Strive On With Diligence! - Practices To Help Us Keep Going

The Buddha’s last words to us were said to be: “All conditioned things are impermanent; strive on with diligence!” In these difficult times we’re all living through, maintaining our practice, as well as our sense of hopefulness, can often be challenging. In this new talk, Shell explores the quality of aditthana - a Pali word meaning “determination” or “resolve” - and offers us ways to “strive on with diligence” to help us strengthen not

Transcript

Details within the awareness Fortis bathroom of classical083 respected So as we all know,

Besides our individual birthdays,

The start of a new year almost always opens up an opportunity for us to just spend some time assessing how our lives are going so far and what we might like to resolve to do differently or better.

And this year,

What I've been hearing from so many of my students,

Especially those who haven't been able to practice with others for a while,

Is that their dedication to their practice has really started to wane or in some cases has even sadly completely disappeared for many,

Many different reasons.

And they've all been asking me for advice on how to revive this.

And for those of us who are interested in starting a meditation practice,

Many are telling me that they just can't seem to get it going or can't seem to stay with it,

Even though they would really like to.

And so if any of these things resonate with you,

Please know that you are not alone.

As you might imagine,

One of the main reasons so many people are having such a difficult time sitting right now in this challenging time that we're all living through is that many of us are just feeling extra vulnerable right now or maybe extra human.

Like we might be feeling extra stressed or extra worried or extra sad,

All of which can sometimes keep us from just wanting to sit down on our cushion and practice,

Even though we know it would likely be really helpful for us.

And so as a way of maybe offering a little encouragement,

I thought it might be helpful to explore what the Buddha called determination or resolve,

Which in Pali is called aditana.

And this quality of aditana or determination is so important,

Not only for helping us to continue our practice,

But actually for how we live our actual lives.

The Buddha,

In fact,

Believed it was so important that he included it as one of what are called the 10 paramis or the perfections,

Which are qualities that we are asked to very consciously cultivate and nurture in order to reach enlightenment or if not enlightenment,

At least more joy and freedom and ease in our lives.

And if you're curious or interested,

The other nine qualities that the teachings asks us to develop are generosity,

Virtue,

Renunciation,

Wisdom,

Energy,

Patience,

Truthfulness,

Loving kindness,

And equanimity.

And by the way,

All of these things are also the things that we are being asked to continue to develop using our practice of determination,

That parami of determination.

And if that feels a bit overwhelming,

It might be encouraging to remember that according to legend,

It took the Buddha to be,

Quote,

Four incalculables and 100,

000 eons before our present age to achieve this perfection of these qualities before he finally became enlightened and claimed his seat as a Buddha 2,

600 years ago.

In the Dattaka tales,

Which is just this huge volume of stories and legends that chronicle the Buddha's previous lifetimes,

It shows how the Buddha-to-be practiced these qualities over and over and over again for lifetimes as different humans,

Animals,

Gods,

Kings,

And outcasts until finally,

Finally he was able to perfect them.

And so essentially,

These are all qualities that we are asked to practice just as he did,

Which means that we are,

Of course,

Going to fail at this,

Repeatedly fail over and over again,

Which is not only completely okay,

But actually to be expected.

We might even remind ourselves again,

Maybe as an encouragement,

That the Buddha himself failed at perfecting these for innumerable lifetimes.

And maybe,

You know,

Nevertheless,

He persisted and he kept on trying.

Even on his deathbed 2,

600 years ago,

He urged us all to do the same.

In fact,

According to the teachings,

His very last words were said to be,

All conditioned things are impermanent,

Strive on with diligence,

His last words.

And now,

Of course,

Those might not have been his actual last words,

But they're likely a more condensed modern version of what he might have actually said.

And there are many,

Many different versions of the Buddha's last words,

But they all seem to point to the same thing.

One longer version that I like says it this way,

All compounded things in this world are changeable.

They are not lasting.

Work hard to gain your own liberation.

Practice diligently.

I'll repeat that.

All compounded things in this world are changeable.

They are not lasting.

Work hard to gain your own liberation.

Practice diligently.

On the same day,

The day of his death,

The Buddha also promised his sangha,

Those who have not yet been awakened all possess the conditions for attaining awakening.

Those who have not yet been awakened all possess the conditions for attaining awakening.

And I really love to go back to that one especially because it's just so hopeful.

The Buddha here is reminding us that all of us who've been exposed to the Dharma in some way now have that seed within us as well.

