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TWIM Post-Retreat Tips 

Living by the Dhamma & Discipline

A guide for mental development in daily life according to the Early Buddhist Texts and 8-Fold Path Framework.

VIRTUE (SILA)

Right Speech

• You can retake the 5 precepts every morning or whenever you break one (ideally with a confession and resolve not to do so again): (DN 31)

1. Not to harm living beings on purpose.

2. Not to steal.

3. Not to commit sexual misconduct.

4. Not to lie, gossip, or use harsh speech.

5. Not to take intoxicants.

• Avoid: “false speech, malicious speech, harsh speech, and gossip” (MN 117)

• Ideally, THINK before speaking: Timeliness, Honesty, Intention, Necessity, Kindness

• “Right Social Media” - The essential and unessential (DhP 11)

  • Try to keep these communications wholesome and essential.

  • Silence notifications when possible. “Do not disturb” mode is also your friend.

  • Pro tip: Respond to emails and texts in batches to allow periods of uninterrupted focus.

  • Use phone as a tool, not a slot machine or tether

Right Action 

• Generosity (Dana)

  • It’s essential to support the community (Sangha). (AN 5.175)

  • Give with an uplifted mindset, ideally contemplating its mental benefits (AN 7.49)

  • Can give time & attention, not just money

    • Examples: Volunteer work like soup kitchen or hospice; mental health counseling; listening compassionately to a friend; smiling at strangers

• Cultivate:

  • “Skillful behaviors stem from a mind that is free from greed, hate, and delusion.” (MN 78)

  • If someone wrongs you, forgive them; and if you do wrong, apologize and forgive yourself.

• Avoid:

  • Being lazy (DN 31)

  • Being stingy (DN 31)

Right Lifestyle 

• Family & Relationships

  • Important to support ones mother & father and cherish one’s children (SN 2.4)

  • Associate with wise and wholesome friends. (DN 31, AN 10.61)

  • Show respect for one's family, friends, and co-workers. (DN 31)

• Food

  • Moderation in eating is encouraged, including intermittent fasting. (MN 107)

  • Healthy, unprocessed foods can promote vitality and diminish sloth & torpor.

• Work

  • Harmful work: (AN 5.177)

    • Selling weapons

    • Human trafficking

    • Butchering or breeding for butchery

    • Selling intoxicants, harmful drugs, or poisons

    • i.e., Pretty much anything where your work is harmful to others directly or indirectly.

    • Wrong livelihood is also defined as, “Trickery, cajolery, insinuating, dissembling, rapacity for gain upon gain…” (MN 117)

  • Being disciplined in one’s chosen field (AN 8.54)

  • Ideally, if possible, work that benefits others, isn’t stressful, and leaves room for a sitting meditation practice.

  • On the job, almost anything can be done with mindfulness, metta, and a smile :)

  • Try simplifying as much as possible for a calmer mind.

• Healthy “Dhamma Nutrients”: (see Further Resources below)

  • Suttas

  • Guided meditations

  • Dhamma podcasts, books & talks

  • Dhamma discussions

• Avoid:

  • Going out late at night and partying (DN 31)

  • Gambling (DN 31)

  • Sexual debaucery, which could include pornography (AN 8.54)

  • Spending more than one earns (AN 8.54)

  • Toxic people—defined as a “rogue, drunkard, addict, cheat, swindler, or thug” and also “the taker, the talker, the flatterer, and the reckless companion” (DN 31)

  • Misconduct in sensual pleasures, like binge watching clickbait/alarmist news (MN 117)

  • Over-scheduling

• Limit:

  • Non-Dhammic media

  • Multitasking

  • Stimulants

  • Agitating music

MEDITATION (SAMADHI)

Right Effort 

• Bhante Vimalaramsi’s book title says it all: “Life is meditation, meditation is life.” 6R all day long!

• Forming a meditation habit:

  • Stick to a schedule, ideally first thing in the morning or before bed.

  • Arrange a comfortable seat, ideally in a dedicated “meditation spot.”

  • Can use an app such as Insight Timer (free) for guided meditations, timers, and streaks

  • It’s essential to enjoy one’s meditation practice :)

Right Mindfulness 

• Try to remain in full awareness of mind and body throughout the day. (MN 107)

• How to increase mindfulness:

  • Use the 6Rs. Enjoy the present with a smile. (can relax into pleasant sensations in the body, like loving-kindness)

  • Play it like a game!

  • Get a 6R tattoo. (Joking, but you could put up post-its around the house.)

