The Five Mindfulness Trainings are a way to practice the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path in daily life. The trainings aren’t commandments given by a god or authority figure; they’re ethical guidelines that reflect our own experience and insight. The trainings offer concrete ways of practice that deepen our understanding and help us see people, situations, and our environment more clearly. You don’t need to be a Buddhist or call yourself a Buddhist to live according to the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Many people from various religious traditions who have included the Five Mindfulness Trainings as part of their daily practice and code of personal conduct.
It is very helpful to have the support of a community that is practicing the trainings together. After enlightenment the first thing the Buddha did was to go out and search for elements of a Sangha, a spiritual community. Without a community, he couldn’t realize his intention to be a teacher. We each need a community like this to help us practice. We benefit from the collective energy of mindfulness, which is stronger than our own individual energy. Together, we help the seeds of mindfulness, concentration, and insight to grow.
The Five Mindfulness Trainings are called trainings because they are something to practice each day, not something we’re expected to do perfectly all the time. They are there to remind us of our aspiration and our commitment. Practicing them, we continue to learn and to deepen our practice and our understanding. Reading them periodically, once a month at least, will help us stay focused on the path toward well-being and ethical living. As with any training, it’s helpful to have concrete practices to train with. Each training is followed by some commentary and a companion practice. Since each training contains all the others, any one of these practices will strengthen the way you practice all of them.
In the Buddhist tradition in which I practice, people don’t just read the Five Mindfulness Trainings, they receive them from a teacher. People sometimes ask why we need to transmit the trainings in this way. It is enough to study and put them into practice for ourselves, but it’s easier when we’ve made a public commitment and received support from a whole community to practice the trainings. Every day, we encounter so many messages and stimuli that are in contrast to the trainings. When we have the energy of a whole community that has witnessed us make a commitment to the trainings, it’s easier to practice. We can draw on the strength of the collective consciousness.
Some people choose to focus on just one mindfulness training, such as Right Speech. It is perfectly good to pick just one training to focus on, because the one contains the all. Practicing Right Speech will lead us to practice Right Thinking, because sooner or later we shall say what we have been thinking. Practicing Right Thinking, we are also practicing the first mindfulness training on protecting life and respecting life. When we practice Right Speech deeply and we listen deeply and compassionately to someone, we feel we become one with them. We feel his or her suffering and we understand it. We see how his happiness and my happiness are not two separate things, and this is the second mindfulness training on True Happiness. Read the trainings with an awareness of your capacity and of what is possible. With one small commitment to mindfulness, you begin to water the seeds of transformation and joy.
THE FIRST MINDFULNESS TRAINING: REVERENCE FOR LIFE
Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating the insight of interbeing and compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, or in my way of life. Seeing that harmful actions arise from anger, fear, greed, and intolerance, which in turn come from dualistic and discriminative thinking, I will cultivate openness, nondiscrimination, and nonattachment to views in order to transform violence, fanaticism, and dogmatism in myself and in the world.
THE SECOND MINDFULNESS TRAINING: TRUE HAPPINESS
Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I am committed to practicing generosity in my thinking, speaking, and acting. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others; and I will share my time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need. I will practice looking deeply to see that the happiness and suffering of others are not separate from my own happiness and suffering; that true happiness is not possible without understanding and compassion; and that running after wealth, fame, power, and sensual pleasures can bring much suffering and despair. I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions, and that I can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy. I am committed to practicing Right Livelihood so that I can help reduce the suffering of living beings on Earth and reverse the process of global warming.
THE THIRD MINDFULNESS TRAINING: TRUE LOVE
Aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I am committed to cultivating responsibility and learning ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society. Knowing that sexual desire is not love, and that sexual activity motivated by craving always harms myself as well as others, I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without true love and a deep, long-term commitment made known to my family and friends. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct. Seeing that body and mind are one, I am committed to learning appropriate ways to take care of my sexual energy and to cultivating loving kindness, compassion, joy, and inclusiveness—which are the four basic elements of true love—for my greater happiness and the greater happiness of others. Practicing true love, we know that we will continue beautifully into the future.
THE FOURTH MINDFULNESS TRAINING: DEEP LISTENING AND LOVING SPEECH
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening in order to relieve suffering and to promote reconciliation and peace in myself and among other people, ethnic and religious groups, and nations. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am committed to speaking truthfully using words that inspire confidence, joy, and hope. When anger is manifesting in me, I am determined not to speak. I will practice mindful breathing and walking in order to recognize and to look deeply into my anger. I know that the roots of anger can be found in my wrong perceptions and lack of understanding of the suffering in myself and in the other person. I will speak and listen in a way that can help myself and the other person to transform suffering and see the way out of difficult situations. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to utter words that can cause division or discord. I will practice Right Diligence to nourish my capacity for understanding, love, joy, and inclusiveness, and gradually transform anger, violence, and fear that lie deep in my consciousness.
THE FIFTH MINDFULNESS TRAINING: NOURISHMENT AND HEALING
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I will practice looking deeply into how I consume the Four Kinds of Nutriments, namely edible foods, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness. I am determined not to gamble, or to use alcohol, drugs, or any other products which contain toxins, such as certain websites, electronic games, TV programs, films, magazines, books, and conversations. I will practice coming back to the present moment to be in touch with the refreshing, healing, and nourishing elements in me and around me, not letting regrets and sorrow drag me back into the past nor letting anxieties, fear, or craving pull me out of the present moment. I am determined not to try to cover up loneliness, anxiety, or other suffering by losing myself in consumption. I will contemplate interbeing and compassion; and that running after wealth, fame, power, and sensual pleasures can bring much suffering and despair. I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions, and that I can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy. I am committed to practising Right Livelihood so that I can help reduce the suffering of living beings on Earth.
