Welcome to our fifteenth online suggested practise for the week. We are now broadcasting a live teaching each Monday evening. If you would like to participate please contact us using the contact form on the homepage.

1.0)  If you feel so inclined, begin by reciting the usual prayers (please follow below links for text). Alternatively, try to think or articulate a wish for all beings to achieve liberation from suffering, etc .

Four Thoughts: contemplating each in turn – http://northantsbuddhists.com/the-four-thoughts/

Refuge Prayer: twice in Tibetan, once in English – http://northantsbuddhists.com/the-refuge-prayer/

2.1) Overcoming Negative Emotions – Presented by Helen Puk

We need to recognise the emotions when they enter the mind. This may seem obvious but how many times do you find your unaware your mind has rabbited on for 10 minutes and you have found your mind in some scenario that hasn’t and probably not occur or if it has occurred was probably not how everyone else remembered it to our overplayed scenario.
Method
Sit with the spine straight tongue touching the roof of the mouth and become aware of your breath coming in to the chest. Focus on a point 2 inches below and 2 inches in the navel allowing the breath to push the belly out. The out breath is slightly longer than the inbreath. Each outbreath feel yourself sinking in to the ground. Just become aware of any tension in the key areas like shoulders forehead teeth and neck. If there is any breath in to the area and release it on the exhalation.

Allow yourself to bring a fearful situation in to your mind. Allow yourself to feel it. Where do you feel it? Bare in mind there is no right or wrong answer. Is it your head? Your stomach ? everywhere? How does it make you feel when you observe it?why are you avoiding this feeling? Observe it with no judgement? Just feel

Allow yourself to think of something or someone you you really Love. Something that makes your heart glow. Observe the feeling where do you feel it? Heart? All over? Head? No right no wrong, it is about you .How does it make you feel?
Now bring back fear, now Love ? where does the fear go?
These are just aspects of mind. It can only think of one thing at a time every feeling can be transpired by Love. The reality is you choose negative thoughts. Why?

2.2) Meta Bhavana – ”Loving Kindness Practice” – Presented by Steve Reynolds (Session 3 of 6)

“All the Joy the world contains has come through wishing happiness for others.

All the misery the world contains has come through wanting pleasure for oneself”.

Chapter 8, Verse 129 of ‘A Guide To The Bodhisattva’s Way Of Life’ (Sanskrit – Bodhisattvacaryavatara)

By Acharya Shantideva