It all depends on your intention

It is extremely important to know how to live your life. We must know what is practice and what is not practice; or what is Dharma and what is not Dharma. The benefits of knowing this, of having this wisdom, are incredible and endless.

We must understand that within twenty-four hours a day, all our actions—walking, standing, sitting, lying, talking, and working—can become the cause of enlightenment and liberation. The cause of happiness in the next life, or the cause of falling into the three lower realms. Everything depends on our motivation.

Just taking a sip of water, just the act of drinking water, can become the cause of enlightenment, the cause of liberation, the cause of happiness in the next life, or the cause of falling into the three lower realms.

Therefore we should think like this: If I drink water with the motivation of bodhicitta - for the benefit of all sentient beings and to achieve Buddhahood - no matter how many glasses of water I drink from the cup, no matter how many glasses of water I drink , every mouthful becomes the cause for all sentient beings to become Buddhas, and the cause for all sentient beings to be happy.

However, if I drink water with the greed of this life, then every sip and every glass of water will only become the cause of suffering, the unbearable suffering of the three lower realms. The cause of the problem - not to mention the cause of various problems in human nature.

If we speak with worldly attachment to this life, no matter how many hours we speak, it will all become the cause of rebirth in the realm of suffering, the cause of suffering.

If we drive with the motive of greed for this life, then no matter how many hours we drive, it will all turn into negative karma. But if we drive with good intentions, it will undoubtedly become a cause of happiness.

If we sleep with attachment to this life, no matter how many hours we sleep, it will all become the cause of bad karma and bad destiny.

When we write letters or books, read newspapers or watch TV, it is all the same: whether these actions become the practice of Dharma and the cause of happiness depends on the motivation. If the motivation is to cling to this life, then no matter how much reading, watching TV, etc. we do, it will all turn into bad karma.

When we go shopping, whether the shopping behavior becomes the cause of enlightenment for other sentient beings, the cause of self-seeking liberation from samsara, or the cause of happiness in the next life depends on the motivation. If you are shopping with the greed of clinging to this world, then all shopping behaviors - one, ten, fifteen, hundreds, several trillion - are all bad karma; they are not the practice of Buddhism.

The same is true when you work: no matter how many hours you work, if you work with bodhicitta and the desire to benefit all sentient beings and desire Buddhahood, it will become a source of happiness for all sentient beings. because. But if you work with a mind that is greedy for this life, it will all turn into bad karma, the cause of suffering in the three lower realms.

Walking with Bodhicitta

Walking with Bodhicitta makes the act of walking the cause of bliss and supreme achievement. From the moment you leave home, practice mindfulness so that your mind continues to be focused on bodhicitta.

Thought: The purpose of my life is to lead all sentient beings to escape suffering and achieve happiness. Then connect it to the people you see on the road or in shops and restaurants, people in cars, animals, insects - every living being that passes you as you walk.

When walking, be strongly aware that every sentient being, every person, and every insect is the source of your past, present, and future happiness, and you are extremely compassionate. Or realize that they have been your mother and treated you with compassion in four ways, which is boundless compassion. Walk with this awareness and feel especially the compassion of all sentient beings you see. The determination you have made in your mind should be that you hope to lead every sentient being to be free from suffering, so that every sentient being can gain peace and happiness; you hope to lead them to achieve Buddhahood.

When you return home, act with bodhicitta and this awareness. This is how to enjoy life, how to live a happy life in a meaningful way, without being fooled by your ego.

Walking with the Right View of Emptiness

You can also walk by contemplating emptiness. In this way, the act of walking does not become the cause of the suffering of samsara, especially the unimaginable suffering of the three lower realms.

Walking with the mind meditating on emptiness makes the act of walking the antidote to all the suffering of samsara. It cuts off the roots of afflictions and the ignorance that cannot discern that I am empty and exist independently of my own nature. Through this contemplation, the act of walking becomes the cause of attaining liberation.

As you walk, ask yourself. Why do you say, "I'm walking?" Analyze it. The only reason you say "I am walking" is that the aggregates of the body are doing the act of walking. There is no other reason.

Since the aggregates of the body are doing the act of walking, set up the thought from the heart and label it, "I am walking." In fact, there is a self-existing self in the body that appears to you. In front of me, the behavior of walking is showing. This me is completely delusional and does not exist at all. The me who is walking is just posited by your own thoughts and words. The me who is walking is nothing more than that. The self that you believe seems to be real is just a fabrication based on words from the heart - it is a complete delusion, it does not exist, it is empty.

