What goes into your ritual?
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Good morning precious sangha from Pittsburgh, PA. It is sunny this morning and 45 degrees.
My ritual is similar to what we have discussed thus far in our program. I try to practice for at least 30-minutes a day starting in the morning. I light a remembrance candle, then an incense, fill bowls with water, ring the singing bowl 3 times, recite The Four Dharmas of Gampopa, the Seven Line Prayer of Guru Rinpoche, the Refuge Vow, The Sutra of the Heart of Transcendent Knowledge (Heart Sutra), sit quietly for 20 minutes, then chant the Heart Sutra “song” by Gaiea Snaskrit, finish with the dedication of merit – Bodhisattva Prayer for All Humanity – and a final ring of the singing bowl. If time allows, I will journal and read a book. Right now I am reading Sam Bercholz’ Rude Awakenings.
I have a formal east facing room dedicated to my practice, my teachers, and those most dear to me. It is a bright room with lots of windows, plants, alters, various buddhist artifacts, cozy blankets and seating, books, and a bed for my sweet pup, Bella.
On my main alter are pictures I have taken of my personal teachers such as Susan, members of my Wednesday sangha, Bridget Bailey, Pema Chodron, Lama Tsultrim Allione, the 14th Dalai Lama, my children, and closets friends. I also have various artifacts that I picket up in Dharamshala, India – a statue of the Buddha, and large painting hanging behind the alter of the Buddha, candle, bowls for water, bowl for the chime, dorje and bell, natural stones and crystals, prayer wheel, incense, and books.
I have another alter dedicated to my late son, and a third alter dedicated to my family. On my walls hang various Buddhist tankas that have been gifted to me over the years.
It is the most treasured room in my home.
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Jen,
I’m learning from you already! What goes into your ritual is rick and meaningful, and I’d suppose it contributes much to deepen your practice. It seems like a place you want to go each day, and spend time there!
My question for you is how long have you had this meditation practice? Did you create ritual right away? Or, has it taken time (if this, how much time?) to settle into this space?
Thank you.
Susan-
Good morning Susan!
I have meditated off and on for around 10 years.
I did not have a ritual until I took Susan’s Heart Sutra training at her home in Austin in 2022. During that training, she taught us about The Four Dharmas of Gampopa, the Seven Line Prayer of Guru Rinpoche, and the Heart Sutra.
I’ve add the candle, incense, and other Buddhist artifacts such as the singing bowl, water bowls, prayer wheel, dorje and bell after my trip to Dharmashala in October 2023.
I started to be more mindful and purposeful of developing and practicing with a ritual starting in January of this year, and recently (this summer) have added a brief dedication and meditation before I start working on an art piece.
So, my practice has evolved over the past 10 years from a simple practice of sitting starting with 5 minutes one or two days a week to a formal practice on an average of 5 days a week and an a brief additional dedication before working in my art studio.
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What goes into my ritual is a work in progress. Recently, I set up a long, low table (similar to Susan’s that I see in her background in videos), and I kept it simple with a roud pot of succulents and 3 small ceramic vessels, both of which good friends gave to me. The rest of the table is clear- as I like most of my home and mind to be!
For zoom group meditations, I put my laptop there.
It is along an east-facing window that looks out to the lake I live on.
I have my yoga mat rolled out and my cushion in position.My home has Buddha statues from my son’s travels in India and Southeast Asia, although I have deliberately chosen not to add them to the area.
My home also has a small singing bowl on the coffee table. I use this to stop myself mid-step as I go about my day- I tap, stop my actons, and resume when I no longer hear the resonation. It allows me to slow down and put the moment into perspective, which is strikingly effective.
Susan C.
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My ritual that I’ve done now for a few years whenever Susan introduced it (or either I heard it). My shrine is in a lovely section of my home in a renovated attic. One of my favorite places. It is made from a wooden set of drawers for thread that my dad used to have in his store. On the top of this is a photo of Pema, card from Susan, cards from my 2 daughters, a small Buddha given to me by one of my daughters, a lotus shaped candle holder gifted to me, a small vase with dried flowers & a few other personal items.
I sit 5-6 days weekly for 20 min usually with OHP (though on Sunday I sit with a local Sangha & we do 20 min sitting, 10 min walking & 20 min sitting & contemplation). I start my sit with thanking my teachers & family, recite “In the NW land of Udiana…” The Four Dharmas of Gampopa, and end the sit with a dedication of merit.
I’ve tried chanting the Heart Sutra but have not been successful with keeping that up. For some reason I feel fake and not connected to any of its wisdom or beauty. I plan to continue during this 30 day program with reciting it and see if I become more relaxed with it.
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The other day I heard Crystal say something about paying attention to how one begins and ends their practice. It is no surprise to me that I rush through my practice. Not always. But I am rush-y by nature and this does often extend into sitting.
