The first basic thought: The precious human body
Tibetan Buddhists rely upon the "Four Basic Thoughts Which Turn Mind Towards Liberation." The idea is that these little nuggets of wisdom will open your mind to the necessity of steady Buddhist practice. Either that, or they'll scare the wee out of you and send you running to Buddhism like a terrified Protestant. Some versions of the thoughts dwell heavily on death. Other commentaries are a bit less dreary. However, my friend Natasha S. once pointed out that you can use these thoughts as a crucible to help you decide just about anything -- sort of a Buddhist "What Would Jesus Do?"
So today's motivating speech for exercise is about the first basic thought, usually translated "The Precious Human Body." Buddhists consider that humans, as opposed to the other five types of sentient beings (animals, ghosts, gods, etc.), have the optimal amount of suffering in their lives to motivate them to discover the nature of reality. I love that concept -- that you can have just the right amount of suffering! Gods, for example, are so damn happy that they never get off their butts and do anything useful. Animals and other lower beings are too distracted by needing to eat, or are so tortured that they can't think straight. So I think of suffering as a motivator in Buddhism or exercise. Or in common parlance "No pain, no gain."
The human body is considered "Precious" when you have the opportunity to practice, or by analogy, work out. Some of these blessings are inherent to you, and others are given to you by other people. For example, I get to work out when my husband takes care of my son. Without that help, I'd have a very difficult time -- I think of my friend Marty as a single mom who is nearly doomed to inactivity while her kids are young.
I am also very aware that I have a precious opportunity now in that my body is in a reasonable state of stasis. In 20 years it will be impossible to start exercising (although I saw a spiffy 65 year old lady striding down the street today in her matching tracksuit -- who knew they still make those?). In the past 25 years, for some periods I have been quite unable to exercise. I count a pregnancy, two shoulder operations, two knee operations, one foot operation, debilitating carpal tunnel syndrome, and a herniated disk as my personal orthopedic history. At the moment my biggest struggle is with hypothyroidism; fortunately at the moment I'm overdosed and don't need as much sleep. I also am thankful for Kenji Aoki, my newfound acupuncture miracle worker. So even my current tenuous condition requires gratitude towards medical workers across three continents.
In short, I have meditated on my precious human life with its freedoms and opportunities. Because it is difficult to obtain and is easily lost, I will use it in a meaningful way.
Today I did a full round of prostrations, plus some. Then I wore my high-tech Masai Balance shoes back and forth from work. Then I walked to the produce market and bought a ridiculously large amount of heavy food. My thighs ache from a steady week of prostrations. My left Achilles tendon is sore from rocking around in my spiffy sneakers. But my shoulders are strong from whole wheat flour. That's enough exercise for today.
So today's motivating speech for exercise is about the first basic thought, usually translated "The Precious Human Body." Buddhists consider that humans, as opposed to the other five types of sentient beings (animals, ghosts, gods, etc.), have the optimal amount of suffering in their lives to motivate them to discover the nature of reality. I love that concept -- that you can have just the right amount of suffering! Gods, for example, are so damn happy that they never get off their butts and do anything useful. Animals and other lower beings are too distracted by needing to eat, or are so tortured that they can't think straight. So I think of suffering as a motivator in Buddhism or exercise. Or in common parlance "No pain, no gain."
The human body is considered "Precious" when you have the opportunity to practice, or by analogy, work out. Some of these blessings are inherent to you, and others are given to you by other people. For example, I get to work out when my husband takes care of my son. Without that help, I'd have a very difficult time -- I think of my friend Marty as a single mom who is nearly doomed to inactivity while her kids are young.
I am also very aware that I have a precious opportunity now in that my body is in a reasonable state of stasis. In 20 years it will be impossible to start exercising (although I saw a spiffy 65 year old lady striding down the street today in her matching tracksuit -- who knew they still make those?). In the past 25 years, for some periods I have been quite unable to exercise. I count a pregnancy, two shoulder operations, two knee operations, one foot operation, debilitating carpal tunnel syndrome, and a herniated disk as my personal orthopedic history. At the moment my biggest struggle is with hypothyroidism; fortunately at the moment I'm overdosed and don't need as much sleep. I also am thankful for Kenji Aoki, my newfound acupuncture miracle worker. So even my current tenuous condition requires gratitude towards medical workers across three continents.
In short, I have meditated on my precious human life with its freedoms and opportunities. Because it is difficult to obtain and is easily lost, I will use it in a meaningful way.
Today I did a full round of prostrations, plus some. Then I wore my high-tech Masai Balance shoes back and forth from work. Then I walked to the produce market and bought a ridiculously large amount of heavy food. My thighs ache from a steady week of prostrations. My left Achilles tendon is sore from rocking around in my spiffy sneakers. But my shoulders are strong from whole wheat flour. That's enough exercise for today.
Comments
I googled "running mantras" early on and often use them when running. It helps! Plus now I can look back and see a big difference between my thoughts while running early on and my thoughts while running now. Progress comes in different ways and at different rates.