The Bell of mindfulness

[nagaseeker]

i Went to a friend's house few days ago and have a little chit chat ,suddenly heard bell sound from her laptop .She quickly close her eyes for a moment and listen to the sound of bell,When she open her eyes and i ask her whats wrong she said it was the bell of mindfulness.She set the bell to alert herself every hour (it depends ,can be every 3-4 hours). Hearing the bell, we make our minds one with the sound of the bell. allowing our minds to vibrate along and settle down with the sound of the bell as it fades away. In this way the mind is collected and brought back into the present moment. The "Bell of Mindfulness" is the voice of the Buddha calling us back to ourselves. We have to respect such a sound, stop our thinking and talking, and get back in touch with ourselves, breathing and smiling. It is not a Buddha from the outside. It is our own Buddha calling us. If we cannot hear the sound of the bell,then we cannot hear other sounds which also come from the Buddha, like the sound of the wind, the sound of the bird, even the sounds of cars or the sound of a baby crying. They are calls from the Buddha, inviting us to return to ourselves. And at the same time think of our guru and idam,think of the quality of our guru and idam. Practicing with a bell from time to time is helpful. What do you think ?

[Poonlarp]

I think it's pretty good idea!

Human mind is not stable, it goes up and down due to lack of awareness, it's a good and efficient way to train our mind to be alert all the time, not to hurt others, be a good person with good body action, speech and mind.

When we have used to it, we can be alert without the bell one day, it's like a baby learning how to walk, when we do not need anything to help us walk, we can walk our way to enlightenment, of course with much practice and merits.

[Dondrup Shugden]

Thank you, nagaseeker or this posting.  Imagine the clarity we can achieve if we stop our mind talking and controlling us.  Listening in totality to the Bell was clearing our thoughts, and be aware of the only the Bell and the sound.

How often do we really do that? Most of us don't and that is why we have problems remembering, executing instructions etc etc to the folly of our lives.

In missing full awareness of the moment, like the sound of the Bell, we miss having lived that moment in complete awareness of what is happening to us and around us.

How I wish I can practise emptying my mind often and live the moment in complete harmony of what is going on. That is what I call bliss.

[Big Uncle]

It sounds good but I wonder how effective it is. I don't doubt the efficacy of any forms of meditation. However, I do doubt the motivation and the way people conduct themselves during these meditations. If the motive is merely to be in sync and to feel good, then the benefits will only stop at feeling good. It does not transform the person and there is no improvement and no realisations.

Many great masters of ancient India do not improve beyond a certain stage because they get caught up with the bliss induced through meditation. Therefore, it is good to recite some mantras, auspicious prayers before such meditations to bless and remind ourselves of the reason for engaging in the meditation. But then again, its going to sound weird each time the bell chimes, we start chanting.

[diamond girl]

This "exercise" sounds logical and do-able. In fact I do like the concept of taking time out and letting the mind focus solely on one subject, in this case the sound of bell.

I do not get how this is a religious practice as it sounds more like a therapeutic mind exercise. Kind of like give the mind a break to refocus amidst all the multiple distractions and stresses even if for a while, then get back to matters in hand with a re-energized mind. How is this in relation to Buddhism?

[nagaseeker]

This "exercise" sounds logical and do-able. In fact I do like the concept of taking time out and letting the mind focus solely on one subject, in this case the sound of bell.

I do not get how this is a religious practice as it sounds more like a therapeutic mind exercise. Kind of like give the mind a break to refocus amidst all the multiple distractions and stresses even if for a while, then get back to matters in hand with a re-energized mind. How is this in relation to Buddhism?

Dear diamond girl , do note that when the bell chime , you do not focus on the sound of bell , you stop thinking of the worldly things you were doing in seconds ago,"get back in touch with ourselves" then when you have peaceful mind/calm down , you immediately think of you guru and your idam ,think of their quality which you wanted to achieve ~ By that kind of though at that moment , it remind you to stop attach to worldly action such as idle chat and so on ..... does it related to buddhism ?

[Gypsy]

Yes i think it's a good idea. As human beings mind are always up and down, unstable and even when we sleep, the mind still pondering around. I came across this quite interesting article that explains the four functions of mind, it's pretty much related to meditation. I thought besides the ring of bell, meditation can be another  good way to stabilize our mind and give us a peace of mind in the end of the day.

Q: What is the one stance from which one can witness all of the Four Functions of Mind and the way in which senses, body, breath, and mind operate together?
A: It is the Self, the Atman. To know that Self is the reason the Yogi does self-awareness and self-training. That Self is like the still center of a wheel, where the four spokes are the Four Functions of Mind that operate the external wheel in the world.     

There are Four Functions of Mind:
•   Manas = sensory, processing mind
•   Chitta = storage of impressions
•   Ahamkara = "I-maker" or Ego (2 Egos)
•   Buddhi = knows, decides, judges, and discriminates
The aspirant should:
•   Understand each function individually.
•   Coordinate them all with one another.


for more info on this topic please click on this:
http://swamij.com/fourfunctionsmind.htm

[Jessie Fong]

Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience.
As expressed in … http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/mindfulness
The practice of mindfulness is not something related to only religion as it applies to everyone.

So in the above example, the sound of the bell was a good reminder to bring us back to the present.  However it is not always practical unless you are alone in the room, as it will distract other people who are with you.  Imagine if you are in the midst of a meeting and the bell sound goes off, how distracting it will be?  Then the table will be turned on you to be mindful of those around you.

Having said that, it is not necessary to use a bell, for it is just the instrument to carry the sound as a reminder.  It will be a good practice to begin with, using the bell or any other instrument as a reminder to bring our mind to the present moment.

