a moment and then stand up again.
14. Be mindful of your body's posture
This method can be practiced anytime, anywhere.
Focus on your breath first, breathing quieter and deeper than usual.
Whether you're walking, standing, lying or sitting, be mindful of your body's posture.
To know where you are walking; Know where you stand; know where to lie down; Know where to sit.
Be mindful of why your body is in this position.
From a distance, be aware that you are standing on a hill to rejuvenate yourself, or to practice breathing, or just to stand.
If you don't have any purpose, be aware that you don't have any purpose.
15. When making tea, be mindful
Prepare a pot of tea for guests, or brew it for yourself.
In mindfulness, perform each movement slowly.
Don't lose your mindfulness and let any of the slightest movements slip through, and your heart will be clear.
Knowing that your hand is gripping the handle of the teapot, lift the teapot.
Tell you to pour the fragrant and warm tea into the cup.
Every step is done in mindfulness.
Breathe softer and deeper than usual.
If your mind is scattered, watch your breathing first.
16. Wash the dishes in mindfulness
Wash the dishes with ease, as if each bowl is the object of your gaze.
Think of each bowl as sacred.
Follow your breath and avoid getting distracted.
Don't try to finish this work quickly.
Make washing dishes the most important thing in your life.
Washing dishes is meditation.
If you can't wash the dishes in mindfulness, then you can't meditate in meditation either.
17. Do your laundry in mindfulness
Don't do too much laundry at once.
Just pick out three or four pieces of clothing to wash.
Stand or sit in the most comfortable position to avoid back pain.
Relax and scrub your clothes.
Pay attention to every movement you make with your hands and arms, and pay attention to soap and water.
When you've scrubbed your clothes, your body and mind should feel as clean and fresh as your clothes.
Remember! As long as your mind is scattered, keep smiling and watching your breath.
18. Concentrate on cleaning the house
Divide the work into several steps:
Clean things up
Organize your books
Scrub the toilet
Scrub the bathroom
Sweep the floor
Remove the dust
Allocate plenty of time for each task.
Move slowly, three times slower than usual.
Concentrate on every job.
For example, when arranging a book on a shelf, look at the book and become aware of which book it is and where you are going to put it.
I realized that I was reaching for the book and removing it.
Avoid any sudden or rude movements.
Be mindful of your breathing, especially when your mind is distracted.
19. Take a shower in slow motion
Give yourself a thirty to forty-five minute shower.
Don't rush for a second.
From preparing hot water at the beginning to putting on clean clothes at the end, keep every movement gentle.
Pay attention to every action. Focus on each part of your body, don't make a difference, and don't be afraid.
Be mindful of every stream of water in your body.
When you are done, your heart should be as light and peaceful as your body.
Follow your breath.
Imagine yourself in a lotus pond with a clean and fragrant summer day.
20. Imagine yourself as a pebble
As you sit quietly and breathe slowly, imagine yourself as a pebble that will sink into a clear river.
As you sink, you don't have any purpose to guide your movements, sinking towards the complete resting place of the soft sand of the riverbed.
Continue to meditate on the pebbles until your body and mind are completely rested, like the pebbles resting on the sand.
Maintain this calm, joy for half an hour while paying attention to your breathing.
No thoughts about the past or the future can take you away from the peace and joy of the present.
The universe exists in the present.
No desire can pull you away from the joy of the moment, not even the great wish to become a Buddha or to save sentient beings. Realize that whether you want to become a Buddha or save sentient beings, you have to base yourself on the pure serenity of the present moment in order to achieve it.
21. Day of mindfulness and be your own master
Take a day out of the week and take any day out of it, as long as it suits your situation.
Forget about the work you have to do on other days, don't arrange any gatherings, or host any friends to visit.
Just do simple tasks such as cleaning the house, cooking, doing laundry, and dusting.
Once the house is neat and clean and everything is in place, take a shower in slow motion.
