Spending half an hour in the morning and evening to meditate, pray or just have quite solitude is very beneficial. Many of us know that. For me, its something I've been trying to do for a long time. Its difficult, with lots of distractions in our daily lives. Everything else seems more important that quiet solitude...until disaster strikes.
We all believe that we will live a long life. We do not usually reflect on old age, sickness, death, separation from loved one. The Buddha advised us to reflect on these things daily. As long as we do not reflect, we will not have the sense of urgency to work on our mental and spiritual development...until its too late. Our development takes time. It doesn't happen suddenly (although it can if you are spiritually advanced through countless aeons of practice).
On your deathbed, will you have regrets? On my deathbed, I will regret not spending more quality time with my family, not spending that 30 minutes in the morning and evening every day in quiet solitude to improve my mind. Think about it. Its a total of one hour out of twenty-four hours a day. We can spend hours in front of the TV but we can't spend 30 minutes meditating or praying? Ridiculous isn't it.
My goal is to reflect on the cycles of life, suffering, old age, death, to spend 30 minutes a day in solitude doing meditation or praying. At least on my deathbed, I will know that I have done something to improve myself in my life, a life worth living for, a life with meaning.
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Copyright © Bernard Ong, 2006.
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