I have often written of the importance of discipline in one's practice.  But the issue of such importance and a challenge for so many people, that I think another post devoted to the subject is warranted.

Whenever I've attended sanghas, whether in large cities or small, whether temple-connected or independent ones such as Shambhala, one of the most frequent problems I observed was that very few of the members had much discipline in their practice. And by "discipline" I mean two different things.

First, almost no one I knew in these sanghas had a disciplined daily practice, meaning that regardless what was going on, they meditated every day. Most didn't even try to have a daily practice and those that did found that the events of the day often interfered with their intent to practice. 

Second, when people meditated, they did not have a routine that they followed with affirmations, chants, prayer, etc.  Part of each meditation should be open-ended, but a large part should be somewhat scripted.

The reason why both of these aspects of discipline are critical is because in walking the path, you are trying to change the paradigms of your life, the paradigms of a lifetime. And you are doing it on your own, typically with no support from anyone around you other than the sangha. Not only do you not have support, everyone around you—family, peers, media— and within you—your ego—daily bombard with you negativity and harmful advice.

Some of this you may be aware of, but the bad advice coming from within you, from your ego, is probably not something that you are aware of or accept that it is the fact. Your ego is rooted so deeply within you and is the basis of your self-image, that to question your ego is to question your very existence.

Let me talk about the two different aspects of discipline. First, daily practice. Your are trying to walk the Buddhist or some other spiritual path. That path is contrary to how you've been raised to react to life, so it involves a major change for you. Also, there is the fact that every day you are assaulted by negative stimuli from the world around you as well as bad advice—not in your best interest—coming from your ego. See my post, "Ego - Changing Your Relationship With It."

Because we live in such a hostile—to our best interests— world, and because we were not raised to deal with it in a healthy way, it is critical that we meditate every day. We need the reinforcement of our faith and a reminder of the truth every day in order to be consistent in our rejection of the world's negativity and find peace and happiness in our lives.

But how to have a disciplined daily practice when we have so much to do every day and are constantly interrupted by people who want us to do something? The answer is to meditate first thing in the morning after you get up.  That is what I have been doing for more than 30 years and I have never missed a day of meditation regardless where I was or whether I was sick.

I get out of bed, freshen my face and do my "mirror time" (see my post "Mirror Time"), and then start my meditation/prayer. Afterwards I shave, shower, etc. Try it.  If you are living by yourself, you may be able to do something similar in the evening, but for most people who have a family or live with someone else, first thing in the morning is the only dependable way to have a disciplined daily practice.

The second aspect of discipline is to have consistent content to your meditation. Why is this important?  Again, it has to do with the fact that you are attempting to change your habit-energies, the paradigms of a lifetime.  The truths you have learned from the Buddha dharma and your intents need to be repeated every day as a reinforcement of your faith and intent as well as a reminder of what you are trying to do. This is your spiritual armor as you go through the day.

The other thing I have found valuable in this practice, is that when I recite the truths or my intent, if during the previous day I have done anything contrary to these truths or my intent, it come sto the fore and I have the opportunity in my meditation to sit with what I did, why I did it, and what I should have done instead. This has been immensely valuable to me in both going deeper into my practice and changing my habit-energies.

May you experience peace and happiness.

We are bombarded every day by negative messages from the world around us—whether it's the media, for example telling us how we should look to feel good about ourselves, or peers or family disparaging us in some way. We also are pulled every day by the force of our ego-mind that insists we do things which in reality are not good for us and cause us much suffering.

How do we resist this constant assault from both without and within? It's not enough just to sit on your cushion and meditate. It's not just about the process of meditation or prayer, it's the substance that is of vital importance.

Think of it as building a forcefield around you that these negative stimuli cannot penetrate.  Years ago, I wrote a post about building such a forcefield, "Change Your Life by Changing the Direction of Its Energy Flow."

I have since come to realize that the process of changing both the direction and quality of your energy flow consistently is more difficult; it's not just a matter of intent and discipline—you must free yourself from the control of your ego-mind. Here are what I now understand to be the steps in that process.

First. the absolutely necessary step is that you connect with your true self—whether you see that as your heart, the true Buddha nature inside you, or the child of the Universe within you.  And you must at the same time acknowledge that your ego—what you have always considered your self—is in reality your false self.  There are posts and books I've written about this process; see in particular the books How to Find Inner Peace and Discover Your Power.

Once you have learned to distrust what your ego-mind is telling you to do and instead ask and listen to your heart, it becomes much more likely that you will be able to maintain your heart's natural peace and end your suffering.  Remember, the root of all suffering is our cravings, and cravings are a function of the ego-mind. Once you are in touch with your heart, changing the direction of your energy flow to outward rather than inward is almost automatic.

