To realize your true, perfect nature, work to dissolve the ‘small self’ or ego. This opens you up to a vaster, non-dual awareness that is interconnected and primordial.
View your entire daily life – including interactions, work, eating, walking, and thinking – as your spiritual practice. This approach allows for continuous transformation and growth, rather than sequestering spiritual life to formal meditation or religious activities.
Systematically develop the six paramitas: generosity, ethics, patience, enthusiastic effort, meditation, and wisdom. These qualities are essential for reaching your full enlightened potential and living skillfully.
Develop loving kindness and a friendly, well-balanced relationship with your ego. The Buddha taught to send good thoughts to ourselves first, making us good companions to ourselves to encourage walking the path with confidence.
Practice mindfulness to observe your thoughts and feelings without becoming completely involved or carried away by them. This helps you realize you are not your mind and leads to deeper levels of awareness.
Ask yourself, ‘What is knowing all of this?’ (e.g., sounds, sights, bodily sensations) to glimpse the primordial awareness beyond the small self. Approach this inquiry gently, as looking too hard can hinder the experience.
When feeling upset, irritated, or stressed, bring your attention back to your breath. Take three deep breaths, holding briefly and then releasing, to dissolve tightness and return to a centered, open state.
View challenging people and situations as invaluable opportunities to cultivate patience, tolerance, and forbearance. They push your ‘buttons,’ revealing areas where you need to grow.
Understand patience as an open expansiveness of feeling, rather than a tense, uptight suppression of irritation. Relax and be open, allowing things to be without letting them upset your inner balance.
Recognize that external events or other people don’t inherently hurt you; it’s your internal response to them that causes suffering. Focus on managing your own reactions to maintain inner peace.
When making efforts towards personal or spiritual goals, begin with short, simple steps and gradually build up as they become habitual. Avoid being overly ambitious to prevent discouragement.
When you encounter setbacks or ‘fall down’ in your practice, stand up again and continue without getting discouraged. Consistent, gentle effort is key to long-term change.
To avoid overwhelming yourself, choose one particular area or shortcoming to work on at a time. Focus on it slowly and steadily until it becomes a habitual change.
Develop a strong sense of humor, as it helps maintain proportion, prevents taking oneself too seriously, and fosters joy even amidst suffering.
Practice generosity not only with material possessions but also by sharing your time, caring presence, and understanding (Dharma or insight into life) with others.
Actively seek and accept the genuine joy that comes from giving and sharing with others. This openness of hands and heart is a fundamental step on the spiritual path.
Recognize the profound impact of simple acts of kindness. Even a kind smile or a kind word can significantly change someone’s entire day.
Actively seek out and engage in genuine human connection, as the collapse of social interaction and over-reliance on mobile devices contribute to widespread depression and anxiety.