How to Practice Recollection of the "Triple Gem" Meditation
Find a quiet, peaceful place and settle into a comfortable posture., Consider the ways this meditation can go astray and lose direction., Once you have calmed the mind, start to recollect the Buddha., To recollect the Dharma (ie, what the Buddha...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Find a quiet
To choose a type that suits you best, the Do Mindful Meditation looks at the four postures that you can try.
Spend a few minutes relaxing the mind and body and use these minutes to build a sense of mindfulness and awareness.
Like most meditations, sincerity is very important.
This is no different and in many ways the most important factor.
To be sincere means to go the distance and not settle halfway. -
Step 2: peaceful place and settle into a comfortable posture.
Getting lost in doubts and worries.
Doubts happen to many and many feel a sense of shame, worry, fear or uneasiness that doubts still remain. but those who have applied the dharma in a simple experimental format in their day to day lives
- supposition or hypothesis, then the application and testing then finally the observations, meaning that once you have something you wish to test, the test is done and the results observed.
Being lost in attachment and dreams.
This one is subtle, tricky and hard to expose.
The main reason is because most Buddhists are deceptively attached to the Buddha, having their own fantasies of what he was like and dreams of meeting him.
Most Buddhists are also attached to the dharma (should they be stream enterers, or very devout) and many have attachment to the sangha and monastic community.
The point of this section is to show to the practitioner that faith alone is not the path, but faith can lead to letting go if applied correctly.
Strictly speaking, confidence in the Buddha is not the same as faith in the western sense, as the confidence is built on tangible experiences so the element of belief is not present.
The Buddha also left us with an analogy for the second challenge, when you use the boat to cross the river, you don't carry the boat around on your head once you reach the other side.
It is more common that practitioners do one of the two extremes, abandon the boat too quickly and go overboard, or when the chance to put down the burden finally comes, the practitioner prefers the richness of culture and traditions and consequently stays in the boat, consequently not putting a foot on dry land. , Some examples of many are to consider:
The virtue of the Buddha.
Characteristics that inspire you and why these characteristics are admirable.
The rarity of Buddha's or "Awakened Ones".
The mental prowess of the Buddha in terms of meditation and wisdom Again take note if you are fantasizing about the stories or dreaming of traveling through time and meeting the Buddha (etc).
Its far more an objective practice not to grow attached to the Buddha as a person or idea, but to consider if the Buddha is worth listening to and trying what he taught.
This is freedom of choice which is quite subtly central and highly important to the whole teaching and practice, because the choice to let go and to cross the river is always has always been up to us.
There is a common misconception in other religions that having a Buddha statue is a form of idol worship.
Although no experienced Buddhist actually believes that Buddha is in front of them, interestingly this problem is actually universal in all religions.
Although some have statues, icons and symbols and all of them have words, the exact same mental process of what can be called idol-worship can arise in the mind without needing any icon or statue at all.
It is a highly deceptive trap and because such attachment and desires arise from the mind, it is best to investigate there first. , This are consistent and aren't harmful or encourage disharmony or "leading you up the garden path".
Can be seen here and now when you investigate and apply them.
Are timeless, so not relevant just to a certain time, culture, person or place, but relevant anywhere.
Inviting you to investigate them.
Literally you are encouraged to test any of the principles.
Onward leading.
They are not without a purpose or benefit.
They lead to your present & future well-being.
Directly experienced by the wise.
Those who have let go of clinging to things and grown disenchanted with wanting and rejecting can experience exactly what is going on.
This doesn't happen to people who want to continue holding onto things that don't bring release.
Be sincere and measure against your own experiences.
Avoid considering any of these things blindly in "dumb faith".
Evaluate it objectively, deliberately and in context to your life and the world.
If you don't evaluate honestly and sincerely, then this recollection gives little benefit or meaning, will seem dull and pointless or even worse, it can make your mind simply unable to investigate and understand the mind and the body which for a practitioner dedicated to the path will be a major obstacle to further progression.
The way measuring can go wrong is when a person measures against another person with a self focus.
Sometimes this can be a good thing, as it can inspire a person to strive to improve themselves, but sometimes it can be used to build states of mind which are unhelpful.
Measuring is about looking at a past experience either pleasant or unpleasant and asking
- what was going on? What factors were or were not in play? You can consider if the situation could have been improved, or what would have made a situation worse. , That have not only practiced, but gained the benefit of understanding and release in various or full degrees.
Worthy of the donations of food, clothing (etc) that they receive.
Honorable to give or receive hospitality & lodgings.
Are worthy of visiting, listening to and can explain the teaching both basically and in depth.
The point of this section is looking at the admirable members is simply that they are admirable and inspiring to help you walk your own path.
When a practitioner looks to the negative examples
- and every society has them
- it can really only be of benefit if you are looking in yourself to see if the same problems exist and then act to remove the problem from yourself, so that you can be an admirable member of the community that can help others. , This can take some practice, but the image often arises because of the theme and goes away when the theme is dropped.
If the conditions are right (and this is seldom the case), allow the image to take the whole scope of your awareness as you relax further into it.
If the conditions aren't right, try to develop the image each time you meditate.
Practicing compassion, equanimity, appreciation or loving kindness and goodwill type meditations in conjunction with this meditation is useful to develop more applicable or practical use of the triple gem meditation.
Study the three aspects deeper on a more practical level.
Why is the Buddha a good role model, why is the Dharma said to be of benefit, why is the community so important? Find practical ways you can incorporate what you learn into your day to day life. -
Step 3: Consider the ways this meditation can go astray and lose direction.
-
Step 4: Once you have calmed the mind
-
Step 5: start to recollect the Buddha.
