This is based on the Tibetan Buddhist text Mind Training in Seven Points
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammā -sambuddhassa.
Homage to the one who is blessed, is worthy, is rightly self-awakened.
1 Preliminaries
First train in all preliminary duties & practices. Taking refuge in the triple gem, dependence with a teacher, and having confidence in the process of actions having consequences & results1, cultivating friendships with the wise & always wanting to hear, give ear, and exert ones mind to learning the moral principles2 and teachings that point too truth3 - with right meaning and phrasing4 - not wanting to err and turn aside from the teachers instructions that affirm the utterly perfect & pure chaste life; this is acting with friendliness towards the teacher.
2 The Actual Practice
Banish the one object of every blame, with upright effort abandon unskilful states, not being remiss in cultivating skilful ones, reflecting on the great fortune of life as a human being and kindness of all sentient beings.
Practice a combination of giving and receiving, start from your own side to progressively cultivate the intention of renunciation, remember this by repeatedly recollecting the teachings, and keeping the in mind during all activities – “Cease unskilful acts, train in skillfulness and purify ones own mind - these are the teachings of all the Buddha's.”
Mount these two on the breath, so that the three objects5 are not controlled by the three roots of unskilfulness6, rather the three roots of skilfulness7. So be able & upright, straightforward, yet gentle in speech, humble and not conceited, contented and easily satisfied, unburdened with duties, and frugal in ones ways, not proud or demanding in nature, nor doing the slightest thing the wise would reprove.
3 Transform Adversity into the Path
If there is a solution to dis-ease & stress apply it; however, if there is no solution, then there is no benefit in being unhappy with the way things are, as all things are inconsistent, they are stressful - a cause of dis-ease by their very nature - as they are inconsistent, stressful, subject to change, & not in our control, it is not fitting for anyone to regard them as 'mine', 'myself', or 'what I am'.
When the circumstances flow with skillfulness, meet them with the customs of the noble ones, as they are the ones to follow, so always train in the three trainings of the noble path8, reflecting before, during, & after actions of body, speech, and mind in-order to transform your attitude, yet still retaining your natural demeanour.
So applying reflections used by the wise at every opportunity, while possessing your home resort – the four establishments of mindfulness9 - being clearly aware at all times & reading your own mind in-order to diminish the three roots of skillfulness, while establishing the three roots of skillfulness; as beings are the owners of their actions - and inherit its consequences & results - so one should preform all activities with upright intention.
4 The Integrated Practice
Integrate all such teachings & actions that are good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good at the end10 in all aspects of ones practice & understanding - so for this purpose retain the two witnesses11 as the principle councils.
There are two activities to be done12 - at the beginning and at the end - so endure whatever situation arises – good or bad13 - and guard your senses as you would your life.
5 Measure of Mind Training
Through the cultivation of an upright perspective the trained mind retains control, even when distracted, so one is always accompanied by the mark of training which is a gladdened mind based on dis-passion, due to renunciation, non-ill-will, and non-covetousness.
6 Commitments
To live a contented simple life, easy to support, speaking only words that are beneficial, timely, & true, cultivating contentment, and self-restraint, being open-handedly generous, and acting with goodwill & compassion; be moderate in eating, devoted to wakefulness, as-well as having shame & fear for wrongdoing; for misconduct in body, speech, & mind; and for engaging in foolish unskilful activities.
When one knows through experience, or reflection that an action leads to affliction for oneself, another, or both; that it is unskilful having stressful consequences & results; one should confess its performance, when done, reveal it, & lay it open to the teacher, or to a wise companion in the chaste life; restraining oneself in the future from those acts, so one should exert oneself now, not waiting until later to purify the mind with tranquillity & wisdom, as death may come at any moment.
7 Precepts of Mind Training
Refrain from intentionally harming or killing sentient beings, via body, speech, or mind.
Refrain from taking that which is not given, & covetousness.
Refrain from unchaste behaviour & sensual misconduct.
Refrain from lying, idle chatter, divisive speech, and personal comments of an abusive nature.
Refrain from taking intoxicants that cause foolishness, confusion & heedlessness.
Refrain from eating at unsuitable times14, from intoxicating hobbies of beautification, entertainments, and from high & luxurious resting places15.
Refrain from talking about the offences of others.
Refrain from creating or upholding a division in a united community.
Refrain from claiming attainments that have not been achieved.
Refrain from all poisonous and impure nutrition16.