We all have that condition for attaining awakening.

And so each of us should really strive on with diligence for this.

I also think the Jataka Tales themselves are such an inspiring example for us because again,

They're showing us that each of us can always,

Always begin again.

It's actually exactly how we learn.

And of course,

The Jataka Tales are also reminding us that this just takes time and to be patient with ourselves and to be patient with our practice.

It also shows us that change happens slowly,

But if we really stick with it,

Transformation will occur if we stick with it.

And a great piece of scripture that's called the Shipnava Sutta.

The Buddha talks about this kind of patient faith and dedication to our practice in this way.

He says,

Just as when a carpenter or carpenter's apprentice sees the marks of his fingers or thumb on the handle of his adze but does not know,

Today my adze handle wore down this much or yesterday it wore down that much or the day before yesterday it wore down this much,

Still he knows it is worn through when it is worn through.

In the same way,

When a monk dwells devoting himself to development,

He does not know,

Today my affluence wore down this much or yesterday they wore down that much or the day before yesterday they wore down this much,

Still he knows they are worn through when they are worn through.

The sutta actually goes on further and tells us what happens when we simply keep with it patiently,

Diligently,

And just let our practice do its work.

The Buddha says,

Quote,

Just as when an ocean-going ship rigged with masts and stays after six months on the water is left on shore for the winter,

It stays,

Weathered by the heat and wind,

Moistened by the clouds of the rainy season,

Easily wither and rot away.

In the same way,

When a monk dwells devoting himself to development,

His fetters easily wither and rot away.

In more modern times,

There's another kind of motivational story that I like to remember,

Which comes from my very favorite nun,

Pema Chodron,

Who often talks about a pivotal time in her life when she was in her mid-twenties and had just gone through an incredibly difficult divorce.

So she was in a lot of pain and just really wanted to throw in the towel.

So she sought out her teacher,

Chogyam Chubba Rinpoche,

And he said to him,

Basically,

My life is over,

I've hit bottom,

I don't know what to do,

Please help me.

And what he told her was this,

He said,

Well,

It's a lot like walking into the ocean and a big wave comes and knocks you over and you find yourself lying on the bottom with sand in your nose and in your mouth and you're lying there and you have a choice,

You have a choice.

You can either lie there or you can stand up and keep walking out to sea.

I'll repeat that.

You have a choice.

You can either lie there or you can stand up and keep walking out to sea.

And this is actually always true,

Isn't it?

It's like life itself is constantly,

Constantly knocking us over,

Over and over again.

It is just the nature of life itself.

The Buddha's first noble truth tells us there is suffering,

There is suffering.

And no matter how much we wish for this to be different,

This will just always and forever be true.

It's the first noble truth.

And we always have a choice.

We can either continue to lie there or we can stand up and keep walking out to sea.

Here I think is where the Paramhir of perfection of determination and resolve is so essential.

It might even be helpful to know that in the Thai language,

The word for vow is actually translated as determination.

And so in a very real sense,

When we step onto the spiritual path,

We are making a vow to ourselves like a marriage vow.

We are agreeing in essence to be with ourselves and our practice no matter what,

From this day forward,

Better or worse,

Richer or poorer,

In sickness and in health,

Until death do us part.

And this vow that we make to ourselves,

However we make it,

Is so important because again,

As we all know,

Staying on the path can often be incredibly difficult.

And stepping off the path,

Sadly,

Can be sometimes really easy for so many different reasons.

One of the first and maybe main reasons is that it can often be super easy to become derailed when something big comes into our life and just completely knocks us over,

Like one of those big waves.

So part of our practice actually is to be closely on the lookout for these times.

So for instance,

It might be easy for us to experience this wave maybe when we get sick or injured or maybe when someone in our family gets sick or maybe even passes away.

Might also happen when there's a big change in our lives like a job change or a move or maybe a new relationship or maybe a new baby enters into the family.

Sometimes though,

It can be something as deceptively simple as a vacation or a trip somewhere.

A lot of people have told me they just have lost their practice when they return home.

Can really be whatever knocks us a little more strongly out of our regular routine.

And if we're not conscious or aware of this,

When we've forgotten our resolve or our vow to ourselves,

What happens is that our practice can start to slip.

And sadly,

Sometimes it can just disappear maybe for years and sometimes even forever.

Even for those of us who have been doing this for a while,

Maintaining a regular practice is not easy.

Just like a marriage is not always easy.

