02.02.2024 Anything Can Be Practice I wanted to deepen my practice. So, when I was accepted into a graduate program for Buddhist chaplaincy, I couldn’t wait. I was going to what I affectionately called “Buddhism School.” Since I swore to pay for Buddhism School without student loans, I worked full-time while taking classes. Even though I’d been practicing and studying Buddhism for years, academic study was far from the laid-back, gentle approach I was accustomed to at meditation centers. I was unprepared to deal with all the reading, writing, midterms and finals, PowerPoint presentations, and analysis of difficult Buddhist texts. At work, I maneuvered office politics and possible layoffs. My job required a lot of reading, writing, meetings, and dealing with difficult coworkers. As a creative writer, I kept submitting stories that got rejected. My downtime was sleeping in my car between work and class. I became one of those people who didn’t have time to practice. Or worse, I didn’t want to practice; I loathed practicing. “Geez,” I thought, “I’m studying Buddhism, that’s practice enough!” The idea of doing more meditation, more reflection, more study in my own time was unbearable. But I did it anyway. I needed my practice to get me through school, work, rejections — life! Practice is complex: it’s beautiful and infuriating, simple yet hard. It’s a marriage I refused to give up on. Maybe I needed time apart, maybe my relationship needed adjustments, but it was not a relationship I wanted to end. Thus, I learned an important element of practice: endurance, or right effort. I’ve come to see that, as long as you bring your awareness to bear, anything you do can be practice. The new March 2024 issue of Lion’s Roar is dedicated to practice in its many forms. Below, you’ll find three pieces on different practices from the issue: metta meditation, chanting, and silent illumination. Each of these practices has helped me along my path — I hope they’ll do the same for you. —Noel Alumit, Associate Editor, Lion’s Roar Loving-Kindness for All Beings & All Bodies Metta meditation is healing and heart-opening. Arisika Razak leads us through the practice. In these troubled and troubling times, metta (loving-kindness) is my foundational practice. I am truly grateful for metta meditation, and I practice when I’m afraid, uncertain, or despairing. Metta helps me stay grounded and keeps my heart open to others. I use it to send affirmations of unconditional love to friends and benefactors, and to affirm the well-being and safety of survivors of climate catastrophe, war, and social injustice. ADVERTISEMENT Chanting for Buddhahood   Shodaigyo meditation combines silent sitting with chanting to the beat of a drum. Ryuei Michael McCormick on how to do this calming yet exhilarating practice.   You might think that the historical Gautama Buddha would have looked askance at the practice of chanting as opposed to silent contemplative meditation. Yet, even in the Buddha’s pre-Mahayana discourses, we find him praising the practice of recollection of the Buddha, the dharma, the sangha, virtuous behavior, generosity, or the various benevolent deities. By recollecting such subjects, the practitioner is able to overcome greed, hatred, and delusion, become tranquil and at ease in body and mind, dwell in balance, and gain inspiration in the meaning of the dharma, among various other benefits. Silent Illumination: The Method of No-Method The practice is to be fully here, with this body and mind, in this space. Rebecca Li on silent illumination.   Silent illumination is often called the method of no-method. A practitioner whose mind is still scattered and agitated needs to start with a method to settle the mind. After relaxing the whole body and becoming fully embodied, we maintain moment-to-moment clear awareness of the body sitting and notice the subtle changing sensations of the body breathing. Resting our attention gently on the subtle changing sensations as the diaphragm contracts and expands, we allow the body to breathe on its own, anchoring the mind gently to each emerging present moment. There is no need to hold to the breathing tightly; that will tense the body and mind. It’s not a problem when the mind drifts off; use that as an opportunity to practice remembering to come back and reconnect with the direct experience of the body breathing. Practicing this way, the mind will naturally settle.