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General Buddhism => General Buddhism => Topic started by: Tammy on May 18, 2012, 07:30:51 AM
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Busy - no time - in a rush - traffic jam - tired etc etc etc... these are modern day's excuses for not keeping our commitment of daily sadhana. Whilst we either do our daily prayers in the morning, before the day starts, or late at night, when we have completed a full cycle of secular life-style. Most often then not, those who does morning prayer missed because they couldnt wake up, and those doing prayers at night were too tired to keep their eyes opened.
Hence the idea of praying while driving! Some of my friends take multitasking to a whole new level - they pray while driving (esp. when there is trafiic jam!)
Safety issue aside, can anyone advise whether this should be encouraged?
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Hi Tammy,
I do not encourage this to be done as i don't think this is possible as simple as these reasons:
1) you can't concentrate on driving or even when its a traffic congestion, as how multitasking as one person can be, it is
2) when you are not concentrating, how will you be sure you can do your meditation in your sadhannas?
3) if you can't concentrate on the meditation, don't that take away the benefits of sadhannas where you are supposed to be benefiting the person.
The purpose of sadhanas i believe is to keep up with your commitments with your Guru, and to stay focus and to make us do it consistently right? I feel doing the mantras while being caught in the traffic jam will just be a blessing for you.
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Hi Tammy,
Mantra on the go? mmm this would be fine if you were:
a) the passenger in the said vehicle as you mentioned for safety reasons.
Brian has made a very good point about the purpose of your Saddhana? I guess it is too easy to fall into the trap of the more mantra's we get more benefit etc...etc.
Maybe a better goal maybe to work on setting a correct motivation pre-Sadhana? From my own experience if I am going to be traffic jam I will use this time to focus on my practice...of Watching my mind...I set myself a goal of controlling my anger and thoughts to other users on the road.
Setting myself little goals and realizing not all days are the same...Some days can count on one hand and some days it feels like falling off the wagon before my day has even started .
My work requires alot of travel but also as a result lots of opportunity for not so mindful road users on the road also arggghhhh! :(
So how can we expect our Sadhana and prayers to have power and blessings of the Buddha's to help us if we do not make ourselves a perfect recepticle to receive blessings.
Other reflections I will use throughout my travels is to reflect on impermanence? guru devotion? kindness of friends and loved ones? Than when it comes time to do your Sadhana you have done some internal housekeeping so to speak ;)
Also you could consider doing some preliminary prayers before your day begins? I prefer to do this when I first wake in the morning, work on the practice during the day and actaul Sadhana at the end of the day not driving and quiet time.
Hope this helps?
xo
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I don't see anything wrong with reciting mantras when driving though ... Especially if on a highway and long distance. When I was in Nepal, I see a lot of old Tibetan man and ladies walking on the street while chanting mantras. So perhaps it's quite similar except one is walking and one and driving. :)
However, yes it shouldn't be considered to be part of a daily sadhana. To me mantra is acceptable because it can create a habit to be thinking about the 3 jewels at all times. I guess if you are travelling overnight and have no choice but to do your sadhana in the plane, etc then it's better to do it while travelling than none. The best is to plan out and organise our time especially if we know what is going to be ahead of us for the rest of the day. We should treat each day like it's our very last day.
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I feel reciting mantras while drive is alright as it keeps our mind calm and also we will be thinking of the Three Jewels and not be preoccupied with impatience and venting our anger on other road users. However, it is not right to do sadhana while driving as our mind will be focus on the road and not meditating on the sadhanas so it will not be effective. It is alright to do the sadhana in the car if we are not the driver and we can hold our meditation well in a moving car without being distracted by the driver or other passengers in the car.
Doing sadhana is a personal practice for us to keep our commitments to our Guru and the Three Jewels. It is sacred and precious and we should treat our sadhana with the highest respect and not simply do for the sake of doing.
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Personally I disagree with doing prayer while driving even when there is traffic jam.
They is no way we can focus on our sadhana and it defeat the purpose of doing sadhana. It just become doing for the sake for doing it but is empty.
Doing our sadhana we must focus and even sometimes we need to contemplate or even meditate. How can we do this while driving and it might invite accident too. Doing sadhana is a wonderful thing and should do it diligently.
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Mantras can be recited while driving and may even prove to be beneficial. I've read testimonials of people who have avoided accidents because they were reciting mantras at the time. But reading one's sadhana should not be encouraged while driving even though the car has stopped. How can you be mindful of the road if you are reading? It is very dangerous. It's better to find another solution. How about getting up earlier?
