Everywhere and Every Day

We have been working with the Six R’s (see appendix) as a way to deal with distractions during practice and in our daily life. Hopefully, this does not become “just another ‘thing’ we have to learn,” but rather a method to bring a sense of ease, and lightness to our practice and to avoid the often harsh self-criticism we give ourselves for being distracted in the first place.

Here is a section of the book The Buddha’s Map by Doug Kraft:

Everywhere and Every Day

The last essential ingredient to this practice [the Six R’s] is how it can be used every moment of our day. This is not an ingredient added to the practice, but a byproduct of it. It’s relatively easy to take this practice off the meditation cushion into everyday life.

Sitting meditation, walking meditation, and meditation retreats are a wonderful way to strengthen our practice. Ultimately, however, the Dhamma [Buddha’s Teaching] is about how we live in our daily lives. I can’t remember a Buddhist teacher saying otherwise. What’s important is not becoming a good meditator, but meeting life with more wisdom and heart.

I’ve found this style of meditating to be the easiest to take into daily life. I find it easier, for example, to walk down the street radiating the tranquility than walking down the street concentrating on the breath. And the Six R’s are helpful in any situation. If I’m in the middle of a verbal fight, I can notice the tightness in me [recognize] and use the Six R’s to soften. If I don’t want to soften, I can Six-R that resistance.

I’m not claiming I use the practice all the time. I get lost and caught a thousand time a day. But it’s relatively easy to slip back into it when I want to. And when I don’t want to, I can always relax, smile, and ask myself if I’m taking myself too seriously.

Invariably, I am.

So, as we work with the practice of Six R’s in our meditation, bring a sense of acceptance, relaxation, lightness and ease to the mind, we are repeating and strengthening a practice that we can then take out into our daily lives and bring that sense of ease into any stressful situation.

If your practice isn’t helping you off the cushion, then you are probably wasting your time on the cushion (or chair).