After that, prepare to make tea and drink tea.
You might read the scriptures or write to a close friend.
Then, take a walk to practice breathing.
When reading the Bible or writing letters, be mindful and don't let the scriptures or letters draw your heart elsewhere.
When you read the Bible, you need to know what you're reading, and when you write a letter, you need to know what you're writing.
Follow the same steps as you would do when listening to music or chatting with friends.
Prepare yourself a light meal in the evening, perhaps just a little fruit or a glass of juice.
Sit quietly for another hour before going to bed at night.
On this day, there are two walks of half an hour to forty-five minutes each.
Don't read any more books before bed, but practice complete relaxation for five to ten minutes.
Be the master of your breath.
Close your eyes, breathe softly (but not too long) and follow the ups and downs of your abdomen and chest.
Every movement on this day should be at least twice as slow as usual.
22. Contemplate your own aggregates
Find a photo of you when you're young.
Sit on your knees or sit on your knees.
Begin to follow your breathing.
After twenty breaths, start focusing on the picture in front of you.
Recall and experience the five aggregates that made up you at that time when this photograph was taken: physical characteristics (color), sensation (receptivity), perception (thinking), mental function (action), and consciousness (awareness).
Continue to follow your breathing.
Don't let memories take you away or sweep you away.
Meditate like this for fifteen minutes.
Keep smiling. Then transfer mindfulness to yourself in the present moment.
Be aware of your body, your feelings, your perceptions, your mind functions and your consciousness at the moment, and look at the aggregates that make up you.
Ask yourself: Who am I? Planting this question deep in your heart is like burying a new seed deep in the soft soil and watering it.
Who am I? This question should not be treated as an abstract question to be pondered with inferential thinking.
Who am I? This question cannot be answered by rational thinking, but can only be faced with the whole aggregates.
Don't try to find a rational answer.
Observe for ten minutes, taking long, gentle, deep breaths to avoid being carried away by philosophical reflections.
23. Look at yourself and the universe
Sitting alone in a dark room, or alone at night on the bank of a river, or anywhere you can be alone.
Begin to be aware of your breathing.
When this comes to mind, I will point my finger at myself and then point in the opposite direction, not at my body.
Illuminate yourself and exist outside of your body.
Shine on your body right in front of you—among the trees, in the grass, in the leaves, in the river.
Be aware that you are in the universe and the universe is in you, and if the universe exists, you exist, and if you exist, the universe exists.
There is neither life nor death, neither coming nor going.
Smile softly.
Watch your breathing.
Observe for 10 to 20 minutes.
24. Look at your own bones
Lie in a position you feel comfortable in bed, on a mat or on the grass, without using a pillow.
Begin to follow your breathing.
Imagine that all you have left is a white skeleton lying on the ground.
Smile softly and continue to follow your breathing.
Imagine that all your muscles are rotting and dissipating, and that only your bones are lying on the ground, and imagine that your bones have been buried in the ground for eighty years.
Look closely at your skull, vertebrae, ribs, hips, legs, arms, and fingers.
Keep smiling, breathe very gently, and your heart and mind are clear and peaceful.
You will understand that the skeleton is not you, and your body is not you.
You are one with other beings, immortal in the woods and meadows, in other people, among birds and beasts. In the air, and between the waves.
Bones are just a part of you, you are everywhere, all the time. You are not only the color body, but also the receiving, thinking, acting and knowing.
Continue to observe for 20 to 30 minutes.
25. Find who you were before you were born
Sit on your knees or half your knees and follow your breathing.
Focus on the beginning of your life, A.
Know that that is also the beginning of your death.
Realizing that your life and death exist at the same time shows that this exists because there is the other. If he didn't exist, he wouldn't be there.
The realization that the existence of life and death is interdependent: one is the basis of the other.
Realize that you are both your life and your death at the same time, and that the two are not hostile, but two sides of the same reality.
