Instead of jumping directly into meditation for quick relief from anxiety, begin with foundational practices like cultivating right view, right understanding, and generosity. This preliminary work cultivates the heart and virtue necessary for meditation to truly penetrate and lead to genuine breakthrough and clarity.
Establish true vows, making a commitment to yourself about something you will be diligent about, such as stopping gossiping or living the five precepts. This act of making a vow, and then taking action to uphold it in the moment, is a powerful ingredient for firm resolve and breaking unskillful habits.
Develop “healthy shame” by sincerely regretting actions, thoughts, or words that don’t meet your personal standard for living. This practice involves owning your mistakes, seeing their fault and danger, vowing not to repeat them, and then letting them go, which fosters quick self-correction and self-compassion.
True practice involves applying teachings in challenging, everyday moments, such as when people are ranting, falsely accusing you, or taking your possessions. In these situations, strive to hold your peace, apply the teachings, overlook slights, and tolerate faults, as this is where genuine spiritual development occurs.
Practice guarding your sense gates, which includes what comes in through your eyes, ears, smell, taste, touch, and mind. This means noticing when your senses crave or lust after something, and consciously stepping out of the constant longing for external sensations and opinions, leading to inner ease and peace.
Develop a mind that constantly observes the impermanence of everything in life, helping you to loosen your grip on things. Simultaneously, cultivate a mind of renunciation, which is a desire to leave the realms of continued existence, fostering a deeper understanding of life’s transient nature.
Seek direct experience of spiritual truths rather than relying solely on intellectual understanding or academic study. While theories are useful, true knowing comes from a “quickening” that gives life and an internal capacity to hold life, which can only be gained through personal experience.
To overcome ill will and foster harmony, practice laying down your own opinions and desires, especially when they conflict with others. Instead of insisting on your way, choose to do what another person wants, recognizing the great boon of their presence and the inner contentment that comes from self-sacrifice.
Recognize that every action you commit creates a cause that will produce an effect, somewhere and somehow. By deeply embracing this notion of dependent origination and causality, you become more circumspect and careful about your actions, leading to greater clarity in your life.
Treat the Dharma as an alive thing, developing an active, engaged relationship with it by being with it, talking with it, listening to it, and responding to it. This investment of time and effort will lead to a profound shift and a different life.
Acknowledge that faith is essential for any action, even in secular life (e.g., expecting your car to start). If you struggle with faith in a spiritual context, observe how you use it in ordinary ways, as this recognition can help you approach spiritual teachings with a similar willingness to “come and see.”
Contemplate your mortality by asking yourself what would be important if you knew you were dying tonight. This practice helps to re-prioritize your actions and thoughts, shifting focus from trivial concerns like “getting others straight” to cultivating love and compassion.
Recognize that the spiritual path has its own principles and must be approached and accepted on its terms, rather than trying to dictate how you want things to be. To truly gain from the Dharma, you must appreciate spiritual things and “get with the program.”
When engaging with spiritual teachings or figures, focus on the inherent qualities (like compassion and power) resident within them, rather than their specific personalities or historical narratives. This allows for a deeper connection to the universal truths they embody.