I light a candle at the beginning which has helped me to slow down a bit. You know, I don’t always get fire on the first strike of the match. Gotta be patient with that. And I try to offer the smoke from the extinguished match. To something, that it may somehow be of help. (Still trying to figure out if I should be offering to something, let’s say, more specific.)
I say hello to the people on my shrine. When I remember. Sometimes I say hello to the objects too but forget that most days.
These days I am doing the practice as suggested to all of us. Prior to this I was doing a different practice and I didn’t say the Heart Sutra. I had introduced the Four Reminders but didn’t actually contemplate them. I dig the instructions (paraphrasing) to – just see, just feel, just notice, – in relation to them. I really appreciate the chanting, the contemplating, the sitting. Simple and profound.
Usually I jump up at the end of my time on the mat but have tried to slow it down. Once I heard Susan say that a teacher on retreat spoke to them about letting the Jñānasattvas (wisdom beings?) settle before moving on. I loved this. Just give it a second, dude. And not just in practice but in all moments.
I have been more aware these past few days of ritual in many moments throughout my day. Everything seems to have a beginning, middle and end. I’d like to remember this more often.
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My (almost) daily sit is near the shrine set up in my office. Listening to the recording from Wednesday, when Susan talked about attention to the space in our home, I thought about my office. I am not the tidiest person by nature…usually have a few junk drawers or piles of clothes lurking. Largely due to the growth of my practice via OHP and Susan, I have become much more awake to the impact of the small eddies of chaos in my home. I have taken “clean up after yourself” into my open heart, and I’m sure my husband/housemate would like to personally than Susan for that advice: ) Since I spend many hours in my office, I have tried to cultivate the space to support positivity. My shrine has an elegant armchair flanked by a table that holds a small buddha statue, photos of my daughters, mother and grandmother, a memento of one of my retreats with Susan, a pawprint from my recently departed pup (Sammy), and a row of tealights. The whole of the office expands from there, with lots of nature-inspired art, plants, and framed photos…soft palate, bringing the outside in. And if I can help it—and I’ve gotten much better–no piles and clutter: ) I either meditate first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening, and I enjoy the bookend nature of that system. I have periodically included chanting first. Sometimes I also start with a reflection on a Lojong slogan. I also dedicate the merit and use that moment to bring to mind those in my heart that I feel could particularly use some good energy. I believe in the magic of these moments, and I’m thankful to be sharing this portion of the path with this group.
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Hello friends in our special Sangha!
I am really enjoying reading the various replies to different topics and getting to know people through their writing which I love.I wanted to share a little about my ritual which is pretty simple and serves me as an unfussy way to simply sit. I am a maximalist by nature and distilling the ritual down into very do-able elements makes me able to sit almost daily. If I miss a day I feel bad for 7 seconds and then move on. Learned this tip from Susan who was relaying the words of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (I think). It works for me.
I have a little corner under a bookshelf in our upstairs den. It’s like a little cave and i sort of crawl onto my zafu and zabuton and wrap my cozy meditation shawl around me. I acquired it in Crested Butte CO many years ago and have been meditating with it for years –it feels like a hug when I wrap it around me. Nice way to start, with a hug. Then I reach over to the small shrine table and take a sniff of Bergamot essential oil. This warms me with floral scent that cues me, “it’s time to meditate”. The olfactory experience is yummy and physical. I light two tea lights and the cave is immediately warmed with intention and light. On the table in a beautiful tray are several special things; a huge chunk of rose quartz(heart chakra) with a smaller faceted Garnet(root chakra) on top that I sometimes hold if I need to settle down. I also have a beautiful Amethyst and a soft round Amazonite stone(heart chakra). I also have a pinecone from the Giant Sequoia tree in my neighborhood forest park who has taught me a lot. I am a crystal lover, a plant mama, a tarot reader, and these witchy parts of me come into my Buddhist meditation practice easily, eagerly, and pump up the jams spiritually speaking!
I have a beautiful red sandalwood Mala I got at Drala Mountain this summer, and keep it wrapped around the Bergamot. I have a teeny bell sat on a clove pillow I bought in Bali. It makes the cutest little ring. Also a fierce little Japanese ceramic incense holder, a monster of some sort. I have a photo of my mom and stepfather, a picture of the Dalai Lama, and a rotating image of one Buddha statue or another, usually postcards, but sometimes a photograph of a statue I have seen in person. I have many of these so it keeps the scene fresh. Incense and candles lit, oils sniffed, and bell rung, I am ready to go. I chant the 4 Dharmas of Gampopa and then the Heart Sutra (this is quickly becoming memorized, as I learned in the forest yesterday and started to recite it. I have a ways to go.) Then I meditate on the 4 Reminders (this practice is new, from our 30 Days of Dharma and i LOVE it) and then sit for 10-20 minutes, usually with Susan’s daily recordings. Then I dedicate the merit and boom, enlightenment. Hah. Just kidding:) I do feel refreshed though. I am really grateful to the 3 Jewels offered here in Open Heart Project that have taught me a lot about the power of Ritual. See you all soon!
