Contemplation: Fired by the Highest Aspiration

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

Always fired by the highest aspiration,
Laboring to implement the antidotes,
You will gather virtues in the fields
Of qualities, of  benefits, of sorrow.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 73

Contemplation: Catching Sight of Others

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

catching sight of others, think
That it will be through them
That you come to Buddhahood.
So look on them with open, loving hearts.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 73

Announcement: Tonight's meditation is cancelled

Due to inclement weather, tonight's regularly scheduled meditation at the UUCA is cancelled.  I encourage everyone to please: Take good care of your health, attend to the needs of your neighbors as best you can, and make some time for nembutsu practice--an excellent way to brighten up a cold hour.  Here are some instructions that should get you going on that.

Contemplation: Speak with Honest Words

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

Speak with honest words, coherently,
With candor, in a clear, harmonious voice.
Abandon partiality, rejection, and attraction,
And speak with moderation, gently.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 73

Contemplation: The Goal of Every Act

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

The goal of every act is happiness itself,
Though, even with great wealth, it's rarely found.
So take your pleasure in the qualities of others.
Let them be a heartfelt joy to you.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 73

Contemplation: All who speak the truth

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

Praise all who speak the truth,
And say, "Your words are excellent."
And when you notice others acting well,
Encourage them in terms of warm approval.

Santideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, p. 72

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