It is very helpful to have the support of a community that is practicing the trainings together. After enlightenment the first thing the Buddha did was to go out and search for elements of a Sangha, a spiritual community. Without a community, he couldn’t realize his intention to be a teacher. We each need a community like this to help us practice. We benefit from the collective energy of mindfulness, which is stronger than our own individual energy. Together, we help the seeds of mindfulness, concentration, and insight to grow.
The Five Mindfulness Trainings are called trainings because they are something to practice each day, not something we’re expected to do perfectly all the time. They are there to remind us of our aspiration and our commitment. Practicing them, we continue to learn and to deepen our practice and our understanding. Reading them periodically, once a month at least, will help us stay focused on the path toward well-being and ethical living. As with any training, it’s helpful to have concrete practices to train with. Each training is followed by some commentary and a companion practice. Since each training contains all the others, any one of these practices will strengthen the way you practice all of them.
In the Buddhist tradition in which I practice, people don’t just read the Five Mindfulness Trainings, they receive them from a teacher. People sometimes ask why we need to transmit the trainings in this way. It is enough to study and put them into practice for ourselves, but it’s easier when we’ve made a public commitment and received support from a whole community to practice the trainings. Every day, we encounter so many messages and stimuli that are in contrast to the trainings. When we have the energy of a whole community that has witnessed us make a commitment to the trainings, it’s easier to practice. We can draw on the strength of the collective consciousness.
Some people choose to focus on just one mindfulness training, such as Right Speech. It is perfectly good to pick just one training to focus on, because the one contains the all. Practicing Right Speech will lead us to practice Right Thinking, because sooner or later we shall say what we have been thinking. Practicing Right Thinking, we are also practicing the first mindfulness training on protecting life and respecting life. When we practice Right Speech deeply and we listen deeply and compassionately to someone, we feel we become one with them. We feel his or her suffering and we understand it. We see how his happiness and my happiness are not two separate things, and this is the second mindfulness training on True Happiness. Read the trainings with an awareness of your capacity and of what is possible. With one small commitment to mindfulness, you begin to water the seeds of transformation and joy.
THE FIRST MINDFULNESS TRAINING: REVERENCE FOR LIFE
Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating the insight of interbeing and compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, or in my way of life. Seeing that harmful actions arise from anger, fear, greed, and intolerance, which in turn come from dualistic and discriminative thinking, I will cultivate openness, nondiscrimination, and nonattachment to views in order to transform violence, fanaticism, and dogmatism in myself and in the world.
THE SECOND MINDFULNESS TRAINING: TRUE HAPPINESS
Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I am committed to practicing generosity in my thinking, speaking, and acting. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others; and I will share my time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need. I will practice looking deeply to see that the happiness and suffering of others are not separate from my own happiness and suffering; that true happiness is not possible without understanding and compassion; and that running after wealth, fame, power, and sensual pleasures can bring much suffering and despair. I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions, and that I can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy. I am committed to practicing Right Livelihood so that I can help reduce the suffering of living beings on Earth and reverse the process of global warming.
THE THIRD MINDFULNESS TRAINING: TRUE LOVE
Aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I am committed to cultivating responsibility and learning ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society. Knowing that sexual desire is not love, and that sexual activity motivated by craving always harms myself as well as others, I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without true love and a deep, long-term commitment made known to my family and friends. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct. Seeing that body and mind are one, I am committed to learning appropriate ways to take care of my sexual energy and to cultivating loving kindness, compassion, joy, and inclusiveness—which are the four basic elements of true love—for my greater happiness and the greater happiness of others. Practicing true love, we know that we will continue beautifully into the future.
THE FOURTH MINDFULNESS TRAINING: DEEP LISTENING AND LOVING SPEECH
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening in order to relieve suffering and to promote reconciliation and peace in myself and among other people, ethnic and religious groups, and nations. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am committed to speaking truthfully using words that inspire confidence, joy, and hope. When anger is manifesting in me, I am determined not to speak. I will practice mindful breathing and walking in order to recognize and to look deeply into my anger. I know that the roots of anger can be found in my wrong perceptions and lack of understanding of the suffering in myself and in the other person. I will speak and listen in a way that can help myself and the other person to transform suffering and see the way out of difficult situations. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to utter words that can cause division or discord. I will practice Right Diligence to nourish my capacity for understanding, love, joy, and inclusiveness, and gradually transform anger, violence, and fear that lie deep in my consciousness.
THE FIFTH MINDFULNESS TRAINING: NOURISHMENT AND HEALING
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I will practice looking deeply into how I consume the Four Kinds of Nutriments, namely edible foods, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness. I am determined not to gamble, or to use alcohol, drugs, or any other products which contain toxins, such as certain websites, electronic games, TV programs, films, magazines, books, and conversations. I will practice coming back to the present moment to be in touch with the refreshing, healing, and nourishing elements in me and around me, not letting regrets and sorrow drag me back into the past nor letting anxieties, fear, or craving pull me out of the present moment. I am determined not to try to cover up loneliness, anxiety, or other suffering by losing myself in consumption. I will contemplate interbeing and compassion; and that running after wealth, fame, power, and sensual pleasures can bring much suffering and despair. I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions, and that I can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy. I am committed to practising Right Livelihood so that I can help reduce the suffering of living beings on Earth.
Comments
Post a Comment