Meaningful activities to do today.

Copying texts, making offerings, charity,

Study, reading, memorizing,

Explaining, reciting aloud,

Contemplating and meditating—

These ten activities

Bring merit beyond measure.

~Maitreya

Distinguishing the Middle from Extremes

What does a dharma practitioner do with their time? What type of activities are worthwhile and meaningful? Other than taking care of our daily responsibilities and work, what should we do in our free time? 

Our culture of accomplishment encourages us to be doing all the time. The habit of having to accomplish something, ship something, create something can create a lot of unrest and dissatisfaction when we are not engaging in those activities. Learning how to spend your downtime is a useful skill to have, since most of us can agree that surfing the internet or social media produces little benefit and often sucks us into a wormhole of mental wandering. 

Here are ten activities that Maitreya recommended all bodhisattvas on the path of awakening engage in:

Copying texts. A thousand years ago, copying texts was the only way to preserve them. Today we could say sharing texts, sending someone a book that impacted you, or sharing a cliff notes version of books that you are reading.

Making offerings. Be generous and kind. Share a smile. Talk to a stranger. Random acts of kindness are easy to share and make a positive impact in our community and in our own life. 

Charity. Donate, contribute and work for projects or organizations that are making things better in the world. Helping others in whatever form it takes is meaningful work worth doing. 

Reading. Read widely and deeply. There are no subjects or interests that are out of bounds here. Reading is a virtue. 

Study. Take notes. Systematize, draw out the implications and summarize the essence. Whatever you are reading is a good area to deepen your study. 

Memorization. In a time when books were not widely available, memorization was the only way to commit something to memory in order to keep it with you. In modern times, this can mean having a system or process by which you can easily retrieve and access needed resources. Google takes this category for most information, but how do you retrieve patience when you need it? How do you access compassion and responsiveness when you are tired and hungry? Build a habit for accessing your emotional intelligence. 

Explaining. Write a blog post on a book. Share your insights on what you have learned. Join a discussion group with a shared interest. 

Reciting aloud. Reciting a text was part of a regular practice to preserve and share the blessings of the tradition. This could be done alone or with a group for special ceremonies. Their is an unspoken blessing that one encounters when you have done something again and again by yourself, and then you encounter a group with a shared interest and everyone engages in the same activity without missing a beat. It is hard for a modern westerner to comprehend this, but we can all relate to cheering for a football team at home and then the shared experience in the stadium. There is a shared sense of belonging or affiliation that we experience that is beyond words. 

Contemplating. Think about what you are reading and studying. We need space and time to contemplate. You need some boredom in your life to enjoy contemplation. Build some time into your day for not doing anything, but being present and observe the world around you. You might also want to have a notebook or sheet of paper with you;)

Meditating. Rest naturally. Sit with intention. Experience your authentic condition. Build some time into your day for being, not doing.

These ten activities will make your day worthwhile. What other activities can you think of that are meaningful and worth committing to on a regular basis?

+2 important additions: exercise and mindful eating.

Choose a regular exercise, could be taking a walk, doing yoga or qiqong, or going for a run. Dr. Jivaka recommended the Buddha instruct all his disciples to do walking meditation everyday to strengthen their bodies and improve their mental focus.

Mindful eating. Enjoy your meals. Eat simple, nutritious food. Our meals can support our practice and encourage us to appreciate our connections to the world around us. 

Have you read this?

A key aspect to the preservation and transmission of the Buddhas teachings lies in the way that they are passed on from generation to generation.  There are certain teachings that anyone can read or practice. 

Choose a book, read it, reflect on it, use it to support your practice.

There are other texts that traditionally require a lung (pronounced with long u).  Lung is the Tibetan for oral or reading transmission.  It is an authorization to study or practice a text, but also more than that.  In order to receive the lung for a text, you need to get it from someone who already has the lung.  So the lung is a living transmission from teacher to student from generation to generation.  The teachings are alive because the lung is intact. 

The key aspect of maintaining the living tradition of the Buddha's teachings is the teacher-student connection. 

This also goes much deeper.  There are hundreds of teachings of the Buddha and other great masters that no longer have a living lineage of transmission.  You could find one of these texts, have it translated and read it.  It might be an amazing teaching that profoundly impacts your life, but who do you talk to about it?  Have you ever read a book that makes a huge impact on your life or perspective?  You want to share it with someone, you want to talk about it, discuss challenging sections. 

The tradition of passing on the teachings through an oral tradition from teacher to student ensures that the student has someone to come back to with questions.  They have a network they can tap into if they need it.

If you could only read books if you received the oral transmission, what do you think you would receive?  If you gave out oral transmissions of books that made an impact in your life, which ones would you want to pass on (assuming you had received the lung to begin with!)? 

If we only read books due to connections we had with others, would you be advocating for giving as many lungs as possible?