Question

Is it OK to do the Five Reflections in a conversational tone, in a way that links them all together? Example: "Yes I'm very fortunate to have a precious human body and opportunities for Dhamma practice, but Death might come at any time, any minute, and I'd better not waste this chance. Everything is impermanent and these conditions will pass away, etc." Or is it more beneficial to always stop and ponder each one separately?

Answer

For this particular one it would be OK if you were doing what we call a short form of the Reflections. Because, basically you're dropping one idea into the mind, and then the next idea, in a very short way. This has benefit in that it forms a deep groove in the mind, especially if you repeat this particular format, all the time. Then, when you ponder them in a longer form, pausing in between them, you can go more deeply into them. As you go more deeply into them, you see them from all angles. Then, in your normal life, if you start to see that you're getting worried about the future or something, this short form may come up at that particular moment, because it's formed a deep groove in the mind. But, even though you're bringing up just this short sentence this small reflection, you will have all the understanding of past reflections to aid you at that particular time. So, this is helpful for a short form.

Our apologies if there are any errors in the above text. If anything seems to be wrong or confusing in any way, please feel free to contact the teachers for further clarification.