10 Things
One of my DPP Dharma Buddies and I have been working together on the homework for this month, part of which is to find creative ways to cultivate the 10 “Perfections” (also called “Paramis”) in our daily life. The 10 Perfections in the Theravada tradition are: generosity, virtue, renunciation, wisdom, persistence, patience, honesty, determination, good will, and equanimity.
So one thing we’ve decided to do, is to find 10 lovely little things we can hold in our hand–stones, beads, marbles, etc–that can each represent one of these qualities, and then to choose one each day…to carry it with us, or put it next to the computer, or on the windowsill over the sink or wherever…to help us remember to cultivate that particular quality throughout the day.
I chose a little charm I have with the word “change” engraved on it to represent the quality of equanimity, which is the quality I am focusing on today. When I look at the charm, or feel its smoothness in my hand, I will think:
Things change. No need to get worked up. Gain and loss, praise and blame….these are like storms in the mind. They blow over. And then something else comes along. It’s not about me. It’s the way things are. It’s OK.