Question

Is it okay to make up our own systematic reflections?

Answer

Certainly, as long as the reflections are based in the Dhamma. It is quite good for developing more creativity in the reflection meditations and developing more interest. The more interest we develop, the more interesting it becomes to us and perhaps the deeper it can go for us. So this is part of what one Thai teacher called "broom dtang"-ing, which means to concoct, deliberate about the Dhamma, about these truths. To make it more interesting, he used the analogy of cooking Thai food where they put all the different ingredients in - a little bit of this and a little bit of that and a little bit of this - to make it more interesting. So yes, it is quite okay, as long as the reflections are concerned with the truth.

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