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  Chapter III. Mindful Consumption

  The practice of mindful consumption is crucial for our own well-being and the well-being of our planet. If we continue to consume thoughtlessly there is no future for our children or our children’s children.

  Exercise One

  Mindfulness of the Five Mindfulness Trainings

  1.

  Aware of the suffering brought about

  Aware that killing

  by killing, I breathe in.

  brings suffering

  Giving rise to compassion for the

  Compassion for

  victims of violence,

  victims of violence

  I breathe out.

  2 .

  Determined not to kill, I breathe in.

  Not killing

  Determined to foster non-violence

  Fostering

  in actions of body, speech and mind,

  non-violence

  I breathe out.

  3.

  Aware of the suffering brought about

  Exploitation and

  by exploitation and social injustice,

  social injustice

  I breathe in.

  Giving rise to loving-kindness for the

  Loving-kindness

  victims of social injustice, I breathe out.

  4.

  Feeling compassion for the victims

  Compassion

  of exploitation, I breathe in.

  for victims

  Determined to live simply,

  Determined to

  consuming only what I need,

  live simply

  I breathe out.

  5.

  Aware of suffering brought about

  Suffering caused

  by sexual misconduct, I breathe in.

  by sex

  Feeling compassion for a victim of

  Feeling compassion

  sexual misconduct, I breathe out.

  6.

  Aware of harm to children and adults

  Aware of harm

  by irresponsible sexual behavior,

  I breathe in.

  Determined to practice responsibility

  Practicing

  in sexual relations, I breathe out.

  responsibility

  7.

  Aware of the suffering brought

  Suffering caused

  about by unmindful speech,

  by words

  I breathe in.

  Giving rise to loving thoughts and

  Loving thoughts

  mindful words in my heart,

  and words

  I breathe out.

  8.

  Feeling compassion for the one I have

  Compassion

  hurt by my words, I breathe in.

  Determined to listen deeply and

  Listening deeply,

  speak mindfully, I breathe out.

  speaking mindfully

  9.

  Aware of the suffering brought

  Suffering caused

  about by unmindful consumption,

  by unmindful

  I breathe in.

  consumption

  Giving rise to the capacity to protect

  Protecting myself

  my body and mind, I breathe out.

  10.

  Feeling compassion for someone

  Compassion

  harmed by addiction, I breathe in.

  Determined to consume mindfully

  Consuming

  for the rest of my life, I breathe out.

  mindfully

  11.

  Seeing myself practicing the

  Practicing with

  mindfulness trainings with

  the Sangha

  the Sangha, I breathe in.

  Feeling happiness to be practicing

  Feeling happiness

  the trainings with the Sangha,

  I breathe out.

  The Five Mindfulness Trainings are not prohibitions to restrict our freedom. They are the practice of true love that brings happiness, both to the one who practices them and to many others. The mindfulness trainings are the fruit of our awareness and experience. They are the practice of Engaged Buddhism, protecting us as well as those with whom we live. This guided meditation waters the seed of compassion by helping us be aware of the suffering that has been caused by ourselves and others when we do not follow the guidelines of the Five Mindfulness Trainings. We receive and practice the mindfulness trainings because we see how they preserve our freedom and happiness now and in days to come. The mindfulness trainings are the concrete practice of mindfulness or enlightenment, which is the Buddha himself. They are the embodiment of the Dharma, which is the path shown by the Buddha. They are also the embodiment of the Sangha, the community of all those who have taken up the path of practice. Practicing the Five Mindfulness Trainings is to be one with the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. To recite the mindfulness trainings is an exercise in mindfulness of their teachings and a way of looking deeply at the benefits of keeping them.[1]

  In this exercise, certain concrete examples of suffering are given so that we can give rise to compassion. To help us practice in an alive way, it is possible to change these examples in our own meditation and make them most relevant to our own life. For a more detailed meditation in mindful consumption (the fifth mindfulness training), see the following exercise.

  Exercise Two

  The Four Nutriments

  Looking Deeply

  1.

  Aware of the edible food I consume

  Edible food

  every day, I breathe in.

  Seeing the effect of my consumption

  Effect on the

  on the universe, I breathe out.

  universe

  2.

  Aware of the edible food I consume,

  Edible food

  I breathe in.

  Determined to eat in a way that

  Reducing suffering

  reduces the suffering of living beings,

  I breathe out.

  3.

  Aware of the sense impressions

  Sense impressions

  I consume every day, I breathe in.

  Determined to have wholesome

  Wholesome

  sense contacts, I breathe out.

  sense contacts

  4.

  Aware of the desires and intentions

  Desires and

  I consume every day, I breathe in.

  intentions

  Determined to base my intentions

  Understanding

  in understanding and love,

  and love

  I breathe out.

  5.

  Aware of the collective consciousness

  Collective

  that nourishes me every day,

  consciousness

  I breathe in.

  Determined to be nourished by what

  Wholesome

  is wholesome in that consciousness,

  elements

  I breathe out.

  When you receive the Five Mindfulness Trainings you resolve to follow the direction of right consumption for body and mind. You are aware that a proper diet is crucial for self-transformation and the transformation of society. This exercise is based on the Sutra of the Four Nutriments. According to this sutra, there are four ways in which beings consume: edible food, sense contacts, intentions and desires, and collective consciousness.

  Our consumption of edible food necessarily involves some suffering for other beings. If we enjoy a vegan diet, the suffering is less. A diet that includes meat, alcohol, and other products of factory farming not only causes suffering to the animals but also causes deforestation and significantly reduces the availability of arable land for the growth of crops for human consumption. Methane (the gas produced in part by decomposing organic matter) contributes more to the production of greenhouse gases than does the motor car. We ca
n experience joy when we know that we are reducing the suffering of beings by the way we eat.

