Hi, I was talking with my teacher about an issue that I have with overeating. He said to contemplate the effects and consequences of what I eat. Think about what I really wanted. He said this was more important than simply trying to follow a rule because ego gets in the way, ego doesn't like to be told what to do.
My question is, how big a role does contemplation take in your practice?
A lot of what I seem to have been doing is to read and study things in order to grasp concepts, and meditate a lot...
But I seem to skip over contemplation, this also seems like an important step, a bridge between study and meditation.
Contemplation
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tellyontellyon
- Posts: 332
- Joined: Tue Dec 24, 2013 11:38 pm
Contemplation
"Be melting snow. Wash yourself of yourself."
- Rumi
- Rumi
Re: Contemplation
I like to contemplate something like this after I chant or meditate. I find that if I gently let a thought into my relaxed mind and just receive it and leave it there it tends to be in my periphery of my conscious instead of accepting it just intellectually which for me doesn't always stand to resist cravings. YMMV.
Re: Contemplation
Literally everyone who practices the vajrayana does this - or at least, they should be as it's step 1 of most curricula, outer preliminaries.
Re: Contemplation
I have discovered lately how important contemplation is after decades of putting very little emphasis on it. If you actually spend 100 hours on for example the four mind changing's it will have a big effect on your practice. These days I do my contemplation on the pillow before the actually meditation and recitation.tellyontellyon wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2019 10:14 am My question is, how big a role does contemplation take in your practice?
/magnus
"We are all here to help each other go through this thing, whatever it is."
~Kurt Vonnegut
"The principal practice is Guruyoga. But we need to understand that any secondary practice combined with Guruyoga becomes a principal practice." ChNNR (Teachings on Thun and Ganapuja)
~Kurt Vonnegut
"The principal practice is Guruyoga. But we need to understand that any secondary practice combined with Guruyoga becomes a principal practice." ChNNR (Teachings on Thun and Ganapuja)
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tellyontellyon
- Posts: 332
- Joined: Tue Dec 24, 2013 11:38 pm
Re: Contemplation
True, like contemplating the four thoughts of the Ngondro...
... but that is part of a formal practice, I'm thinking about using contemplation more generally and freely as a meditation outside of formal practice, during my daily going abouts.
"Be melting snow. Wash yourself of yourself."
- Rumi
- Rumi
Re: Contemplation
Contemplation or perhaps it could be called reflection is often overlooked. I did and still do overlook it but I am on the advice on one of my teachers trying to bring it into my daily practice more and more.
I think it can be used very informally and naturally.
Mindfulness, wakefulness and reflection are all good ways to integrate the practice into daily life.
Mindfulness here means knowing when you do something, why you do something and the effects of having done something on oneself and others.
tellyontellyon.....I hope that you are successful in dealing with the issue at hand.
I think it can be used very informally and naturally.
Mindfulness, wakefulness and reflection are all good ways to integrate the practice into daily life.
Mindfulness here means knowing when you do something, why you do something and the effects of having done something on oneself and others.
tellyontellyon.....I hope that you are successful in dealing with the issue at hand.