Whats your morning practice like? (plz mention your Tradition too)

General discussion, particularly exploring the Dharma in the modern world.
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Nalanda
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Whats your morning practice like? (plz mention your Tradition too)

Post by Nalanda »

:meditate:
IF YOU PRACTICE WITH A STRONG BELIEF IN WHAT
YOU ARE DOING, THEN THERE IS NO LIMIT TO WHAT
YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH WITH YOUR PRACTICE.

CHAKUNG JIGME WANGDRAK RINPOCHE

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Ayu
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Re: Whats your morning practice like? (plz mention your Tradition too)

Post by Ayu »

(Tibetan buddhism)
Firstly I offer the first pour of my morning coffee to the Buddha.
Then, if I have time, I make some water offering at my altar and then I sit 30 min or more and do my practice. (Which I won't talk about ;) )

If I'm late, I do that practice on my way to work. Bike, walking, bus or train - I can do it anywhere without bothering anybody.
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Hazel
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Re: Whats your morning practice like? (plz mention your Tradition too)

Post by Hazel »

Ayu wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 11:53 am (Tibetan buddhism)
Firstly I offer the first pour of my morning coffee to the Buddha.
Then, if I have time, I make some water offering at my altar and then I sit 30 min or more and do my practice. (Which I won't talk about ;) )

If I'm late, I do that practice on my way to work. Bike, walking, bus or train - I can do it anywhere without bothering anybody.
I have a comical image of you on a bus loudly ringing a bell.
Happy Pride month to my queer dharma siblings!

What do you see when you turn out the lights?
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Ayu
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Re: Whats your morning practice like? (plz mention your Tradition too)

Post by Ayu »

Hazel wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 4:34 pm
Ayu wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 11:53 am (Tibetan buddhism)
Firstly I offer the first pour of my morning coffee to the Buddha.
Then, if I have time, I make some water offering at my altar and then I sit 30 min or more and do my practice. (Which I won't talk about ;) )

If I'm late, I do that practice on my way to work. Bike, walking, bus or train - I can do it anywhere without bothering anybody.
I have a comical image of you on a bus loudly ringing a bell.
I only imagine the bell.
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Caoimhghín
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Re: Whats your morning practice like? (plz mention your Tradition too)

Post by Caoimhghín »

1. Incense gāthā
2. Mahākaruṇācittadhāraṇī
3. Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya
4. Tathāgatāyuṣpramāṇaparivarta
5. Triple gem refuge
6. Homage to the 13 Buddhas

I consider this my own personal "layperson's redaction" of the monastic morning service, combined with chanting I picked up while flirting with Tendai Buddhism in a big way. I have no sect currently, but frequent a "Chán-ish" temple (or rather "used to" before Covid) that has pretentions of carrying the torch of the extinct Tiāntāi sect. I appreciate and somewhat support these sentiments, even though I consider them ultimately to be pretentions.
Then, the monks uttered this gāthā:

These bodies are like foam.
Them being frail, who can rejoice in them?
The Buddha attained the vajra-body.
Still, it becomes inconstant and ruined.
The many Buddhas are vajra-entities.
All are also subject to inconstancy.
Quickly ended, like melting snow --
how could things be different?

The Buddha passed into parinirvāṇa afterward.
(T1.27b10 Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra DĀ 2)
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Johnny Dangerous
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Re: Whats your morning practice like? (plz mention your Tradition too)

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

Coffee, mindlessly scroll cellphone, complain about my back….that’s my morning practice.

Honestly though, sometimes I do some mantra, shamatha or even short sadhana if there’s time. Most of the time it’s the first practice though, with some informal practice in the car.
Meditate upon Bodhicitta when afflicted by disease

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when you are scared

-Khunu Lama
Nicholas2727
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Re: Whats your morning practice like? (plz mention your Tradition too)

Post by Nicholas2727 »

First thing I do is a water offering. Then usually recite some prayers, meditation for about 45 mins (shorter or longer at times depending on the day), followed by some mantra recitation.
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Whats your morning practice like? (plz mention your Tradition too)

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

At some point during the morning I go to my shrine area, make imaginary offerings of water, incense, flowers, light, and so on (Vajrayana tradition, btw), a small offering of money, recite refuge vow & other aspirations. Sometimes I don’t get around to doing all of that there (like if I have to go to an early doctor appointment) so I do it later in my mind someplace else.

Regardless of what I do, I start every morning with a few minutes of shamatha meditation. I reason that returning the mind to its original factory setting is beginning the day with a clean slate. No dream residue or thoughts about past and future. It’s like, if you are going to eat a meal, you want to start with a clean bowl or plate. You don’t want yesterday’s food still stuck to it. Then, I drink some espresso. Then, I go back to sitting meditation for a while and when the sun comes up and there’s enough light, I try to read some dharma texts. My only rule is that all of this happens before checking my phone, email, Facebook, this forum, etc.
“Calm first, crazy later”.
EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
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Johnny Dangerous
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Re: Whats your morning practice like? (plz mention your Tradition too)

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

This is actually a practice I do in the evening, but as it involves the whole day so I will share it:

I do my practice at night usually, and the first part of it simply rememberance of the day. I try to remember the events of the day in “first person” as much as I can, paying particular attention to the shifts in emotions and thoughts throughout the day. So literally I try to recall an abbreviated version of my whole day from waking up in the morning onward.

I’ve been taught a few different versions of this practice, IME it greatly increases awareness of thought and emotional patterns as they come and go throughout the day. It can also make one aware of how the perception of time changes depending on those fluctuations.
Meditate upon Bodhicitta when afflicted by disease

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when you are scared

-Khunu Lama
Miorita
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Re: Whats your morning practice like? (plz mention your Tradition too)

Post by Miorita »

Wake up to be grateful for another day.
Grind coffee, make it hot in a small pot. Read news, Romanian news to counteract parents, then agitate,
Do water offerings on a high table,
Argue with a blue uniform with multiple national flags that I should put it on.
Drag myself out the door, stumble on the way down the stairs and be regularly late for work.
In the bus I do mantras, in the train planning of the day, day -dreaming,
Grab eventually another coffee, sandwich
Clock in at 8, or 9.

No tradition, a mutt.

If I'm in the mood, I bless the city. It's a big mama city north to south. I don't do suburbs.
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