Practicing meditation effectively is like playing a sport. It requires regular practice. If someone practices intermittently, they won’t become skilled at that sport. The same applies to meditation.
Many people spend their days working and taking care of various tasks, leaving little time to meditate. This might not be enough for the mind to settle into a calm state, leading some people to be distracted during meditation. They don’t experience relaxation or peace, and it feels like a waste of time, which can lead them to stop meditating.
Increasing meditation time can be challenging due to limited time, physical fatigue, and improper practice. Even with effort, it might not seem to work, causing further discouragement in meditation practice.
To address this, Luang Phor Dhammajayo recommended 10 items of homework to prepare the mind for meditation by incorporating mindfulness exercises into daily routines. No matter how busy you feel, you can still practice.
This approach is like keeping water warm at all times; when you want it to boil, you simply turn up the heat, and soon it will. In contrast, if you don’t practice mindfulness during the day, it’s like letting the water cool down, requiring more time and energy to bring it to a boil.
(This article explains the item No.8-10)
8. Take one minute of every hour to still your mind and think of the mental object at the center of the body.
This homework serves as a milestone to remind us to return our focus to ourselves. Often, when you work, you might forget about time. Sometimes you might even skip meals because you’re so focused on your tasks, forgetting everything else, even your well-being. Taking a brief pause every hour helps redirect your attention from work back to yourself, recharging your energy before you dive back into work. Studies have shown that short breaks can improve work efficiency.
You could set an alarm on your wristwatch or your smartphone to ring every hour. Make sure the alert sound isn’t too loud to avoid disturbing others. When you hear the alarm, take a break from work, close your eyes gently, and focus on the center of your abdomen. You can think of a mental object or just keep your mind calm and clear—choose whatever feels comfortable for you. After one minute, you can continue working or take a longer break.
If you practice this way, your mind will become more accustomed to coming back to your body. When you are in a meditation session, it will be easier to calm your mind and find inner peace. If you don’t practice at all, even if you plan to meditate earnestly when you get home, your mind might not settle easily. Or, even if it does return to your body, it might lack energy, leading you to fall asleep during meditation. So, this practice should not be underestimated.
About an alarm app we suggest Plum Village Mobile App. You can set the app following the instructions below.
9. Recollect the mental object at the center of the body while conducting other activities throughout the day.
The reason we think of a mental object while working is that even though a particular task might be honest or legitimate if we’re not careful, we could lose focus, and negative thoughts might creep in. For example, when you’re driving and someone suddenly cuts in front of you, causing you to brake abruptly, you might instantly feel angry. You might curse them in your mind or even cut them off in retaliation, which could lead to a serious accident.
So, no matter what you’re doing, it’s helpful to keep a mental object in mind. If that’s difficult, you could use a mantra, repeating it quietly as you go about your job. It’s okay if there are times when you can’t focus on it—like when you’re talking or thinking about work. When you find moments that don’t require intense thought or when you’re on autopilot, you can return to focusing on your mental object or mantra. This is better than letting your mind wander into useless thoughts. If we don’t practice mindfulness, our minds will naturally start thinking about all sorts of things. It’s important to take this opportunity to train our minds to get used to staying centered, feeling comfortable, and finding stillness.
10. Create a pleasant, fresh atmosphere with a smile and positive words.
A person who speaks with kind words is someone who chooses their words carefully, avoiding false statements, harsh language, slander, and idle chatter that can spoil the atmosphere around them.
Someone who can smile and speak with kind words demonstrates that their mind is centered and in touch with a mental object most of the time. They have a light and joyful mind, which is refined enough to choose only the best words to speak.
However, you don’t have to wait for your mind to be fully refined or perfectly centered before you start speaking with kind words. You can practice speaking nicely right now. As you select positive words to say, your mind will gradually become more refined because you’re not speaking out of habit; Your mind needs to come back to yourself first to find the right words. The more you practice speaking kindly and smiling, the more your mind will come back to the center, becoming more refined and pure.
Having a smile and speaking with kind words not only brings happiness to yourself but also to those around you. It creates a pleasant atmosphere at home and work, making everyone feel better and more open to meditating and finding inner peace.
Summary
Only practicing meditation and expecting your mind to be calm and happy is hard if you let yourself be absent-minded and distracted throughout the day. That’s why you need to train your mind during the day too.
The 10 items of homework help you practice meditation throughout the day. It’s designed to fix the habit of letting your mind wander and build a habit of mindfulness and awareness. It trains your mind to get used to being still and centered, which greatly benefits your meditation practice.
We might not see results right away, but with continuous practice, eventually, it will yield results for sure.