[bambi]

Hmmm.. Mindfulness is being the state of active and attention to the current environment that we are in.Besides using the bell, there are meditations to practice mindfulness.

It is taught that one of the seven factors to Enlightenment is mindfulness.

- Mindfulness - to remember the Dhamma.
- Investigation of the Dhamma.
- Energy
- Joy or rapture
- Relaxation or tranquility of both body and mind
- Concentration a calm, one-pointed state of concentration of mind
- Equanimity, to be able to face life in all its vicissitudes with calm of mind and tranquility, without disturbance, with dispassion and detachment.

The Buddha identifies that mindfulness is "always useful"; while, when one's mind is sluggish, one should develop the enlightenment factors of investigation, energy and joy; and, when one's mind is excited, one should develop the enlightenment factors of tranquility, concentration and equanimity.

Once when the Buddha was gravely ill he asked Venerable Mahacunda to recite the seven Factors of Enlightenment to him. In such a way the Buddha was cured of his illness.

It is also said that when we are doing meditation, we encounter the 5 hindrances that cause negative mental state and lead us away from Enlightenment.

Sensual desire: Craving for pleasure to the senses.
Anger or ill-will: Feelings of malice directed toward others.
Sloth-torpor or boredom: Half-hearted action with little or no concentration.
Restlessness-worry: The inability to calm the mind.
Doubt: Lack of conviction or trust.

The Buddha gives the following analogies:

"When these five hindrances are not abandoned in himself, the monk regards it as a debt, a sickness, a prison, slavery, a road through desolate country. But when these five hindrances are abandoned in himself, he regards it as unindebtedness, good health, release from prison, freedom, a place of security."

[ratanasutra]

I like the idea of sound of bell which bring us back to the reality of what is happening with us now as most of the times our mind never be present with what we are doing, either its just wondering around or thinking about other things which we are worry about or we are planing to do next.
And it was just happened with me in last week, i was in the car, driving to work, and my mind just wondering around without i knowing of course, i only knew it when i took the wrong turn which was not the way to work place, as that moment my mind came back to the reality and i realised it. This is just one of example of how our mind operate and i believe without mindfulness, our mind are function like this.

I think to set up alarm of some sound in hand phone not the bad idea either, even though it can't be used when we are in the meeting but it will help to bring our mind back to reality in most of the days that we don't have meeting.
 

[biggyboy]

Not bad an idea to use the preset intervals of the bell ringing to help bring one’s mind away for the moment from her worldly tasks that was doing.  Would the person doze off if she is not mindful of her present moment?  How much would it helps her and how discipline would she be over time to do it?  Well, I would agree with Big Uncle to chanting of mantra or do Guru Yoga for that matter to calm one’s mind.  It blesses and calms the mind together.  Wouldn’t this be more practical and beneficial?


Mindfulness meditation is a whole-body-and-mind awareness of the present moment. To be mindful is to be fully present, not lost in daydreams, anticipation, indulgences, or worry.

Mindfulness also means observing and releasing habits of mind that maintain the illusion of a separate self. This includes dropping the mental habit of judging everything according to whether we like it or not. Being fully mindful means being fully attentive to everything as-it-is, not filtering everything through our subjective opinions.

Practising Mindfulness
Changing the mental habits and conditioning of a lifetime is not easy. And this training is not something that only happens during meditation, but throughout the day.

If you have a daily chanting practice, chanting in a focused, fully attentive way is mindfulness training. It can also be helpful to choose a particular activity such as preparing a meal, cleaning the floors, or taking a walk, and make an effort to be fully mindful of the task as you perform it. In time you will find yourself paying more attention to everything.

Zen teachers say that if you miss the moment, you miss your life. How much of our lives have we missed? Be mindful!

[Carpenter]

The Blessed One said, "Suppose, monks, that a large crowd of people comes thronging together, saying, 'The beauty queen! The beauty queen!' And suppose that the beauty queen is highly accomplished at singing & dancing, so that an even greater crowd comes thronging, saying, 'The beauty queen is singing! The beauty queen is dancing!' Then a man comes along, desiring life & shrinking from death, desiring pleasure & abhorring pain. They say to him, 'Now look here, mister. You must take this bowl filled to the brim with oil and carry it on your head in between the great crowd & the beauty queen. A man with a raised sword will follow right behind you, and wherever you spill even a drop of oil, right there will he cut off your head.' Now what do you think, monks: Will that man, not paying attention to the bowl of oil, let himself get distracted outside?"

The monk replied: "No, lord."

This story tells us that we can easily get distracted by the outer disturbances. Our mind is so unsecure that we have to keep being aware of the surroundings until the state that we are not focus on what we are doing, our mind is wandering around and it is not staying at the present.

The bell of mindfulness is very good I feel, because in a day, most of the time our mind will not be at the moment, so when the bell rings, we calm down ourselves and bring our mind back to present, when our mind are at present, we will eventually be more aware of the surrounding, because our mind is clear.

[Dhiman]

Personally I think the bell of mindfulness is to remind us to come back to the present moment. Everytime we hear the bell we stop all our actions and return to ourselves, breathing in and out. We halt for the moment in whatever we are doing and just enjoy breathing.

Zen Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh added a verse to recite when listening to the bell: Listen, listen. This wonderful sound brings me back to my true self.

According to him, the sound is not restricted to the bell, and you can use any sound to remind you to pause and enjoy the present moment. Even non-sounds such as the rays of sunlight are bells of mindfulness that can remind us to return to ourselves, breathe, smile and live fully in the present moment.

[Dondrup Shugden]

Be mindful, is what I always remind myself.  Often enough, the definitive explanation of mindfulness if not clear.

This post is a good read for us to remind ourself what is mindful and to practise same.