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i think we can recite mantra when we are driving as it help us to focus our mind instead of thinking about other things which create more delusions.. As normally we never control our mind and it jump to everythings, never be with that moment, with what happening.
i do not agree with doing sadhana while we are driving or even in the traffic jam as sadhana we need to read the text (even if we can remember texts we still need to visualise or meditate in some part of sadhana) and need to do some visualisation or meditation in some part of sadhana. So how the visualise or meditation can be done while we are driving??!!! Perhap you asked about recite mantra while driving of part of sadhana??
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Hi Tammy,
Regarding doing our sadhana on the go ie driving... I would say that it is highly not recommended lol! I mean... imagine when you reach the Serkym part... how? I know we can just open a can of beer as offering but it is after all better to do it the traditional way.
Lets not talk about the safety issue... i think we all know that doing out sadhana while driving would make us a dangerous driver on the road (hehe...). After all, there are scientific research that indicates a person's capability to engage something with full concentration can only be placed on one thing at a time (Yes... you heard that right to all the multitaskers out there)... and our sadhana should demand our full attention. We allocate so much of out time to concentrate on samsaric matters, i think it is reasonable to place a side 30 minutes for a short daily sadhana... after all, our sadhanas is what matters most if we truly are serious in advancing in our spiritual path.
The very reason why Buddhists have their own personal altar already indicates the importance of doing our daily sadhana or meditation when we are settled down. Having full concentration is most important, as our sadhanas do demand a certain level of visualisation (speaking in a beginner sense). Even while sitting down infront the altar, sometimes it is difficult to maintain visualisation, not to mention while driving a car!! After all, doing our sadhana without visualisation is equal to a parrot talking... just words that hold no meaning or blessings.
Conclusion? I think doing our sadhana in the car (even if the car is static in the traffic) is just not practical. However, you can recite mantras in the car.
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I agree with Aurore.
Reciting mantras whilst driving is alright , sometimes I do it too, but over here where I stay, I don't drive as much as I walk, so I do recite mantras whilst walking. I guess that's less dangerous than reciting mantras whilst driving.. imagine you're using ur mala, whilst driving, so you have one hand on the steering wheel, another using the mala. Could be a little distracting and dangerous. Reciting without using a mala, whilst driving would be my best bet - instead of turning on the radio and singing along to it, you can do recitation of mantras. But recitation of the mantras whilst driving should not be counted as part of one's daily prayers.
How do you do prostrations, mudras, or whatever whilst driving and doing your sadhana? How do you do visualisations and at the same time concentrate on driving? I dont think the prayer session would be focused at all.
When you're moving around or travelling alot, you can carry along with you some Buddha images or something and just set up a very simple altar whereever you are to do your daily prayer. I feel that one's sadhana should always be done infront of one's altar as that is your field of merit.
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Hmmm...I would regard that doing a sadhana while driving is a no no especially when one needs to do visualisation or meditation. How would one be mindful on one's driving while on the road? In my opinion, when we do visualisation or meditation it has to be focused and not be distracted. We should regard doing sadhana with respect as it is a form of instruction to help and train our mind.
Should one chant mantra (without holding a mala) while driving, I would say it is alright as long as one is mindful on their driving. Most of the time, I did that too especially when we are so clouded with frustrations and anger while on the road to calm our mind....isn't chanting mantra better than we sing to songs blasting on radio or CDs?
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I don't think doing sadhana in a vehicle is appropriate, however reciting mantra when caught in a traffic jam is acceptable. Like what Brian has said, we cannot focus on the prayers while we are moving on the road, there's no way we can meditate and do visualization in a car also. Without full concentration, just do for the sake of doing, why waste time then?
Doing sadhana can be part of the practice for being consistent and discipline. When we set a time to do sadhana, for example morning before the day starts, it's good that we keep this as a habit no matter where we are, even when we are traveling. Doing sadhana can be a form of training our mind, whether we see it as a beneficial practice or just another routine to fulfill your guru's instruction?
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It is a fast paced world and it can be difficult to fit everything into a person's schedule everyday.So,it is nice to fit in as many things possible in to a day just to stay ahead.There is a point and time where it is just not smart to combine certain tasks;this include doing sadhana while driving.
The point is there is really no need to do anything else while driving but to focus on the road and ready for what might happen.Things can change in an instant and being distracted while driving can have seriously negative consequences.To recite mantras is alright buy doing sadhana,needs our full concentration.
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As most despondent mentioned here, doing mantras while driving is alright as it helps to calm oneself and we can skip the visualisation part. Only concentrate on the reciting, this is a good practice to calm our minds especially during heavy traffic jam.
As for doing sadhana, it not recommended because it is our private practice that required us to do vidualisation and meditation. We need to be in full concentration when we are driving, we need to pay attention to the roads and other vehicles.