Then, focus on the end point of this double show, B, which is always mistakenly referred to as "death".
Realize that it is the end of the manifestation of your life and the end of the manifestation of your death.
There is no difference between before A and after B.
Find who you are before A and after B.
26. Contemplate a loved one who has passed away
Sit in a chair or lie on the bed in a position that you feel comfortable in.
Begin to follow your breathing.
Observe a loved one who has passed away, whether it is months or years old.
It was clear that the muscles and muscles of his body had begun to decay, and only a skeleton was left lying quietly on the ground.
Clearly realize that your own muscles and muscles are still here, still in your body, and there is still the aggregation of the aggregates of color, receiving, thinking, acting, and knowing.
Think about your past and present interactions with this person. Smile softly and breathe freely.
Observe like this for fifteen minutes.
27. Realize that the five aggregates are empty
Sit on your knees or sit on your knees.
Start adjusting your breathing.
Contemplate the emptiness of the aggregates (color, receiving, thinking, acting, and knowing) and in combination.
Thinking about each of the aggregates one by one, you have to realize that everything is changing, both impermanence and selflessness.
The harmony of the aggregates, like the aggregation of all phenomena, follows the law of interdependence.
Their aggregation and dissociation are like the gathering and dissipation of clouds and mist on the top of a mountain, and they should neither cling to nor deny the aggregates.
To be aware, likes and dislikes are phenomena that belong to the harmony of the aggregates.
It is clear that the aggregates are empty and selfless, but they are all wonderful and extraordinary beings, as wonderful as all the phenomena in the universe or the beings that exist anywhere.
Try to understand that the aggregates don't really experience birth and death, because they are the ultimate reality in themselves.
With this contemplation, try to realize that impermanence is a concept, selflessness is a concept, and emptiness is a concept, and you will not be imprisoned by the concepts of impermanence, selflessness, and emptiness.
You will see that emptiness is also empty, and that there is no difference between the ultimate reality of emptiness and the ultimate reality of the aggregates.
A practitioner must thoroughly practice the first five exercises before they can do this practice. The practice time depends on the individual and can be an hour or two hours.
28. Look at the person you hate the most
Sit quietly.
Breathe and smile softly.
Look at the image of the person who makes you suffer the most, and visualize the qualities he makes you hate the most, despise the most, or disgust the most.
Try to examine the person's daily life, what makes him happy and what torments him.
Look at the person's "thoughts": Try to see through the person's mode of thinking and reasoning.
Examine the person's motivation for hope and action.
Finally, think about the person's consciousness.
See if his views and perceptions are open and free, and if they are influenced by any prejudice, narrow-mindedness, hatred, or anger.
See if he is his own master.
And so on until you feel compassion rise in your heart like a well full of fresh water, and your anger and resentment have dissipated.
Do this exercise over and over again for the same people.
29. Look at the suffering of others and generate compassion
Sit on your knees or sit on your knees.
Begin to follow your breathing.
Choose a person who suffers the most, or a family that suffers the most, or a community that suffers the most, as the subject of your observation.
When looking at the individual, try to see all the suffering that the person is experiencing. It begins with the suffering of the body (sickness, poverty, physical pain).
Ideally, start thinking about the pain caused by "suffering" (inner conflicts, fear, hatred, jealousy, and guilt).
Then, look at the pain caused by "thinking" (the problem of pessimism, thinking in a gloomy and narrow-minded mind).
See if his actions are driven by fear, disappointment, despair, or hatred. See if his consciousness is closed because of his situation, his troubles, the people around him, his education, propaganda, or lack of self-control.
Meditate on these sufferings until your heart develops compassion like a clear spring, until you realize that person is suffering because of circumstances and stupidity.
You decide to help that person out of their current predicament in the quietest and most humble way possible.
The same approach is followed when the family is the subject of meditation. Look at all the pain of one person, then look at the other person, until you look at the pain of the whole family.