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I love hearing about the cozy little den space! And the shawl hug. I feel immediately soothed. I also am really loving the 4 reminders, something so pithy, so true and so real permeating somehow really opens up space for experiences to deepen, and confusion to compost itself into experiences which tend that gentle home base of space and warmth. Love seeing you here JoJo!
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Hello friends on the path, thought I’d add a little to this corner of our practice space. Ritual is a huge part of my day to day life, being able to ritualize anything, from how I brush my teeth, to creating a piece of art, to the way my day is organized is what gets me from I can’t do this, to I am inspired. I learned through the years that anything that whiff’s of goal or routine is like an immediate off button for me / burn out waiting to happen, and yet I crave and do well with structure so I can get this kaleidoscope mind into the world and into my everyday existence! I am also a ritualist and I offer ceremony to others when asked, mostly at thresholds of some kind such as birth or death, or a union or dissolution of some sort. My work there is rooted in my own experiences in doulaships with with liminal phases of life, I have found I feel a certain type of confidence there. I get really good feedback in my life when I honor ritual and form, as long as I listen and attend to the organic unfolding between myself and the structure. Being willing to be a total fool here has also helped me more times than I can name, just flat out failing, flailing and not gonna do it, and also hilarious mishaps and conundrums that only appear when I lighten up! I had a very useful ritual years ago of naming three things I am grateful for, it was less a do this and feel better heavy handed set of instructions, and more of a practice with whatever is there (because it was such a difficult period in my life) and continue trusting in the felt experience kind of practice. I was grateful for some really ridiculous things (because dark times) and they all offered me something irreplaceable in presence with them. That approach was held by it being ritualized, I did the practice and let go. I didn’t make it a deal. That simple ritual after a year or so infused my life with a bounty of simple, silly and sometimes profound things to be in communication and communion with and in turn I felt myself coming back into life. I hadn’t thought about that in a while (like 15 years!) so it’s fun to reflect on here.
Another ritual I often lean into, especially in times of burnout or confusion, is sitting in a specific spot in nature over the period of a week or more and noting what arises with that spot, it’s a simple gesture that’s offered me so much gentleness and insight into the nature of relationship, and receiving in particular. I was once gifted a beautiful antler shed from the tree I sat with for weeks, it was tangled up in a bush near the tree but for whatever reason that day as I said my goodbye’s to the spot, wrote my poems and turned over my thoughts to the space I decided to walk a different way, and there it was. It felt clear and immediate that it was a gift. Total magic and totally mundane!
My meditation practice and especially as I sit more consistently this year has been supported by this same kind of relating practice, which for me feels like what ritual really is. I relate with myself and my space and the forms, and engage from a place that is real and in emergence and conversation with. I love to call this space of ritual attending call and response relating. My space is set up near a window looking out to a set of hills that roll into mountains in the distance, there’s a sweet green swath of trees and I can open the window to feel myself both sheltered in my home and intertwined with nature. Sometimes vultures swoop through the air, other times a hummingbird will zip close close, mostly it’s the lawnmower or the distant car, light changing. Even though it’s a small space in an open foyer I really appreciate its container. My cushion is buckwheat and forms a real sweet seat, that is just right, haha. And I have a blanket that was mine when I was little as an added adjustment on my cushion. I hadn’t used this cushion much in the years since I got it, and having it as a consistent and inviting spot has helped me relate a lot more to this is where I sit each day. It has helped to make this spot in the house feel purposeful and very simple, easy to enter and leave, it feels clear. I put all of my dharma and buddhadharma books on a shelf nearby so I can grab a random page to contemplate, and arranged some photos taken in Tibet by a family member, an old crone painting from Spain where I was born, a collage I made of a glow in the dark buddha and other simple elements that remind me of the wakeful and playful quality of my practice and the inherent richness in my ability to hear and practice the dharma. Writing this I feel that very quality come up in me, I am really grateful to have such teachings in my life and to have the time and space to work with them alone, and together and in my world. On top of my bookshelf is a rotating field of items, right now it’s the antler, curving around a clear glass ball and painted box of Datura seeds I collected several years ago in another coincidental encounter with nature. The living quality of ritual is what inspires me to continue living into my experiences as they unfold, on the cushion and off and holds my hand when I just don’t want to anymore!
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Erin, erin! Your writing on ritual is so beautiful and makes me happy to know you even more; your purposeful and reverent walk through life is so inspiring! Your respect for the Buddhadharma path and for nature and cycles are a gift to all you encounter. From your long buried gratitude ritual(which I may adopt), to your sitting in nature over stretches of time to see what arises(so Buddha-like!!) make me see you in your life, as if I were flying above you like that hummingbird, getting blessed by your kindness! Happy to be on this path with you!!
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