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I don't encourage doing our daily Sadhana in the car. If we wanted to do something to a Holy Buddha, it should be done as proper as it should be. We don't give in to our lame excuses by being tired, no time and laziness. (mostly) By doing proper Sadhana daily will encourage our good qualities to emerge. Should you have your private practice which requires you to visualise and meditate, i don't think it is very appropriate. How can one achieve the ultimate enlightenment if we can't even do something as simple as daily Sadhana.
However reciting mantra and simple visualisation should be encourage, especially during traffic congestion.
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It is definitely okay to chant and drive at the same time. I have been doing the same every time I am on the road. Sorry to say, even if accident do happen, it is entirely because of our karma. Then at least it was the last thing we did. You do not have to hold the rosary while chanting nor visualizing at the same time, which is definitely dangerous. Just chanting the mantra will be very good. Anyway, when we cant do our daily prayers for 1 day, we can add on when we recite the next day. As everyone is busy in these modern times, we have to find ways to adept efficiently!
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I personally don't recite mantras much while driving unless i see a dead animal on the street or I heard that a particular stretch of road is haunted. (haha! Maybe I am superstitious and I wanna calm the spirits so they leave me alone!) Well, I don't think it is wrong to recite mantras but I wouldn't do my Sadhana while I am on the road because mine is a little complicated and I have not memorized my Sadhana yet.
The things I do to cope with the shortage of time is to shorten the number of the mantra recitations when I am particularly busy. I also prefer to do it in the morning instead of the evenings. Why? It would be easier to fall asleep midway through the Sadhana if I do it at night. Sometimes, I would lay out the offerings on the altar and do it during lunch or in the evenings, just before dinner when I would most likely have the free time. I think it is good that this topic was brought up because we take our sadhanas seriously.
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My personal feeling is that our Sadhana is our quiet time and a time we use to reflect and contemplate. It is not merely about completing how many malas of chanting and so on. Doing our Sadhana and at the same time something else is not giving full attention to our prayers and may be merely perfunctory.
It is still best to make the daily Sadhana one of the "must do" in our routine. After all we manage to squeeze in a lot of time for other things. There was a time when I got into a habit of doing my Sadhana on the go and justifying that by telling myself that I don't have time in the morning and that I am too tired by the end of the day.
I realized sometime later that what I was actually doing was choosing sleep over my Sadhana and making a habit out of it.
Plus how does one make water, light and incense offerings in the car? How does one perform the preparatory rites e.g. cleaning the altar and beautifying it if one does not allocate time for it? These are also part of our daily practice.
However, when we are truly on the go as in we are traveling, I feel that doing our Sadhana in the car or plane is totally fine.
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Firstly, I do take my hat off to the person who can actually do his or her full sadhana while driving... Damn good memory I say!!! Moreover as most have said, it requires some form of meditative contemplation at the very least and I think driving kinda kicks that one off the window! ;)
However, when it comes to mantras I think its ok. Sometimes it helps in relieving the stress of traffic jams. I find it very comforting to do certain mantras, in this case, while driving... What better way to control one's emotion and get blessings the same time! :)
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If you're highly attained, you can do your sadhana anywhere any time doing anything. But if you're not then obviously it will be good if you do your sadhana at at a proper location and environment. Not being able to wake up is really just an excuse. Dharma is not something we should do at our own convenience.
We should make time for our spiritual practice. This is the practice that will lead us to eternal happiness. So why are we being so lazy? Don't we allll want happiness? It is now right in front of us! Why throw it away?
Are we really serious about our practice? Or is it just to past time?
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i think we can recite mantra when we are driving as it help us to focus our mind instead of thinking about other things which create more delusions.. As normally we never control our mind and it jump to everythings, never be with that moment, with what happening.
i do not agree with doing sadhana while we are driving or even in the traffic jam as sadhana we need to read the text (even if we can remember texts we still need to visualise or meditate in some part of sadhana) and need to do some visualisation or meditation in some part of sadhana. So how the visualise or meditation can be done while we are driving??!!! Perhap you asked about recite mantra while driving of part of sadhana??
You said here that it will help us "focus our mind" - where will the focus be? If it is to be concentrated on just reciting the mantras, then what about the safety issue of driving? Should not our concentration/focus be on our driving, to make it safely from point A to point B? To ensure that the driver, passengers and vehicle all arrive intact?
If you are a passenger where you do not need to focus on the safety of yourself and the passengers (and also your vehicle), then it is fine tobe reciting mantras.