Which means,

Of course,

That it's even more difficult for people who are new to practice,

Especially when they reach that place where if you'll excuse the expression,

The shit really starts to hit the fan.

It's like after we've learned how to calm the mind and the body,

Suddenly we start seeing all our stuff.

And sometimes this can just really feel like too much,

Too much.

And then what happens is that we tend to want to run away,

Just don't want to do it.

This is so common.

I see this especially on some of the overnight retreats that I lead and meditation teacher parlance.

This is affectionately known as the bail.

On one longer retreat I led,

I vividly recall one woman who was new to practice,

Who wrote me a note on the second or third day that I thought was just so simple and honest.

And just read,

This is just too much for me,

I'm sorry.

That's it.

This is just too much for me,

I'm sorry.

Sometimes in the beginning,

Especially,

We may even start thinking,

What am I doing?

All this meditation seems to be making me more unhappy.

Why do I want to practice this?

Or,

We might want our practice to just be like a drink of wine every time.

Or maybe we want it to just be easy and simple and uncomplicated,

And it's not.

Or maybe we want it to be the same each time.

Or maybe we want meditation to mean that it takes us out of our bodies into another place,

Maybe another mystical state.

Or maybe our bodies just aren't cooperating and we're working with pain,

Tiredness,

Agitation,

Squirming.

Or maybe we're just completely bored with it,

It's just boring.

So what happens is our minds start to talk to us,

Like there's a little person whispering things into our ears like,

You're just too tired today.

Or your body's just too achy right now.

Or you've got way too much to do,

You're super stressed,

Just meditate tomorrow.

Or I'm just too emotional,

Too angry,

Sad,

Full of self-doubt,

So I'm just going to do this tomorrow when I'm more peaceful.

But that's a little like saying,

I think I'll go to the gym after I lose all this weight and get a little more in shape.

Or we might think,

My God,

This is just taking too long.

I just really need to go get a drink and that's it.

But whenever we skip our practice,

What happens is that it just becomes easier and easier to skip it the next day and the next day and the next day.

And suddenly it's just no longer part of our lives at all.

Another way that we can cheat ourselves or get away from our resolve is by not making the most out of our sits.

So for instance,

We might just stop at 10 or 20 minutes instead of deepening our practice,

Especially when the going gets rough in some way.

So again,

We might find ourselves telling ourselves things like,

I'm tired or this is boring or I'm not feeling that promised enlightened bliss or this is too hard,

I'm just going to get up now.

There's a variety of things we can tell ourselves to stop practicing.

The sad part of this is that as a result,

If we continue to do this and not make the most of our practice,

We never really get a taste of what lies outside what is often called the limits of our expectations.

As a great teacher and scholar,

Tanisar Obiki tells us,

As the Buddha said,

The purpose of the practice is to see what you've never seen before,

Realize what you've never realized before.

And many of these things you've never seen or realized lie outside the limits of your imagination.

But in order to see them,

You have to learn how to push yourself more than you might imagine.

Tanisar Obiki also said that doing this requires not only resolve,

But by being skillful with our resolve.

And very happily in the teachings,

The Buddha helps us with this a bit by teaching us that our resolve or termination should include four qualities.

These four qualities that we'll explore are discernment,

Truth,

Relinquishment,

And peace.

So I'll start with that first one,

Discernment,

Which essentially means two things.

The first is that we are asked to discern what might be wise and attainable goals.

In other words,

We want to make sure that what we've chosen is sustainable.

Otherwise,

If we push ourselves too hard,

It's just going to lead us into being disappointed in ourselves and suddenly it's going to become okay to just quit.

So for example,

You might find yourself thinking,

Okay,

I'm completely motivated.

So instead of just sitting for 15,

20 minutes every day,

I'm going to commit to sitting an hour in the morning and an hour at night and I'm not going to let myself move in any way while I'm doing this.

Even if my legs fall asleep or if a sticky bug lands on my nose for 20 minutes,

I am so motivated.

Unfortunately,

Though,

Again,

This is often just a setup for disappointment and we end up quitting because it's just too much.

So in this case,

We haven't used our wise discernment to assess this.

So if we want our practice to be sustainable,

We want to choose something that is attainable.

For instance,

We might start then with 5,

10,

15,

20 minutes of practice and then slowly increase the time by five minute increments so that again,

It's attainable,

Which means it's sustainable.

And if we want our practice essentially to be sustainable,

What's also absolutely essential is for us to pick a daily time and make a vow again to just stick with it.