Realize that their pain is your own, that you cannot condemn any one of them, and that you must help them to free themselves from their present predicament in the quietest and most humble way possible.
When taking community as the subject of meditation, we can take as an example the situation of a country that is suffering from wars or other injustices or injustices.
Try to realize that everyone involved in this struggle is a victim, and that no one wants the pain to continue, including those parties that are fighting each other, or two factions that seem to be quite opposed.
Enlightenment is not just one person or a few people to be condemned for this situation.
The realization of this situation exists because of the attachment to ideology, to the unjust world economic system, and the whole system stands because of the stupidity of each individual and the lack of determination to change it.
Realize that the two sides of the conflict are not really opposites, but only two sides of the same reality.
Seeing that the most important thing is life, killing each other and oppressing each other will not solve anything.
Remember the words of the Vimala Sutra:
There are sword soldiers in the robbery,
Be merciful for it.
Transform all beings,
There is no contention for the order.
If there is a great battle array,
Equal force.
The Bodhisattva shows his might,
Submission makes peace.
Continue to meditate until all blame and hatred are gone, until compassion and love arise in your heart like a clear spring. Vow to work for awareness and reconciliation in the quietest and most humble way possible.
30. Work in the spirit of not dwelling and walking
Sit on your knees or sit on your knees.
Follow your breath.
Take a village development plan or whatever you think is important and use it as the subject of your observation. Examine the purpose of the project, the methods to be used, and the people associated with it. First, consider the purpose of the program.
Realize that this work is about service, about alleviating the suffering of others, about generating compassion, not about satisfying the desire to be praised or recognized.
Then, realize that the method used in this plan is to encourage cooperation between people, and not to see it as an act of charity. Finally, think about the people associated with this plan.
Are you still looking at this in terms of who is giving and who is benefiting? If you still make a distinction about who is the servant and who is the beneficiary, you are working for you and other servants, not for the sake of serving.
The Diamond Sutra says:
If it is the destruction of immeasurable and countless boundless sentient beings, there are no sentient beings who have attained extinction.
Determined to work in the spirit of "no dwelling and traveling".
31. Observe the achievements of life with the concept of dependent origination
Sit on your knees or sit on your knees.
Follow your breath.
Recall the major accomplishments in your life and review them one by one. Examine the talents, character, abilities, and other favorable conditions that will lead you to success.
You think that the main reason for your success is yourself, and you feel complacent and arrogant as a result.
Looking at this whole thing from the perspective of dependent arising, you can see that what you think is an achievement is not really your own, but a combination of causes and conditions that are beyond your control.
When you can give up on them, you are truly free and no longer bothered by them.
Recall the most painful setbacks of your life and examine them one by one. Examine your talents, character, abilities, and other disadvantages that have led to your defeat.
Look at the complex emotions that come out of your mind and look at the whole thing from a dependent perspective to realize that you are not frustrated because you are incompetent, but because you lack the favorable causes.
Realize that you can't afford to bear these setbacks, and that it's not your personal business to realize that you are in harmony with these setbacks.
When you realize this, you can be liberated from it. It is only when you can let go of them that you are truly free and free from them.
32. Not limited to the law of dependent arising, nor deviating from it.
Sit on your knees or sit on your knees.
Follow your breath.
An exercise that uses the concept of dependent arising: looking at yourself, at your bones, or at a loved one who has passed away.
Realize that everything is impermanent and that there is no eternal substance.
Realize that although things are impermanent and have no eternal entities, then they are wonderful.
When you're no longer bound by all the causal conditions, you're no longer bound by things that aren't causal conditions.
Look at the saints, although they are not limited to the teachings of dependent arising, they do not deviate from it: although they can discard this teachings like a pile of ashes, they can always dwell in it without being overwhelmed by it, like a boat on water.
Until you realize that an enlightened person will not be enslaved by the work of saving sentient beings, but he will never give up the work of saving sentient beings.