  • Hang around mindful people.

  • Set an alarm every X minutes to check in with yourself.

  • Rate your mindfulness from 1 to 10 at the end of every day. (“What gets measured gets managed.”)

  • Or write down roughly how many times you 6R’d that day

Right Collectedness

• Try to maintain your collectedness (samadhi) throughout the day. (MN 107)

• How much should I sit?

  • Aim for 2 hours, preferably all at once.

  • Or a minimum of 30 minutes on your busiest day.

  • Ideally carve out one day per week for “self-retreat.”

  • 1 full retreat per year if possible

WISDOM (PAÑÑA)

Right View 

• Notice the 4 Noble Truths and recognize cause & effect (kamma) in your daily life. (MN 117)

• Buddhism 101: Don’t take things personally!

• On a deeper level, one can notice Dependent Origination in daily life.

• Letting go of harmful habitual cycles by seeing how they cause mental agitation (dukkha).

• Also noticing what makes the mind content with wholesome happiness, e.g., nature, laughter, helping others, feeding or petting animals, etc.

• Reject hedonistic or materialistic views, at least being open-minded to the possibility of “this world and the other.” (MN 117)

• Develop confidence in the Dhamma through experience.

Right Intention 

• Contentment, moderation, love, and compassion (MN 117)

• Cultivate positive thoughts and 6R negative ones. (MN 19)

• Intentions matter more than results. (MN )

• Generate loving-kindness toward those who harm you, even if they cut you in half. (MN 21)

• Can check in with your intention before a new activity. Is it wholesome or not?

• Antidotes: (MN 62)

  • Hostility - Loving-Kindness (metta)

  • Cruelty - Compassion (karuna)

  • Discontent (e.g., boredom) - Joy (mudita)

  • Aversion - Equanimity (upekkha)

  • Lust - Contemplate the ugly or disgusting components of the body

  • Conceit - Contemplate impermanence

• More Antidotes:

  • Fear - Loving-Kindness (metta), Recollection of the Buddha’s qualities (Sutta?)

  • Jealousy - Joy (mudita)

  • Seeing others suffer - Compassion (karuna)

  • Suffering oneself - Equanimity (upekkha)

• Five facts that motivate practice: (AN 5.57)

  • We cannot avoid aging. 

  • We cannot avoid illness. 

  • We cannot avoid death. 

  • We will eventually be separated from everything we hold dear. 

  • We are heirs to our actions (kamma). 

 

Further Resources - Signs of Progress, Articles, Methods, Parental Tips, Dhamma Talks, Guided Meditations, TWIM Retreats, Keep in Touch

 

SIGNS OF PROGRESS

Personality development—maybe friends or family notice you’re becoming nicer.

Spending more time in the sublime, higher states of mind (brahmaviharas and jhanas)

Taking things less personally

Increasing awareness of uplifting and agitating mental states

Insults and other negative events become less “sticky” in the mind.

An overall reduction in craving for sensual pleasures

Wanting to sit for meditation more and more

Increased meta-awareness—noticing what’s going on in your mind

A more fluid, less contracted sense of self

More joy, vitality, presence, and laughter

 

ARTICLES

The Buddhist Layman - Access to Insight

 

METHODS FOR RELAXATION & HEALTH

Yoga Nidra 

Progressive Relaxation

Qi Gong/Tai Chi

Float Tanks

Nature walks

Journaling 

Breathwork (Calming techniques like Alternate Nostril Breathing)

 

MEDITATION WITH KIDS

Send metta to family members before bed.

Lead by example. (Can’t force it on them)

 

DHAMMA TALKS

TWIM 

Suttavada

Easing Awake

Bhante Ananda

Podcast Channel

 

GUIDED MEDITATIONS

30 Min Loving-Kindness - David Johnson

Forgiveness - Delson Armstrong

Spiritual Friend - Khin

1 Hour Loving-Kindness - Doug Kraft

Preparation for Death - Syl Zuhorn

5 Aggregates - Delson Armstrong

35 Min Mindfulness of Breathing - Bhante Ananda

1 Hour Advanced Jhana - David Johnson

 

TWIM RETREATS

Dhamma Sukha

Dhamma Sukha India

Suttavada

TWIM Foundation

Heart Dhamma

 

CONNECT OR ASK QUESTIONS

Groups.io 

TWIM Mentors & Sitting Groups

Telegram Group 

GTOG (Sunday Zoom Meetup)

Suttavada Email