Question

Could you give some tips for some different systems for the Reflection meditations? I seem to be going over the same thoughts again and again.

Answer

I mentioned a bit about this yesterday. For a lot of the Reflections, we've got things like ages, 0 to 100, 1 year at a time. For Dukkha Reflection, consider all the different Dukkha that a 1 year old baby can have. OK? They've got heaps. One year old, two year old, go through it. When you get to certain ages, often above your age, you have got to imagine more, you have got to be more innovative, remember movies, remember your parents, grandparents and so on. For some ages there doesn't seem to be too much of a difference, so just invent another disease, or something for 64 years old, and then 65 years old. Consider also their psychological problems, as far as age goes, the difference between 29 and 30, 49 and 50, etc.

We've got body parts as I mentioned before. We've got occupations, we've got countries as well, we've got mental states, use the alphabet, ABC with anger, boredom, etc. All these different things. We've got the Compassion and Lovingkindness regarding family and friends as to me, close relatives, other relatives and family and so on. We've got area, dimension - me, the closest person to me, this and that. Traditionally in the scriptures are the ten directions, especially for the Compassion and Lovingkindness meditation, you have got north, south, east, west, you have got north by northeast and so on, you have got those eight directions, and then you have got ten with above and below as well.

Yesterday I mentioned about Broong Dtanging and putting two or three together. Experiment as well, try to stimulate your mind as to something very unique, to give an example. Many years ago the assistants here decided to have a contest - who could think up the most bizarre way to die here in the Wat. The most unusual, that nobody could possible think of, you know? They had a contest and told us the winner. It was quite unusual. Extremely unusual, I'm not going to give you a nightmare telling it to you. It was very unusual. So this is something to stimulate your mind. What's another way, what's another way? If you have think you have reflected on every different type of Dukkha, push your mind to think up a new one. If you think you have thought of every different way you could die, push your mind to think of a new one. OK? Different stuff like that.

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