Time

Sometimes people think of Dharma as a ritual, something that you do with your body and with your speech, or some kind of special action with some special activities. This kind of Dharma practice usually takes place at a special time in your shrine room or meditation space.

But if you look deeply, the Dharma is not just that. Dharma is not a ritual, not something you do only with your body or speech. Dharma actually is something that transforms your mind, something that changes your mind.

If we are aggressive or angry then we try to see why it should not be like that. We instruct ourselves. We try to change ourselves, and then slowly we become less angry.

Or if we were somebody who had a lot of attachment or a clinging person, we do something about it. We transform ourselves. We transform ourselves from within, and start to lessen the power of that emotion. That is what we actually mean by Dharma practice.

With this kind of Dharma practice you do not need a special time. You can do it

during your everyday life. You can do the Dharma practice even when you are at work. Dharma is something where you look at your way of thinking, at your aspirations, how you act and react, how you can change that and how you relate and connect to other people. You examine these things and you become aware of what you are doing. This kind of practice is very important.