Friday, January 21, 2005

Conditions Conducive to Practice

This week in ongoing class we talked about the importance of creating conditions conducive to practice - one of the teachings from point seven of The Seven Points of Mind Training. Of course, it is not a good idea to cultivate an attachment to conditions. We need to be able to practice effectively when conditions are not as we would want. But if it is possible to create circumstances or a physical environment that will support our meditation, it's a good idea to do so if only out of self-compassion. Then we will have a thorough backlog of meditation during favorable situations so that when our circumstances are not so favorable we will already have the necessary skills.

If someone does not practice religious virtues when times are good, they well be unable to do so when adversity comes and faith is more urgently needed.
-- The Dalai Lama

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