Refrain from maintaining misplaced loyalty with unwise friends17.
Refrain from agitating to raise again a solved issue.
Refrain from ill-will, or seeking retribution for abuse.
Refrain from being ungenerous, unforgiving & disrespectful towards others, and the three jewels.
Refrain from aiming to be the first; to be the best.
Refrain from seeking pleasure by causing anguish to arise in another; thus turning a god into a demon.
Refrain from groundlessly accusing another of committing a wrongdoing.
Refrain from being boastful, declaring attainments you have achieved; or wanting gratitude, so declaring attainments you have not achieved to receive it.
Refrain from being short tempered, or making threatening gestures, suggesting one is going to cause harm.
Refrain from being erratic and short lived attempts in practice, or from underestimating your abilities.
Refrain from wrong livelihood18 and being insincere for appearances.
Refrain from hiding another's property or diverting offerings made to a group, for one persons benefit.
Conclusion
When Stability has been established & no view is held dogmatically, one can impart the teachings of which one has trained in: so considering all things as a lump of foam, a bubble in water, transient, and by examining the way things are - with mindfulness - the path is realised in time, so place the path as the basis of all practices.
Notes
1 - kammavipāka – action is called intention by the Buddha.
2 - Sīlā.
3 - Dhamma
4 - Philosophy & philology
5 - Body; speech; & mind.
6 - Greed; hatred; & delusion
7 - Non-greed; non-hatred; & non-delusion
8 - Sīlā; samādhī; & pañña
9 - Body; feelings; mental qualities; & mental phenomena.
10 - Vism 1.10 says that this is sīlā as the beginning; samādhī as the middle; & pañña as the end.
11 - Ones own and a wise friends (teachers) understanding of the dhamma-vinaya
12 - Upright effort.
13 - Refers to the eight worldly conditions – praise & blame; happiness & distress; good & bad fortune; authority & mediocrity.
14 - From consuming food between noon and the following dawn
15 - Anywhere one would sit or lye down, i.e., a bed, or sofa.
16 - Physical food for the body; sensory contact; volition; consciousness.
17 - Friends who promote unskilful actions, or who misrepresent the truth.
18 - Business in intoxicants; meat; poison; weapons; humans, for laypeople; and hinting; belittling; scheming; carrying messages, etc., for mendicants.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammā -sambuddhassa.
Homage to the one who is blessed, is worthy, is rightly self-awakened.
1 Preliminaries
First train in all preliminary duties & practices. Taking refuge in the triple gem, dependence with a teacher, and having confidence in the process of actions having consequences & results1, cultivating friendships with the wise & always wanting to hear, give ear, and exert ones mind to learning the moral principles2 and teachings that point too truth3 - with right meaning and phrasing4 - not wanting to err and turn aside from the teachers instructions that affirm the utterly perfect & pure chaste life; this is acting with friendliness towards the teacher.
2 The Actual Practice
Banish the one object of every blame, with upright effort abandon unskilful states, not being remiss in cultivating skilful ones, reflecting on the great fortune of life as a human being and kindness of all sentient beings.
Practice a combination of giving and receiving, start from your own side to progressively cultivate the intention of renunciation, remember this by repeatedly recollecting the teachings, and keeping the in mind during all activities – “Cease unskilful acts, train in skillfulness and purify ones own mind - these are the teachings of all the Buddha's.”
Mount these two on the breath, so that the three objects5 are not controlled by the three roots of unskilfulness6, rather the three roots of skilfulness7. So be able & upright, straightforward, yet gentle in speech, humble and not conceited, contented and easily satisfied, unburdened with duties, and frugal in ones ways, not proud or demanding in nature, nor doing the slightest thing the wise would reprove.
3 Transform Adversity into the Path
If there is a solution to dis-ease & stress apply it; however, if there is no solution, then there is no benefit in being unhappy with the way things are, as all things are inconsistent, they are stressful - a cause of dis-ease by their very nature - as they are inconsistent, stressful, subject to change, & not in our control, it is not fitting for anyone to regard them as 'mine', 'myself', or 'what I am'.
When the circumstances flow with skillfulness, meet them with the customs of the noble ones, as they are the ones to follow, so always train in the three trainings of the noble path8, reflecting before, during, & after actions of body, speech, and mind in-order to transform your attitude, yet still retaining your natural demeanour.
