My Samadhi is Hot

Mind Accepting, Heart Embracing

The core of Buddhadharma has to do with unfolding the miracle of meaning itself. This dynamic has both a knowing (mind) and a concerned resonating (heart) aspect to it. -Hokai Sobol

I have a series of posts I’m writing this week in which I’ll share my experiences so far as well as instructions and teachings given to me by Hokai Sobol during the 100 Day Vow I’m currently doing. He has encouraged me enthusiastically to do so and I’m extremely grateful for him for taking so much time to guide me in my practice, and to share that with you as I walk this path.

As a quick note, these posts will include paraphrases from Hokai’s instructions, and I won’t always quote them simply to make things easier to read. On occasion I will quote word for word and note that for anything that I felt particularly stood out. So, basically, if you read anything that blows you away, that’s Hokai

In this post I want to provide a little context around the practice I’m doing, detailed here – why I’m doing it, how I’m doing it, and why I’m doing that way. If that makes sense.

Over the last year or so I have embraced a strong second person relationship to the divine, and in that, surrender and receiving have become important. (And even that has now started to evolve beyond itself, but I’m trying to begin at the beginning here in recounting this). At the same time, practice and my experience has become more and more subtle, and with that the form my practice takes has mirrored it, allowing me to deepen it. Hokai has been invaluable in this process since I started to work with him over a year ago, and particularly in creating this practice vow and the practice itself.

100 Days – The Practice

I haven’t posted at all since starting my 100 Day Practice vow over 50 days ago, but I have a series of posts coming this week that I think you’ll really enjoy. They’re mostly filled with teachings and instructions given to me by Hokai, along with my own experiences along the way.

The first place I want to start is to simply share the practice with you, without commentary. This will provide context in some of my other posts as the practice is the starting point for the deeper meaning contained within the practice and teachings. I hope that my experience and sharing Hokai’s teachings will provide inspiration and possible clarity for your own practice, as well as providing some insight into the flavor of Vajrayana practice. Here is the practice that I have been doing:

100 Days of Practice

On May 25, 2010 I started a 100 day practice vow with the encouragement of my teacher, Hokai Sobol. It’s a pretty straightforward challenge:

• 100 days of practice. In a row. (that last part is key)
• Practice every single day, no matter what, no matter how long.
• Do the same practice every single day.

(For those of you less skilled in math and the Gregorian calendar, I’m on day 8. It’s cool. I have to use a Mac application to remind me what friggin’ day it is).

Of course, for anyone undertaking a contemplative path, discipline and regular practice is crucial, whatever form that takes, but for me it’s particularly relevant. I have my strengths on the spiritual path. I’m good at going all-or-nothing, like doing a solitary retreat, but the discipline in daily life is a bit more challenging, so this practice vow will be immensely helpful.  Over the last year I have had some breakthroughs and have felt on the verge of another, but I have only been cycling back and forth. There has been real value in the way I have approached practice in the last year, in a more spontaneous manner, but it is time for a different approach, one that bears fruit only discipline can give.