If you're new to practice especially,

I really hope you can take this advice to heart because just telling yourself that you're going to meditate at some point during the day when you feel like it or when you find time,

This rarely,

If ever,

Works.

So please know ahead of time that that is just a complete setup.

And if you find yourself telling yourself those kinds of things,

You might really just check it out and ask yourself if it's working.

And then you might try something different,

Which is to make a vow to yourself to sit every single day no matter what,

Even if it's just five minutes,

Just five minutes.

One of my teachers and my first mentor,

Tara Brach,

Tells a story about when she was a single young mother with an infant.

And even as a meditation teacher,

She just couldn't seem to find one second in the day to practice.

And so she made a vow to herself to sit every single day no matter what to keep that trail of breadcrumbs going so that she could find her way back to her practice or at least wouldn't lose the way there.

And she said that during that time,

The very most she could do most days was to just sit on the edge of her bed right before she went to sleep for just five minutes.

But it actually did the trick.

It kept her from losing her practice.

So she kept her vow and she made it very attainable so that it could be sustainable.

So the second aspect of our discernment is for us to set a specific goal for our practice.

So for instance,

A lot of people just sit down somewhere and start practicing.

And of course,

This is fine,

But we are really going to see a difference in our practice if we keep in mind a particular goal for ourselves.

And by the way,

Just to say,

This is not that we set a goal so that we are then constantly depressed about not reaching our goal in some way.

It's more like our goal might be to continue to try to stay with or return to the breath for the whole half hour or so.

Or it might be to deepen our sense of presence,

Opening up to all of it.

Or our goal might be to meet everything that arises within us with a deeper sense of kindness and compassion allowing.

Or it might be to get a sense of the aspect of no self,

To experience just pure being and sensation,

Recognizing that we are simply in the moment experiencing whatever's here.

So the reason that we do this,

Make a goal again,

Is because it can be really difficult to practice without one.

Otherwise we might start wondering why we're sitting here meditating when we maybe could be sitting out on a beach somewhere doing something else.

It's also important to take a good look at our goals and see if they are in any way strengthening our sense of self.

Or if we are in some way striving to be out of body or on another plane somewhere.

So some examples of this might be thinking if I get really good at this,

I might actually start levitating.

Or maybe I'm going to actually discover that I have special magical powers.

Or maybe I can actually rise above just like floating,

Rise above everybody else.

Or I will become a super good spiritual person,

The best meditator ever.

A few years ago actually there was this really funny video that was being passed around on the internet that was about the meditation Olympics.

There were three contestants all sitting in a big stadium with these moderators who you might imagine are former meditation champions.

And they're talking just like they do on the regular Olympics.

Like they're saying,

Karen's from New Zealand and she's been meditating her whole life.

Or one interesting thing about Karen is that she's been able to open up four chakras and we're so pleased to have Hutch with us.

He's a complete newcomer to the practice.

And then of course we have our world champion who has won five gold medals and they're off.

And then the video shows them all trying a little too hard to meditate and two of them really fail at this.

And finally you hear something like,

And Hutch from Bangladesh takes the gold.

If you want to look it up,

I think it's just called meditation Olympics.

It's really funny.

So it's important when we're making our goals to remember we are not meditating to puff up a self,

But we're learning to let go of a self and just become that particular quality that we're nurturing.

The late teacher Ram Dass describes this process this way.

It says,

The most important aspect of love is not in giving or receiving,

It's in being.

When I need love from others or need to give love to others,

I'm caught in an unstable situation.

Being in love rather than giving or taking love is the only thing that provides stability.

Being in love means seeing the beloved all around me.

I am not interested in being a lover,

Quote unquote.

So the trick to this really lies in having a goal and then letting go of striving for the result of the goal.

Really important.

And also of course,

So difficult,

Which is why it's a practice.

When we're talking about goals,

It's also really important for us to focus on long-term goals.

Otherwise,

Our practice can maybe start to lose focus and again,

We can then start to lose our resolve.

So with this step especially,

We need to keep reminding ourselves why we are meditating in the first place and really consider this.

Why am I meditating?

Why?

And for me,

I like to remind myself why I'm practicing by reciting the metta prayer at the very end of my sit.

As a way to remember and solidify my long-term reason for this practice.

I usually recite the metta prayer first for myself and then I open it up and out to all beings and over the past 30 years or so,

I've increased the different phrases to about 15 or so now.

