Morning Routine...

[dharmasponge]

Hello everyone,

I have been using a bit of a mish mash of a mourning re chanting. I'd like to have something a little more structured to start and/or end my sitting with. I know there is the Treeleaf PDF to down load but it seems a bit overwhelming at first glance.. Are there any guidelines or instructions I might access? Are there tunes and tones specific to the Tradition Treeleaf fails from for example?

I sit early each morning thanks to my year old son...my personal 4.30am temple bell.....I am just generally wanting to formalise my practice of late.
Maybe if you feel comfortable saying what you do...?

Thanks...

[Jishin]

Alarm goes off at five. Read for about one hour. Feed the dogs and work out for 15 minutes. Zazen for 30 minutes. Take a bath, eat breakfast, etc. Take the kids to school. Begin work at 8 am.

Gassho, Jishin

[Jundo]

Hi,

Well, one can never go wrong with the Heart Sutra. Or/and, if one wishes, the Verse of Atonement and the Four Vows. Metta Chanting is also a way. Or, Just Sitting chants all, all by just sitting! Many ways according to what one feels.

You may find this thread helpful ...

Recommended 'at home' liturgy
http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showt...t-home-liturgy

Gassho, J

[Biko]

I tend to be a complete dullard in the morning and fall back asleep whilst sitting so I tend to just do chants / bows and then sit later in the day or evening. I use the Zen Mountain Monastery Liturgy Manual which has all of the important Zen chants and readings, albeit in slightly different translations.

Gassho,
Jeffrey

[Jika]

Glass of water, Heart Sutra, sitting, metta, verse of atonement, four vows, evening gatha (for personal preference )
Realizing I'm running late, bath and coffee.
Yoga at the train station (standing, as good as possible...)

Gassho,
Danny

[dharmasponge]

Jishin, I bet it takes you ages to order a pint ☺

[Mp]

Hello,

For me I recite the Heart Sutra before sitting (sometimes in English and sometimes in Japanese, BT not at the same time). I sit, then verse of atonement and the four vows at the end. I do this for both morning and evening sits.

Because during the week I sit with a group of folks via Google, I have done my chants before hand and then after the video section.

Happy chanting. =)

Gassho
Shingen

[Joyo]

Hello, wake up at 6am, lemon/apple cider vinegar water, yoga for 1/2 an hr, chant heart sutra, shower, breakfast, walk my dog, and try to remember to chant the metta verse in my car as I'm driving to work

Gassho,
Joyo

[Heisoku]

It's good to see so many of us following a similar routine. I also recite the Heart Sutra followed by a 30 min sit then the Four Vows. Beforehand I also recite the Verse of the Kesa then put on my rakasu, which I find settles any thoughts.
In the evenings I just sit and maybe recite a Metta verse and/or the refuges in Pali. It seems to close the day nicely.
Gassho to all, Heisoku.

[dharmasponge]

I have been reciting the Tassa and Refuge prayers in Pali. Then Migtsema in English finishing with the four immeasurables - in English. Nice to hear what others are doing

[Tb]

Hi.

Depending on the circumstances its a bit different, but i usually wake ut at 6 and then spend time with either my son, if hes home, or meditate/read/something until it either is time to go to work or get up for the day.
I usually also meditate/read on the bus for work.

I am not big for doing the chants, more than the kesaverse when i put on the rakusu, which as Heisoku said, settles the thoughts. So i usually don't do them, except for in my heart, where i do them all the time, other than when i have services on sundays.

Mtfbwy
Fugen

[Kyonin]

Hi guys,

I wake up at 4:30 AM. Go to the bathroom. Drink water. Make a cup of coffee. Read for about 30 minutes. I set up my zafu and my little Buddha. Sometimes I light incense, depending if I want to offer it to someone or something.

Heart Sutra.

Zazen 50 minutes.

Verse of atonement.

Four Vows.

1 hour of running or yoga, depending of the day. Both are important to me, so they are part of my spiritual practice

Gassho,

Kyonin

[dharmasponge]

Feeling guilty about lack of exercise....ha! Too cold in the UK to do my usual cycling. #toughenup

[RichardH]

I wake up at six to the sound of recorded birds and a shakuhachi flute. There is a bit of staggering around, and then things clear. Coffee is goes on, coffee is drank. I usually sit at 6:45, but if working late the night before it is late morning before lunch. Sitting with a full stomach is sleepy time. At 7:15 the house wakes up and there is someone's overnight dialyses to end, breakfast, teen inertia, clockwatching, and traffic. On weekdays I usually sit on Treeleaf G+... sitting with someone is very powerful and helpful, and I'm not sure why. Sitting together, not talking, just sharing silence, sitting, and a bow, is beautiful and a treasure. All these words divide as much as join in my experience, but sharing zazen and bowing to each other, is priceless. It is the heart of my connection with Treeleaf.