-
Step 6: To recollect the Dharma (ie
-
Step 7: what the Buddha taught)
-
Step 8: there is a useful line of things to consider and test: The teachings are of benefit because they are good in the beginning
-
Step 9: middle and end.
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Step 10: To recollect the Sangha (or Buddhist community)
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Step 11: consider or bring to mind the members of the community who themselves are: True to the teaching (ie
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Step 12: practice what they teach and are well familiar with what the Buddha taught).
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Step 13: Consider some of the following suggestions to develop the meditation further: If an image or mental image arises during any of the three
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Step 14: spend time examining it without losing track of the theme you were studying.
Detailed Guide
To choose a type that suits you best, the Do Mindful Meditation looks at the four postures that you can try.
Spend a few minutes relaxing the mind and body and use these minutes to build a sense of mindfulness and awareness.
Like most meditations, sincerity is very important.
This is no different and in many ways the most important factor.
To be sincere means to go the distance and not settle halfway.
Getting lost in doubts and worries.
Doubts happen to many and many feel a sense of shame, worry, fear or uneasiness that doubts still remain. but those who have applied the dharma in a simple experimental format in their day to day lives
- supposition or hypothesis, then the application and testing then finally the observations, meaning that once you have something you wish to test, the test is done and the results observed.
Being lost in attachment and dreams.
This one is subtle, tricky and hard to expose.
The main reason is because most Buddhists are deceptively attached to the Buddha, having their own fantasies of what he was like and dreams of meeting him.
Most Buddhists are also attached to the dharma (should they be stream enterers, or very devout) and many have attachment to the sangha and monastic community.
The point of this section is to show to the practitioner that faith alone is not the path, but faith can lead to letting go if applied correctly.
Strictly speaking, confidence in the Buddha is not the same as faith in the western sense, as the confidence is built on tangible experiences so the element of belief is not present.
The Buddha also left us with an analogy for the second challenge, when you use the boat to cross the river, you don't carry the boat around on your head once you reach the other side.
It is more common that practitioners do one of the two extremes, abandon the boat too quickly and go overboard, or when the chance to put down the burden finally comes, the practitioner prefers the richness of culture and traditions and consequently stays in the boat, consequently not putting a foot on dry land. , Some examples of many are to consider:
The virtue of the Buddha.
Characteristics that inspire you and why these characteristics are admirable.
The rarity of Buddha's or "Awakened Ones".
The mental prowess of the Buddha in terms of meditation and wisdom Again take note if you are fantasizing about the stories or dreaming of traveling through time and meeting the Buddha (etc).
Its far more an objective practice not to grow attached to the Buddha as a person or idea, but to consider if the Buddha is worth listening to and trying what he taught.
This is freedom of choice which is quite subtly central and highly important to the whole teaching and practice, because the choice to let go and to cross the river is always has always been up to us.
There is a common misconception in other religions that having a Buddha statue is a form of idol worship.
Although no experienced Buddhist actually believes that Buddha is in front of them, interestingly this problem is actually universal in all religions.
Although some have statues, icons and symbols and all of them have words, the exact same mental process of what can be called idol-worship can arise in the mind without needing any icon or statue at all.
It is a highly deceptive trap and because such attachment and desires arise from the mind, it is best to investigate there first. , This are consistent and aren't harmful or encourage disharmony or "leading you up the garden path".
Can be seen here and now when you investigate and apply them.
Are timeless, so not relevant just to a certain time, culture, person or place, but relevant anywhere.
Inviting you to investigate them.
Literally you are encouraged to test any of the principles.
Onward leading.
They are not without a purpose or benefit.
They lead to your present & future well-being.
Directly experienced by the wise.
Those who have let go of clinging to things and grown disenchanted with wanting and rejecting can experience exactly what is going on.
This doesn't happen to people who want to continue holding onto things that don't bring release.
Be sincere and measure against your own experiences.
Avoid considering any of these things blindly in "dumb faith".
Evaluate it objectively, deliberately and in context to your life and the world.
If you don't evaluate honestly and sincerely, then this recollection gives little benefit or meaning, will seem dull and pointless or even worse, it can make your mind simply unable to investigate and understand the mind and the body which for a practitioner dedicated to the path will be a major obstacle to further progression.
The way measuring can go wrong is when a person measures against another person with a self focus.
Sometimes this can be a good thing, as it can inspire a person to strive to improve themselves, but sometimes it can be used to build states of mind which are unhelpful.
Measuring is about looking at a past experience either pleasant or unpleasant and asking
- what was going on? What factors were or were not in play? You can consider if the situation could have been improved, or what would have made a situation worse. , That have not only practiced, but gained the benefit of understanding and release in various or full degrees.
Worthy of the donations of food, clothing (etc) that they receive.
Honorable to give or receive hospitality & lodgings.
Are worthy of visiting, listening to and can explain the teaching both basically and in depth.
The point of this section is looking at the admirable members is simply that they are admirable and inspiring to help you walk your own path.
When a practitioner looks to the negative examples
- and every society has them
- it can really only be of benefit if you are looking in yourself to see if the same problems exist and then act to remove the problem from yourself, so that you can be an admirable member of the community that can help others. , This can take some practice, but the image often arises because of the theme and goes away when the theme is dropped.
If the conditions are right (and this is seldom the case), allow the image to take the whole scope of your awareness as you relax further into it.
If the conditions aren't right, try to develop the image each time you meditate.
Practicing compassion, equanimity, appreciation or loving kindness and goodwill type meditations in conjunction with this meditation is useful to develop more applicable or practical use of the triple gem meditation.
Study the three aspects deeper on a more practical level.
Why is the Buddha a good role model, why is the Dharma said to be of benefit, why is the community so important? Find practical ways you can incorporate what you learn into your day to day life.
About the Author
Lori Morgan
Enthusiastic about teaching hobbies techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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