It's long.

But the original phrases I created for myself are still there.

They're still there and unchanging for me and many of you may have heard these before.

I say,

May I nurture gratitude,

Grace and ease in my life.

May I be secure and grounded.

May I be happily and successfully contributing.

May I be kind and compassionate to myself as well as to others.

May I be healthy and free from both internal and external harm.

Once I've said my phrases for myself,

I then include everyone in this prayer and I say,

May we all nurture gratitude,

Grace and ease in our lives.

May we all be secure and grounded.

May we all be happily and successfully contributing.

May we all be kind and compassionate to ourselves and to each other.

May we all,

Including this beautiful planet,

Be healthy and free from both internal and external harm.

And the last line I say is actually what I consider the most important to me,

Which is,

May the fruits of my practice benefit all beings everywhere without exception.

May the fruits of my practice benefit all beings everywhere without exception.

And that one especially reminds me of my long-term goal,

That I'm not just doing this for myself.

The Buddha reminds us if we can learn to be kind and compassionate to ourselves,

To our own pain especially,

Whether this is physical or emotional,

We can then offer that kindness and compassion out to others.

That's why we practice.

The second element of resolve is to stay true to our determination.

And in this step too,

We need to offer ourselves great kindness and patience.

So for instance,

We don't quit just because we've forgotten to sit for a few days,

A week or even a month.

We simply recall our vow and remember our goal,

Why we're doing it and begin again.

In fact,

We can learn to relate to the practice itself just as we do the breath in practice.

When we notice that we've been away,

We can use the recognition to very kindly and gently bring ourselves back.

The teacher Sharon Salzberg tells us,

The heart of skillful meditation is the ability to let go and begin again over and over again.

Even if you have to do that thousands of times,

It does not matter.

There is no distance to traverse.

Right in that very moment,

We can begin again.

Nothing has been ruined and there is no such thing as failing.

There is no such thing as failing.

Third element in our determination is relinquishment.

And what this means is that in our efforts to be true to our determination and resolve,

We need to recognize that there are some things we're going to have to give up.

So for instance,

We might need to give up a half an hour of sleep in order to get up earlier to practice,

Or we might need to give up watching that TV show that we like or some other thing that we want to do rather than just sit.

There's a great verse in the Dhammapada that points to this where the Buddha tells us,

If you see a greater happiness that comes from forsaking a lesser happiness,

Be willing to forsake the lesser happiness for the sake of the greater one.

The teacher Tanisarabhikkhu says it another way.

He says,

The things that really pull you off the path are those that look good and promise a quicker gratification.

But once you've got the results of the quick fix,

Many times you don't get any gratification at all.

It was all an illusion.

Or you get a little bit,

But it wasn't worth it.

And I think it's really helpful here to remember that our human tendency is to want something easier,

More pleasurable.

We all want to feel good.

And we all want to be bad sometimes,

Right?

It's exciting.

It's a rush.

And we all want to go away from ourselves or our lives sometimes.

And these things aren't necessarily wrong,

But the teachings are telling us we need to really take a good look and be honest about what brings us true happiness and what eventually leads us to more stress and suffering.

Just as a for instance,

Right,

We might really want to go out and get drunk and party,

But what are some of the things that happen as a result?

Or we might really want to have that affair,

But what happens afterwards?

These are fairly obvious ones,

But think about other quick fixes like maybe watching hours and hours of TV to get away or choosing to browse the internet for hours or making ourselves too busy with things we have to do or indulging in too much food or entertainment or excitement instead of choosing to be still and quiet and practicing.

The teachings are asking us to inquire,

Contemplate what are the real results of what I'm doing?

What are the real results?

So the teachings urge us to use discernment as we go along to remind ourselves that the lesser pleasures really are lesser.

In essence,

Life is short,

So we focus on what we're giving up in terms of the larger pleasure,

The more lasting happiness.

Bhante Gunaratana or Bhante Ji,

As he is affectionately known,

Once said so wisely,

We spend our time engrossed in activity,

Caught up in an eternal flight from pain and unpleasantness.

We spend our energies trying to make ourselves feel better,

Trying to bury our fears.

We are endlessly seeking security.

Meanwhile,

The world of real experience flows by untouched and untasted.

Finally,

The fourth and final element in our determination is peace.

Finally another of the parames or perfections comes into play with this element,

Which is patience.

The idea is that when we're working towards our goal,

We try to keep the mind calm.

