Yes, it is a delayed post and I do apologise.
I was not feeling well and had slept very early last night and woke up terribly late this morning.
Been nursing a runny nose and lower back pain.
Nonetheless, I am glad that I am still rather awake. Unlike yesterday night, I was out by 9pm. And yes, that is considered too early for me.
I actually enjoy this time of the day - after 1am. Because it is all quiet and almost tranquil enough for me to hear my own thoughts with much clarity.
So, here's what my Day Six looked like -
Weight: I still weigh 54 kg. No difference as yet. Haha
No. Of Prostrations: 21
Now, I am definitely very sore all over. If some parts were spared before, today pain made sure it covered every fibre of my being.
Daily Sadhanas: Check and done! There are some prayers and mantras that I never miss. In other words, they are compulsory. Just to share with you how my daily sadhanas look like/read like.
- Practising Guru Devotion With the Nine Attitudes
- My Guru's Long Life Mantra
- Samayavajra - This is a special form of Vajrasattva that is practised specifically to purify samaya with our Gurus. Yea, I do it every day. Just in case and to be safe!
- Guru Yoga Of Lama Tsongkhapa
- Tara Short Mantra
- 35 Confessional Buddhas
- Black Tea Offering To Setrap w/ Mantra
- Heart Sutra
- Vajrasattva 100-Syllable Mantra for Purification
- Prayer to Vajrayogini: Entreaty to Bless and Awaken Friends by H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche
- Complete Dedication Prayer
- Shantideva's Dedication Prayer
- Yonten Shigyurma: Foundation of All Good Qualities
I just would like to stress that being discipline like this on a daily basis is not something that I was brought up on. In fact, it goes against every grain my body because I was never disciplined and couldn't stick to one thing long enough for its benefits to take effect. That has been a major issue with me, for the longest time.
Hence, doing all the above, without fail every single day, is a big step for me. So, I do it because it truly helps me in countering my intense lack of discipline. On Sunday, which is tomorrow. I will raise the "stakes" a little. That's the whole point. Push myself to a higher level.
Physical Exercise: I have to shelve my exercise for today and tomorrow due to this lower back pain. I think I pulled a muscle during day four's exercise routine. Will do lighter exercises after tomorrow, and will make up for the days that I have missed when my back is much better.
Daily Reflection from "IF NOT NOW, WHEN?" - ok, so I closed my eyes and picked out page 049.
Quote from Page 049 for Day Six: " If we do not create inner peace, outer peace is not possible. As a result of the selfish mind, we have global warming, we have war and conflicts. All this arises from the selfish mind."
Personal Thoughts and Feelings:
Everything begins from what we fabricate in our mind, and ends with what we tells ourselves in our head. I truly believe that.
In fact, to be frank, I have been observing the motions in my own mind over the past few weeks. I came into the conclusion that the human mind is really fragile and most petrified of pain. This is something common that we all share. The only difference lies in the degree we would allow our minds to proliferate in the 'self-protection" mode. Otherwise also known as the "self-cherishing" mind.
A friend of mine said that it is our natural survival instinct to protect oneself.
But I asked him this next question, "If it is a survival instinct to protect our own self, then why should our mind employ deceptive means/tools and delude us, instead of tearing down the walls or shades and allow us to see the truth of it all. Would that not make us into better and stronger people, in the real sense?"
The mind is such a curious system, for the lack of searching for a better word at this 3am in the morning.
It shelters us by deceit because it convinces us that we are correct and other people are wrong. Almost, instinctively.
It persuades us to think only of ourselves first and foremost, especially of our own comforts and convenience and disregard everyone else's. Sometimes, even at the expense of everyone else.
It can even disguise itself as many things in order to delude us into thinking that we are not responsible for all the things that have gone wrong in our lives, not even for those that we have impacted on others.
If it truly cares for our real survival, then should it not care about helping us becoming champions of our lives, instead of prisoners or cowards of our lives?
How does being blinded from the truth and being sheltered from reality help us become the better versions of ourselves? Let's not even talk about achieving the best that we can be.
Yes, perhaps as a species, we can be considered as reasonably cool and great because we have highly developed 'outer technology', but unfortunately, we have neglected to develop our 'inner technology' highly in the process.
While our "outer technology" may provide us with the comforts, luxury and convenience in living out our every day lives, it is really our "inner technology" which will define our lives as meaningful and worth living.
A highly evolved or developed society is a highly conscious society. Otherwise then, it would be no different than giving a bunch of juveniles sophisticated machineries, but the juveniles would not know how best to use that machinery to benefit humanity at large. Rather, they just end up playing with it for their own pleasure. Or worse, use it to cause great harm or injury to those around them.
Without the "heart", there can be no real understanding of the mind and hand.
And I'd like to think that what we humans, as a species, do have that is far superior than all the rest of creation, is our great big heart with its great big capacity to love and care for all the rest living on earth. This is perhaps the only thing that would make us closest to being the "Crown of Creation".
Otherwise, we are just simply a barbarian, disguised in sophisticated clothing and armed with weapons of mass destruction.
What do you think? Seriously.
Day Six ends here.
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