MEDITATE ALL THE TIME
From Dipa Ma, The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master:
"Practice now. Don’t think you will do more later."
Dipa Ma stated firmly that if you want peace, you must practice regularly. She insisted that students find time for formal meditation practice every day, even if only for five minutes. If that proved impossible, she advised, "At least when you are in bed at night, notice just one in-breath and one out-breath before you fall asleep."
More importantly, in addition to formal sitting on the cushion, Dipa Ma urged students to make every moment of their lives a meditation. Some of us are busy people who find it difficult to set aside any time at all. "If you are busy, then busyness is the meditation," she tells us. "Meditation is to know what you are doing. When you do calculations, know that you are doing calculations. If you are rushing to the office, then you should be mindful of ‘rushing.’ When you are eating, putting on your shoes, your socks, your clothes, you must be mindful. It is all meditation!
For Dipa Ma, mindfulness wasn’t something she did, it was who she was - all the time. Dipa Ma made it clear that there is nothing wrong with lapses of mindfulness, with the mind wandering. "It happens to everyone. It is not a permanent problem."
"There is nothing ultimately to cling to in this world," Dipa Ma taught, "but we can make good use of everything in it. Life is not to be rejected. It is here. And as long as it is here and we are here, we can make the best use of it."
... "Live simply. A very simple life is good for everything. Too much luxury is a hindrance to practice."
... "If you bless those around you, this will inspire you to be attentive in every moment
From Dipa Ma, The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master:
"Practice now. Don’t think you will do more later."
Dipa Ma stated firmly that if you want peace, you must practice regularly. She insisted that students find time for formal meditation practice every day, even if only for five minutes. If that proved impossible, she advised, "At least when you are in bed at night, notice just one in-breath and one out-breath before you fall asleep."
More importantly, in addition to formal sitting on the cushion, Dipa Ma urged students to make every moment of their lives a meditation. Some of us are busy people who find it difficult to set aside any time at all. "If you are busy, then busyness is the meditation," she tells us. "Meditation is to know what you are doing. When you do calculations, know that you are doing calculations. If you are rushing to the office, then you should be mindful of ‘rushing.’ When you are eating, putting on your shoes, your socks, your clothes, you must be mindful. It is all meditation!
For Dipa Ma, mindfulness wasn’t something she did, it was who she was - all the time. Dipa Ma made it clear that there is nothing wrong with lapses of mindfulness, with the mind wandering. "It happens to everyone. It is not a permanent problem."
"There is nothing ultimately to cling to in this world," Dipa Ma taught, "but we can make good use of everything in it. Life is not to be rejected. It is here. And as long as it is here and we are here, we can make the best use of it."
... "Live simply. A very simple life is good for everything. Too much luxury is a hindrance to practice."
... "If you bless those around you, this will inspire you to be attentive in every moment
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