So we don't get worked up over all the difficulties that arise.

We don't get worked up over all the things that we're having to give up.

We don't get worked up about how much time that we've already spent on the path or how much more we need to practice in order to reach enlightenment.

Instead,

We focus very calmly with great patience on the steps that are right ahead of us.

And here,

I think it's helpful to remember what the Buddha taught us.

Again,

That it is our human tendency to feel disappointment when we can't have what we want or when we don't want what we have.

And by the way,

This includes what we want for our practice.

So it's really okay if we still find ourselves getting angry or fearful or jealous or sad or depressed about things.

We are human.

And these are actually all things that we can bow to whenever we see them arise in our practice.

And instead of looking at these things as failures,

We're being asked to look at them as stepping stones instead.

So if we can become willing to not get frustrated or angry or impatient with these things or with ourselves,

They might actually have something to teach us.

It's actually a great prayer that some of my teachers taught me early on,

Which I use a lot for this,

Which is simply,

May this suffering serve awakening.

May this suffering serve awakening.

And so we can really use this as a way to bow to our difficulties instead of letting ourselves remain stuck in that sand,

If you will.

As Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche tells us,

We can either lie here or we can stand up and keep walking out to see.

Which brings us all the way back to the beginning,

Recalling the vow of determination from the Buddha to be,

Who taught us through his example that we can all use these failures to help us to learn and to grow and eventually maybe become a Buddha.

So I think I will end there and invite you,

If you'd like,

Into a meditation on resolve.

So if you're at home or someplace that you can find a good seated posture,

I invite you to do that now,

Closing the eyes.

If you're listening while you're driving or walking,

You might just drop down into the body and sense your sit bones if you're sitting.

Sense your feet if you're walking and feel held by the earth.

Let the body relax a little more into the support of the earth.

If you're sitting at home,

You can do the same.

Sense the body held,

Relaxing into the earth.

We let go and open.

Might be helpful to just take a couple of nice deep breaths in,

Slow breaths out.

Let's just start connecting to the body,

Letting the body relax.

You might notice the palms of the hands.

Let them be soft and open in a gesture of letting go.

You might notice the face,

All the different facial muscles softening,

Forehead smooth,

Eyes,

Cheeks,

Jaw,

Root of the tongue still breathing,

Allowing the shoulders to be soft,

Up in the shoulders,

Allowing the belly to be soft,

Undefended like a two-year-old's belly.

Letting go and breathing.

Just opening up to what's right here in the body,

Heart,

Mind.

As you're ready to contemplate,

What,

If anything,

Do you think might be hindering you from being more resolved or committed or strongly motivated to do your practice?

Is there anything that might be hindering you from your vow?

As you're ready now,

You might consider another question.

Are there any beliefs,

Attitudes,

Or feelings that might be making you reluctant to be more resolved,

More committed to your practice?

Any beliefs,

Attitudes,

Or feelings?

As you're ready,

You might consider what particular goals might help you strengthen your resolve.

What goals do you have for your practice?

As you're ready now,

You might consider what do I need to give up in order to strengthen my resolve?

Is there anything I need to give up that would help me in my practice?

And finally,

You might consider what particular things might I be doing right now that could help me strengthen my resolve or my vow?

And finally,

With the eyes still closed,

Just listening to these words from Patrul Rinpoche,

Who tells us,

Each instant,

Put your heart into it again.

Each moment,

Remind yourself again.

Each second,

Check yourself again.

Night and day,

Make your resolve again.

In the morning,

Commit yourself again.

Each meditation session,

Examine mind minutely.

Never be apart from the Dharma,

Not even accidentally.

Continually,

Do not forget.

Continually,

Do not forget.

Namaste and blessings.

I hope you enjoyed this talk.

These talks are always offered freely so that no one is ever denied access to these teachings,

And your support really makes a difference.

Dhanah is an ancient Pali word meaning spontaneous generosity of heart.

If you feel inspired to offer Dhanah,

You can do so by visiting my website at www.

Mindfulvalley.

Com.

Reviews

Precisely the motivation I presently need. Thank you very much 🌟

Brilliance in this timely reminder to continue

Great talk, as always, Shell. My practice routine has definitely suffered recently, for no obvious reason. This has inspired me to take a closer look and find ways to strengthen my commitment. The "fruits of your practice" have certainly benefited this being! 💚

Shell is fantastic. It's wonderful to listen to her at the end of my day. Thoughtful and inspiring stories to end my day.