So applying reflections used by the wise at every opportunity, while possessing your home resort – the four establishments of mindfulness9 - being clearly aware at all times & reading your own mind in-order to diminish the three roots of skillfulness, while establishing the three roots of skillfulness; as beings are the owners of their actions - and inherit its consequences & results - so one should preform all activities with upright intention.
4 The Integrated Practice
Integrate all such teachings & actions that are good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good at the end10 in all aspects of ones practice & understanding - so for this purpose retain the two witnesses11 as the principle councils.
There are two activities to be done12 - at the beginning and at the end - so endure whatever situation arises – good or bad13 - and guard your senses as you would your life.
5 Measure of Mind Training
Through the cultivation of an upright perspective the trained mind retains control, even when distracted, so one is always accompanied by the mark of training which is a gladdened mind based on dis-passion, due to renunciation, non-ill-will, and non-covetousness.
6 Commitments
To live a contented simple life, easy to support, speaking only words that are beneficial, timely, & true, cultivating contentment, and self-restraint, being open-handedly generous, and acting with goodwill & compassion; be moderate in eating, devoted to wakefulness, as-well as having shame & fear for wrongdoing; for misconduct in body, speech, & mind; and for engaging in foolish unskilful activities.
When one knows through experience, or reflection that an action leads to affliction for oneself, another, or both; that it is unskilful having stressful consequences & results; one should confess its performance, when done, reveal it, & lay it open to the teacher, or to a wise companion in the chaste life; restraining oneself in the future from those acts, so one should exert oneself now, not waiting until later to purify the mind with tranquillity & wisdom, as death may come at any moment.
7 Precepts of Mind Training
Refrain from intentionally harming or killing sentient beings, via body, speech, or mind.
Refrain from taking that which is not given, & covetousness.
Refrain from unchaste behaviour & sensual misconduct.
Refrain from lying, idle chatter, divisive speech, and personal comments of an abusive nature.
Refrain from taking intoxicants that cause foolishness, confusion & heedlessness.
Refrain from eating at unsuitable times14, from intoxicating hobbies of beautification, entertainments, and from high & luxurious resting places15.
Refrain from talking about the offences of others.
Refrain from creating or upholding a division in a united community.
Refrain from claiming attainments that have not been achieved.
Refrain from all poisonous and impure nutrition16.
Refrain from maintaining misplaced loyalty with unwise friends17.
Refrain from agitating to raise again a solved issue.
Refrain from ill-will, or seeking retribution for abuse.
Refrain from being ungenerous, unforgiving & disrespectful towards others, and the three jewels.
Refrain from aiming to be the first; to be the best.
Refrain from seeking pleasure by causing anguish to arise in another; thus turning a god into a demon.
Refrain from groundlessly accusing another of committing a wrongdoing.
Refrain from being boastful, declaring attainments you have achieved; or wanting gratitude, so declaring attainments you have not achieved to receive it.
Refrain from being short tempered, or making threatening gestures, suggesting one is going to cause harm.
Refrain from being erratic and short lived attempts in practice, or from underestimating your abilities.
Refrain from wrong livelihood18 and being insincere for appearances.
Refrain from hiding another's property or diverting offerings made to a group, for one persons benefit.
Conclusion
When Stability has been established & no view is held dogmatically, one can impart the teachings of which one has trained in: so considering all things as a lump of foam, a bubble in water, transient, and by examining the way things are - with mindfulness - the path is realised in time, so place the path as the basis of all practices.
Notes
1 - kammavipāka – action is called intention by the Buddha.
2 - Sīlā.
3 - Dhamma
4 - Philosophy & philology
5 - Body; speech; & mind.
6 - Greed; hatred; & delusion
7 - Non-greed; non-hatred; & non-delusion
8 - Sīlā; samādhī; & pañña
9 - Body; feelings; mental qualities; & mental phenomena.
10 - Vism 1.10 says that this is sīlā as the beginning; samādhī as the middle; & pañña as the end.
11 - Ones own and a wise friends (teachers) understanding of the dhamma-vinaya
12 - Upright effort.
13 - Refers to the eight worldly conditions – praise & blame; happiness & distress; good & bad fortune; authority & mediocrity.
14 - From consuming food between noon and the following dawn
15 - Anywhere one would sit or lye down, i.e., a bed, or sofa.
16 - Physical food for the body; sensory contact; volition; consciousness.
17 - Friends who promote unskilful actions, or who misrepresent the truth.
18 - Business in intoxicants; meat; poison; weapons; humans, for laypeople; and hinting; belittling; scheming; carrying messages, etc., for mendicants.
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