Contemplation: The lightning, the shade, the dew

After reviewing the guidelines for practice, take the following as your contemplation:

All things are without entity, transient, like the moon in water, the lightning, the shade, the dew.  The Buddha teaches people, "Words fail to express the Dharma."  Thus, I place my faith in Amitabha Buddha.

from the Five Mindful Gates (Gonemnon), as recited at Tendai Buddhist Institute

Contemplation: Herons, Cats, and Burglars

After reviewing the guidelines for this practice, take the following as your contemplation:

Herons, cats, and burglars
Go silently and carefully;
This is how they gain what they intend.
And one who practices this path behaves likewise.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 72

Contemplation: The Light of the Sun and Moon

After reviewing the guidelines for the practice, take the following as your contemplation:

As the light of the sun and moon
Eliminates the darkness,
These people practicing in the world
Will extinguish the blindness of sentient beings,
Teaching innumerable bodhisattvas
To dwell ultimately in the Single Vehicle.

Lotus Sutra, Chapter 21, as recited at Tendai Buddhist Institute

Contemplation: A Vessel

After reviewing the guidelines for the practice, take the following as your contemplation:

Regard your body as a vessel,
A simple boat for going here and there.
Make of it a wish-fulfilling gem
To bring about the benefit of beings.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 72