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Our daily sadhana is a commitment, yes. But it should not be viewed as a chore! Our minds should be happy and looking forward to doing our sadhana. If we really understood the benefits of doing sadhana, we would definitely make time and place priority on it to do it before we are "too tired". It is just like how people can set aside time to go to gym or go for music class or dance class and always do it at the same time. They make time for this class which they look forward to going to every time and they plan their schedule around it.
If we find that we can't wake up earlier to do sadhana, or always leave sadhana as the last thing to do at night, knowing full well we'd be tired by then, then it means that we think we don't really need to do sadhana. I would admit that I'm guilty of this. When i think deeper on this, its a matter of changing habits and educating ourselves more on the meanings of the sadhana we are doing.
So my take on doing sadhana in the car: I think its disrespecting the Buddha we are praying to. Its like.. Hi Buddha, I'm too busy to talk to you all day, so I allocate my time in the car to you, please dissolve into me while i'm in this traffic jam? I've done this before but i felt it was very "low quality" sadhana.
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Hi negra orquida, i like the way you mentioned "low quality" sadhana. This is so true as we always find excuses like no time to do our sadhana so we do it quickly as though it a chore. I feel that time management is very important. We should set some time aside and the best time is in the morning before the bad rush of the day sets in as by then we will be too preoccupied with our secular activities and too tired to do our sadhana.
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Personally, I will not do my sadhana while driving as it is not possible to visualise and at the same time to concentrate on driving safely. I agree with biggy boy that we should regard doing our sadhana with respect.
Yes, I like the idea of chanting mantra (without a mala) while driving or when we are waiting in a queue as it will bring to our mind the Buddha instead of letting our mind drift away. We must make it a priority to set aside some time daily to do our sadhana as it is a very sacred and precious practice given to us by our Guru.
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Reciting Mantras while driving is all right. But doing the Sadhana with driving is dangerous and defeat the purpose of being discipline to do the Sadhana with respect. The practice of daily Sadhana is also to develop discipline and we cannot say we have no time for Sadhana as it is clearly our laziness and not to make time for it.
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Reciting mantra while driving is a definite yes for me. I don't think it is dangerous at all, because even if I am not reciting mantras, my mind wonder everywhere and sometimes I got distracted by some billboard advertisements which nearly caused me into accidents. Reciting mantras while driving actually make me more concentrated.
However, doing Sadhana while driving is a different matters all together. I am not talking about reading and safety here. I can remember my entire Sadhana (my Sadhana is not too long), and I have done Sadhana in car while driving to work (and sometimes going back home), especially caught in jam. However, I am not getting even the least benefit of doing Sadhana.. I can't do any visualization (how can I do visualization when there are so many distractions and need to stay alert on the surrounding environment, in order not to bang someone else). As such, I have stopped doing Sadhana very quickly.
If you travel a lot on car, may be you can get someone to drive for you (if you have company), and I don't see any reasons why you cannot do your Sadhana as a passenger.
Wish you have your enlightenment in the car!! :)
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Just a thought: Driving is an automatic action, especially on a commute journey that we know well.
So why not doing sadhanas... after all, we can talk when we drive, proof that the mind can multi-task combining:
1. the automatic action of driving,
2. the prayer and even the visualization.
What can't be done while driving is anything that occupies the hands, like holding a phone, holding a hamburger, sending sms, etc...
So for as long as we do sadhanas without using bell and damaru, and as long as we know the prayers by heart, I do not see the problem... do you?
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THANK YOU EVERYONE for sharing your view and suggestions!
Summary of of all the posts thus far:
(1) Its ok to chant mantras while driving
- calm our minds
- helps concentration (?)
- not counted as part of daily sadhana
(2) Not ok to do sadhana while driving
- how to do tea offerings while driving (or can of beer or drink, can?)
- can't visualize while driving hence sadhana not complete
- cant multi-task while driving
I do still chant mantra while driving cos it helps to prevent my mind from running wild unless I need to plan and do some serious thinking
welcome anymore new ideas and comments.
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Well, we can see it is not a brilliant idea to be doing your daily sadhanna in your car while driving? We should by all means treat our sadhanas gifted by our Guru(s) to be very sacred and precious and not being done anywhere else but only when we are seated right in front of our altar. So the very least we are respecting our Guru's gift or instruction.
I came to terms on Siting on the sofa or any nice cushion in your house as long as facing the altar. This is better than sitting in a car reciting whatever sadhanas. If we are driving, it is ok for us to be reciting mantras because it blesses our mind and as well as the beings whom we may bumped into without knowing but certainly not doing sadhanas in your car while you are driving. heck you do not even have any statues to visualise on unless you have your tsa tsa. And when you have tsa tsa, where is your offering?