The road, the house, the sky, the trees, the act of walking are all the same: they are merely posited by the words of the mind. Things that appear to be real from the outside are just delusions, objects to be refuted.

Therefore, as you walk, be aware of these thoughts—me, actions, objects—and be aware that they are thoughts (meaning they arise from your own side). Then, no matter how many hours you walk with this awareness, it all becomes the path to enlightenment, the antidote to cutting off ignorance, which is the root of samsara and the root of all suffering.

Walking as if in a dream

Another simple way to meditate while walking is to ask yourself: Am I just appearing based on the false establishment of the famous saying? In my eyes, that's not how it appears. Is the act of walking merely based on a famous saying? Do the roads, the sky, the cars, the people, your cat, your dog, the ice cream just appear based on a famous quote? Did everything I saw just appear based on the fictitious sayings? No, in my eyes, this is not how they appear. Therefore, it is all a dream, it is an illusion. You are walking in a dream: the road, the trees, the sky, the ground, the people passing by, the walk itself - everything is in the dream. (Actually, the correct way to express this is to say, "It was like a dream," but perhaps it is more effective for our hearts to say "I was dreaming.")

Why Do you meditate like this? When you practice this kind of awareness, there is no attachment, no greed, because you understand that everything is an illusion, a dream, and not real. In fact, all these things that seem to have their own real existence - the real self, the real walking behavior, the real environment, the real road, the real sky, the real trees , real enemies, real friends - the complete opposite of reality. Thinking like this will help you see that greed and anger are unreasonable. This immediately brings tranquility to the mind, which becomes objective and free. The mind immediately becomes tolerant and free from anger.

So when you walk with the awareness that everything is like a dream, in your mind you understand that everything is unreal and does not exist. If you connect this to the self, actions, objects, etc. that arise from your own nature, you will realize that their nature is empty. But if you attribute to the general self, the general actions, the sky, the road, the trees, etc., then the way to meditate is that they are not inherently existing.

When you meditate on everything as a dream, no matter how many things you see - people in various shapes, or thousands of phenomena, beautiful or ugly - you know that there is nothing good about it. Persistence, there is nothing to be angry about, because there is nothing to hold on to. In your mind, you know they don't exist. Seeing things this way helps you let go.

Therefore, the path taken by contemplating everything as if it were a dream has become an antidote to cutting off the root of samsara. It has become a good remedy for all the suffering in samsara, including interpersonal relationships. Relationship problems, being treated maliciously by others, etc. Walk with this awareness that everything is like a dream, and cut off the causes, karma and defilements of samsara suffering. In this way, walking can become the cause of achieving ultimate happiness and liberating the entire cycle of samsara and its causes.

Walking with Dependent Origination

The fourth way to meditate is to be aware of Dependent Origination as you walk. As I mentioned before, you are walking because the aggregates are walking, so the mind says, "I am walking." I am walking, and I am walking. See the false sky, the false trees, the false people, the handsome men and beauties, the ugliness, the cars, the false cars House and so on. Stay aware of this subtle condition of origination as you walk.

Walking with the contemplation of impermanence

You can also meditate on the impermanence of death while walking. With every step you take, think that your life is ending and getting shorter. Especially if you walk fast, you can appreciate how quickly life ends. Whatever life was left, it was ending so quickly. Every step you take brings you closer to death—and if the bad karma has not been purified, then every step you take brings you closer to the unbearable suffering of the three lower realms.

As you drive, you can think that you are like a person being led to death; every moment you are closer to the moment of being killed. Practicing in this way is aware that life is ending so quickly and that one is getting closer and closer to death and the three lower realms.

Practicing in this way will also help with the problems you are facing: interpersonal problems, emotional problems, whatever it is. Thinking of the impermanence of death immediately eliminates problems of greed, anger, or jealousy; there will immediately be incredible peace. And it makes you determined to start practicing Buddhism immediately and not waste your life. It inspires and enlightens you, making every action a practice of Dharma. This is very powerful meditation.

Conclusion

If we do everything with bodhicitta twenty-four hours a day, we will accumulate immeasurable merit. Not only that, every action becomes the cause of liberation and the cause of happiness for every sentient being. In this way, you can make your life the most meaningful and abundant day after day.