  When the sense organs—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—are in touch with the sense objects—forms, sounds, scents, tastes, and mental objects—the energy we receive can be wholesome or unwholesome. Mindfulness tells us what kinds of sense contact to avoid and what kind to foster: what films to watch, what music to hear, what books to read, what conversations to follow, what thoughts to nurture.

  When we have an intention or desire, it can give us much energy. If our desire is the mind of love that wants to reduce the suffering of beings, we bring happiness to ourselves and our loved ones. If we want power, fame, or sensual gratification, we can cause suffering to our loved ones and ourselves.

  Our unconscious mind is inevitably influenced by the collective consciousness that contains strong seeds of fear and discrimination. If we are not careful we can consume the collective fear. The collective consciousness also has many beautiful aspects that have been nourished by spiritual practice for thousands of years. We know that we should stay near good spiritual friends in order to be nourished by the wholesome elements of collective consciousness.

  As you meditate, you can look deeply at these forms of nutriment that play an important role in your physical and mental health.

  Exercise Three

  Looking Deeply

  1.

  Aware of the state of my

  Aware of

  physical health, I breathe in.

  physical health

  Smiling to the state of my

  Smiling

  physical health, I breathe out.

  2.

  Seeing poisons such as sugar, alcohol,

  Poisons in body

  and drugs in my body, I breathe in.

  Knowing that these poisons are

  Exhausting body

  exhausting this body, I breathe out.

  3.

  Seeing myself bringing poisons such

  Poisons consumed

  as sugar and stimulants into my

  every day

  body every day, I breathe in.

  Knowing these poisons are accumulated

  Poisons accumulated

  in my body every day, I breathe out.

  every day

  4.

  Seeing the necessity for consuming

  Consuming

  mindfully, I breathe in.

  mindfully

  Determined to consume nourishing

  No longer

  foods and no longer to consume

  consuming poisons

  physically damaging substances,

  I breathe out.

  This exercise goes along with exercise two of this chapter. It may help to put a piece of paper and pencil in front of your meditation cushion and write down what you have determined to do.

  Exercise Four

  Looking Deeply

  1.

  Aware of my mental health,

  Aware of

  I breathe in.

  mental health

  Smiling to my state of mental health,

  Smiling

  I breathe out.

  2.

  Seeing poisons such as anger, jealousy,

  Poisons in

  and suspicion[2] in my consciousness,

  consciousness

  I breathe in.

  Knowing these poisons are harming

  Harmful to

  me and those around me,

  self and others

  I breathe out.

  3.

  Seeing myself watering these

  Poisons watered

  poisonous seeds and allowing

  every day

  them to be watered every day,

  I breathe in.

  Knowing that to continue to live like

  Adding suffering

  this is to add to suffering every day,

  every day

  I breathe out.

  4.

  Seeing myself determined not to water

  Determined to

  these seeds anymore, I breathe in.

  transform

  Determined to do things like breathing,

  Taking action

  smiling, and walking mindfully,

  [3] and

  to transform

  no longer to do things like judging,

  blaming, comparing

  [4] in order to weaken

  and transform the poisons, I breathe out.

  This exercise, like the one which precedes it, can also be practiced with the help of pencil and paper. The principle is the same as that of exercise three in chapter three. The first stage is to acknowledge the poisons that are already present within us. The second is to recognize the poisons currently being introduced into our bodies and minds. In the third stage, we are able to determine what we should or should not do to transform our state of being.

  In the first stage, we acknowledge the raw materials of hatred and resentment, fear, violence, infatuation, and anger, which we know are lying in the depths of our consciousness ready to surface at any time to cause us suffering.

  In the second stage, we acknowledge the evils constantly assailing us during the course of our everyday lives. We are often exposed, if not first-hand, then through films, reading material, and conversations, to violence, fear, hatred, and unnecessary craving. Society is full of violence and hatred, which accumulates in the collective consciousness. If in our daily lives we do not know how to abstain from damaging materials and attitudes, the seeds of violence, hatred, and suffering in us will continue to be watered. We need to be aware of what we hear, see, and read every day. We need to be aware of the cultural products we consume and the people with whom we are sharing experience and conversation. Do our associations and ways of consumption poison us?

  The third stage marks our determination to live in mindfulness to avoid poisoning ourselves anymore. We determine to abandon those things that harm body and mind. We choose which films to watch and which materials to read, and we are careful in the associations we make and the conversations we have. This is not difficult to do if those around us, our families or our communities, are determined to practice together with us. The insights we discover in our meditation can be noted clearly on a sheet of paper. This is a way of establishing a healthy diet for living. By following this diet, we shall be able to restore the health of body and mind and recover joy in being alive. It is best if we can share this exercise with our families or the people with whom we live.

  [1] Please see the appendix for the text of the Recitation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings.

  [2] Also, fear, anxiety, hatred, violence, arrogance, passion, intolerance, illusion, prejudices . . .

  [

  3 ] Also, listening to, reading, or discussing subjects that can water the seeds of happiness, tolerance, compassion, forgiveness, openness, bringing joy to people . . .

  [

  4 ] Also, listening to, reading, or watching materials that can water the seeds of the poisons mentioned in note 2.

  Chapter IV. Feelings and Mind

  This chapter treats the second and third fields of mindfulness.

  Exercise One

  Looking Deeply, Healing

  1.

  Aware of my body, I breathe in.

  Aware of body

  Smiling to my body, I breathe out.

  Smiling

  2.

  Experiencing the pain in my body,

  Experiencing

  I breathe in.

  physical pain

  Smiling to the pain in my body,

  Smiling

  I breathe out.

  3.

  Recognizing that this is a

  Recognizing