Meditation practice to be effective requires consistent effort throughout the day. In the past, monks or hermits would meditate continuously. It’s like starting a fire with sticks; the important components are the stick’s dryness, the spinning speed, and the spinning duration until the fire ignites. For those who are not monks, there might not be much time for meditation; it’s akin to intermittently spinning the stick and then stopping. Moreover, if you lose mindfulness after meditation and remain distracted throughout the day, your mind will accumulate various thoughts, both good and bad. It’s like dipping a stick into the water before using it to light a fire; it becomes difficult to ignite. Similarly, how can your practice progress if you lack continuity in maintaining mindfulness?
Due to your responsibilities at work and encountering various emotionally impacting situations, your mind may not find peace easily. It takes time for your body and mind to adjust, and it may take an hour or more before you can sit quietly and calm down. Increasing the time might not be feasible because there are still household chores to do or want to rest.
Therefore, Luang Phor Dhammajayo suggests doing ten items of homework, which will help you maintain mindfulness throughout the day and make it easier for your mind to become still when meditating.
(This article explains the item No.3 and 4)
3. Before bedtime, reflect on all the good things you’ve done throughout the day.
Regarding bedtime, my teacher, Luang Phor Tatta, used to tell stories from his childhood. His father noticed that he would simply lie down without chanting before sleep. In traditional Thai culture, it was taught that if you hadn’t done any giving in the morning, you shouldn’t eat breakfast that day. If you haven’t observed precepts, you shouldn’t leave the house, and on any night you haven’t meditated and purified your mind, don’t go to bed. This was a stratagem for Thai people to maintain virtuous behavior daily. Luang Pho Tatta’s father once asked him what his dog did before sleeping. Luang Pho Tatta replied that the dog didn’t do anything, it just paced around its bed and then slept. His father then remarked that if you didn’t chant before sleeping, you wouldn’t be any different from that dog. Thus, Luang Pho Tatta had to chant before bed.
Isn’t it better if you seize this opportunity to reflect on the good things that have happened so that your mind can sleep in happiness and tranquility? Instead of sleeping with worries and a clouded mind.
Compare it to a bank, when the bank closes, it doesn’t mean it stops all activities. It still checks its accounts of income and expenses every day. Similarly, you should check our accounts of good deeds and mistakes. For the mistakes, you should think about how to improve yourselves. Starting a new day should be better than the previous. Sometimes you may realize that you’ve wronged someone and you should take the opportunity to apologize. It’s a good way to maintain good relationships. If it’s your employees, they will feel glad that their boss has a sense of justice and even apologizes for mistakes. If it’s your superior, they might change their mind about firing you.
As for thinking about good deeds, you should recall the most pleasing and memorable ones, immerse yourselves in those memories as if traveling back in time, and relive the atmosphere of doing those good deeds. If you haven’t done any good deeds today, you can think about the good deeds you’ve done in the past. This reflection will naturally lead you to remember other forgotten good deeds.
When you do this, your mind will be filled with happiness and contentment. About the chaos and worries will disappear, leaving you with a calm mind. Then you’ll sleep easily, and deeply, without tossing and turning, without nightmares, feeling safe no matter where you sleep.
4. When going to sleep, focus on a mental object.
When you are about to sleep, let’s gently recall a mental object, like practicing meditation in a lying position. Your visualization can be anything that comes easily to your mind and makes you feel comfortable, such as a crystal ball, a shining star, or a full moon. Visualize it at the center of your body, or if you’re not familiar with this, just think of a place where you feel most comfortable. Alternatively, imagine yourself lying in the mental object you’ve chosen.
By practicing this, your mind will become familiar with clarity, with the center of your body, or at least bring your mind back to keep within yours. Your progress in meditation will not regress, and you’ll have continuity towards the next day.
You’ll fall asleep with a clear, worry-free mind, feeling warm and safe. This kind of sleep will be deep, and uninterrupted, and even if you wake up during the night, you’ll fall back asleep easily. If you dream, it will be of pleasant things. Your body will rest and recover fully, and your mind will relax too, ensuring you wake up fresher than ever before.
Additionally Benefits
Practicing both of these things has another benefit: it prepares your mind when you have to leave this world. Not everyone gets to pass away peacefully. Some might suffer and die in pain on a hospital bed, others may meet with severe accidents beyond remedy, or some may realize that their time has come. Without practicing recalling good things beforehand, without ever training to bring their mind back to themselves, those individuals will have to face fear, regret, sadness, loneliness, and helplessness, which shouldn’t be the case.
Many of you may have experienced being sick with a fever. At that time, you couldn’t think of anything good, right? People tend to think negatively, worrying about missing work that day or blaming someone for infecting them. Now, think about it: if even in a common fever, you can think negatively to that extent, how negative would your thoughts be when you’re seriously ill and near death?
Therefore, as meditation practitioners, we will not allow this to happen to us. We will rehearse dying every night through these two practices. You will become accustomed to and proficient in thinking about good things. You won’t be restless but will have a calm and cool mind. As for your body, trust the doctors to take care of it, but for your mind, nobody can take care of it except you. And nobody can be your support except yourself. If you’re going to die, you will do it with a smile on your face. Your loved ones will know that you’re heading to heaven for sure.
Moreover, if your beloved relatives are seriously ill, instead of crying in front of them, you can help them by reminding them of good things or by sharing your goodness with them.
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