Gassho
Daizan

[Joyo]

On weekdays I usually sit on Treeleaf G+... sitting with someone is very powerful and helpful, and I'm not sure why. Sitting together, not talking, just sharing silence, sitting, and a bow, is beautiful and a treasure. All these words divide as much as join in my experience, but sharing zazen and bowing to each other, is priceless. It is the heart of my connection with Treeleaf.

Gassho
Daizan

I love what you said here, and I feel the same way, it is the heart of my practice.

Gassho,
Joyo

[pinoybuddhist]

Wake up at 5, lie in bed until around 5:30. Get up, get my tab (which has the Insight Timer app), a small towel, and the WiFi thingy, and exit the bedroom. Kneel in seiza in front of the butsudan, ring the bell. Gassho, Three Refuge verse, gassho. Ready the timer, the kneeler, and the towel for supporting my hands in the mudra. Zazen (usually anywhere between 8 to 15 minutes). Then recite the Four Bodhisattva Vows. Go down, make coffee and breakfast. Workout, eat, and short piano practice (if there's still a little time). Take a shower and get ready as the rest of the family comes down for breakfast. Then it's drop my son off at school then off to work.

[Entai]

Oh my. I am by no means a "morning person". My routine is typically getting ready for work and reciting the Heart Sutra. Then I hang out with my wife and our furry children for a while. My sitting routine generally takes place right after work. I'm really amazed at some of the routines listed here! Not sure how you do it!

Gassho, Entai

[Daiyo]

"I love the smell of Nag Champa in the morning" ( had to say it).

I wake up at 5:30 - 5:45. Wash my face, sometimes get a cup of coffee before sitting.
On weekends perhaps I wake up an hour later.

I light a candle and an incense stick.
I sit most days for 40 minutes. Sometimes, the first ten minutes I silently recite metta.
After that shikantaza.
Then, I recite everyday the Verse Of Atonement and then the 4 Vows.
Somedays I chant in soft voice the Heart Sutra in Japanese or English. I will switch soon to spanish, in order to learn to recite it by heart.
After that, I wake up the kids and my wife.
Prepare breakfast, walk the dog, take kids to school, go to work.

(On sunday mornings I sit the zazenkais)

That's it. Pretty simple.


Gassho,
Walter

#SatToday

[Oheso]

I claim to need my first mug of coffee before becoming fully cognizant after waking. the institution of the morning sit right after has seemed like a natural fit schedule-wise and is a great "orientation" for the day. I also like to bow twice in the direction of my parents' graves before sitting.

gassho, O

today, I sat

[Ongen]

Hi!

6:15 wake up, sneak down creaky stairs without waking the family -> meditation in itself, zazen for 30 to 40 minutes depending on how long it takes to get started. By then the house is awake and morning ritual, kids, school commences. Usually I sit again at night.

Gassho

Vincent

#SatToday

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[jizu]

Hello all,

Thanks for sharing, interesting to hear of everyone's routines...

Wake up at 5:00, grab a quick snack and feed the dog. Then, wait for the dog to do his business. He is not as regular as he used to be so sometimes this takes a while. I read news, Treeleaf or lately, as Waterfox has decided to reincarnate itself to default each morning, I spend some time resetting the preferences and fiddle with its configurations. Tomorrow may be the day.

I prefer to sit in the half light before the sun rises above the hills but it depends. As if he is an oracle, I first wait for a sign from dog.

Then sit.

Gassho,
Jon
#SatToday

[dharmasponge]

Ha! We have creaky stair too...I look like a slow motion ninja skipping stairs in order to be quiet of a morning!

[pinoybuddhist]

dharmasponge I know exactly what you mean! Navigating the floorboards requires ninja footwork.

Gassho,
Raf
#SatToday

[Anshu Bryson]

6:00 Up and at 'em; wash my hands and face with cold water, and drink a glass of water. NOW I'm awake...
6:05 Some light stretching
6:10 Zazen
6:40 Shave, shower and other hygeine related activities...
7:00 Brrrrrrrrrreakfast! Catch up on overnight news (part of my job requirement)
7:30 Off to work

I sit again in the evening. Usually between 25 and 35 minutes. Up from 20-25. Which was up from 15. I don't think I could last the weekly Zazenkai - and certainly not the monthly 4-hours - if I hadn't have been a little disciplined about sitting twice daily and sitting a wee bit longer each time. Osteo-arthritis in both knees has seen me go from full lotus in my 20s and 30s to seiza in my 40s and now Burmese in my 50's; I just don't bend the way I used to...! I am well off-topic now; my point was that, for me, morning wasn't enough, and that an incremental increase in frequency and duration has paid off, I think...1

Gassho,

Bryson

sat today

[Jamie]

I Sit at 6.00am for a half an hour, recite the four vows and do metta once or twice a week.
Zazenkai some Saturdays.
Gassho
Jamie

Sat today