Once you have absorbed these truths, not just intellectually but deep within yourself, there are other steps you need to take to strengthen the forcefield around you. One of the most important is understanding that things are the way they are—whether past, present, or future—because it's just the way it is; it's meant to be; it's all ok. This is of critical importance because your rejection or upset or fear of something—your being offended by something—is what starts the process of your thinking or acting (under the guidance of your ego-mind) in ways that create suffering and disturb your peace. And your outward energy flow in such a case will be decidedly negative.

When I say "it's meant to be," I don't mean that some celestial source manipulated things to bring this about, I mean that the laws of nature or the "laws" of the way man has developed have brought this about. There is no judgment here; it just is.

And when I say, "It's all ok," I mean that spiritually you will be ok, safe, regardless what is happening around you or to you—regardless whether you have been physically assaulted or are in prison or homeless— because you will always return home to your heart and be at peace and happy. Regardless. (See my post, "Regardless.")

Once you have gained this understanding, then you are ready to practice The Heart's Embrace.  (See my post, "The Heart's Embrace.") In this meditation, you acknowledge that any childhood trauma your experienced is just the way it was. You acknowledge that any disappointments or anger you experience in the present is regarding things that just are.  And you acknowledge that the future brings whatever it brings, que sera sera. There is no victimhood in this scenario,  When you do that meditation, nothing will offend, all internal and external struggle ceases, and you know you have everything inside yourself to be at peace and happy.

Another step that is critical is that you form the intent to change the way you react to things, etc.  This is important because, again, you are attempting to change the patterns of a lifetime, your habit-energy. This is not easy. And so you need to form the intent to love yourself unconditionally, to be strong and find your strength in your faith, etc. Once you are able to form these intents to change your habit-energy—which is a challenge in and of itself—it makes it easier, more likely, that you will actually be able to implement these changes.

The last thing I want to mention is the importance of daily meditation and prayer.  The barrage we face every day is so unrelenting and our ego-mind is so powerful and deeply rooted within us, that we need to constantly reinforce the positive forces within us. And that is the purpose of daily meditation/prayer.  

And I practice what I preach. Over the last 33 years, I have not missed one day of meditation/prayer—whether I've been at home, whether I've been sick, whether I've been traveling.  Nothing interferes with my meditation/prayer practice. A major reason why I have not missed a day, besides discipline, is that I meditate first thing in the morning after I get up so that nothing can interfere with my intent to meditate.

When you have accomplished these steps, found your positive outward energy flow, and stopped absorbing negative energy from the world around you, you will feel a peace and lightness of spirit that is your birthright.

Many people have faith or pray, but their faith and prayer is tied to something happening that they desire. If it happens, great.  If it doesn't, they question their faith or their prayer—they ask whether their higher power is there for them.

They've got it all wrong.  Faith and prayer have nothing to do with something happening, it cannot be dependent on that.  Remember: we are talking here about faith in your true self, your heart, the child of the Universe inside you, not in some external spirit that pulls the strings of life.

The point of faith is that you know that the God/the Universe within you loves you and that you will be ok regardless what happens to you or around you because you have returned home to your true Buddha nature/the child of the Universe within you and so nothing can disturb your heart's peace and happiness. (See my posts, "Buddhism and the Divine" and "The Miracle That Is You.") The world is controlled by men and what men do has everything to do with them, their ego, and has nothing to do with God, the Universe, the spirit.—even when they say they are doing God's work. But despite this, you see all things with equanimity; nothing offends.

You may in your prayer tell the Universe what you desire, and you may imagine receiving what you desire (see my post, "Prayer") but your faith is not dependent on that desire being fulfilled. The most the Universe will do in response to your prayer is present you with a happenstance that gives you the opportunity to act and fulfill your desire. (See my post, "Happenstance - Part II.")

But if it is not meant to be, if it is truly not in your best interest (if you asked yourself, "Is this right for me?" you would get an answer which you may or may not listen to), then it will not happen. This is what is meant by "turning your will and your life over to God" or "let go and let God." You cannot allow your mind to control your thoughts or your actions as it brings you nothing but suffering.

The key word here is "regardless."  Whether your heart's desire is fulfilled or whether you are homeless or in a concentration camp, if you have come home to your true self, to the child of the Universe within you, then truly nothing will disturb your peace and happiness. That state is not dependent on anything external to you; it is only dependent on your continued faith and contact with your true self. Hard as it may be to imagine, you will be at peace regardless.
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