Questions from the City, Answers from the Forest by Ajahn Sumano Bhikkhu

Author:Ajahn Sumano Bhikkhu
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: Quest Books
Published: 1999-09-14T16:00:00+00:00

When we decide to change our behavior, it is useful if we take a little time to perform a ritual to underscore the commitment to change. To a cynic, any ritual looks silly and feels embarrassing. But for someone who knows how to use them, rituals mark a moment in time with a powerful gesture. The moment they mark is now, for change can only occur in the present moment. We add weight to our intention when we include spiritual elements in the ritual. It becomes a spiritualized ritual, a sacred ritual.

I take candles, incense, and flowers to the little altar in my room. I place things that have meaning and significance in my life on this altar: photos of saints, family members, good friends, beings who have left this world, beings who have just recently arrived, and a photo of myself as a child. In performing a ritual, we dedicate the goodness that will arise from our vow to all the beings who we have brought to our consciousness, and then to all beings in the world, whether living or dead.

When we take a vow, we should vow for life. We can say we vow for life since this present moment marks a transition toward something better. Right in the very moment we vow to behave differently, we weaken a link in the chain of habits that binds us to the wheel of becoming, and we move a step closer toward our freedom.

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