The Four Reminders

 During the meditation today, I felt my body becoming so light, almost as though light were running through it or it was even a form of light. I must say that this experience was entirely based on my readings and faith, especially in that I was able to have such an experience. It lifted me away from my body concerns. Is this a form  of fooling myself'? All I know is that I needed that faith to be able to lift me out of the sensitivity to pain that often happens when I sit for a long time. I felt a vow to help and connect with others sustaining my practice. And it was somehow a pleasure that came from nowhere
 One of the paradoxes I have sometimes found in life is that having what I perceive to be 'more' in life can be a source of anxiety. It is one of the forms of suffering that is talked about in the First Noble Truth, the suffering of losing what one cherishes. But what is interesting is that I have often been told to be 'grateful' for what I have. Is it possible for gratitude to end up turning into clinging to what one has?
   I think the answer to these questions lies in the practice itself. I see meditative practice as like a raft. The more energy and consistency I put into the practice, the stronger a raft I have to keep me balanced. When I am clinging to things I like and then fearing their loss, I am just swimming with the passing phenomena, and I lose all inner strength or power. On the other hand, if I am sticking steadfastly to something that is not dependent on the outside world, there is no reason for me to feel misfortune to lose something. But because my mind is wavering and my practice is not so strong in daily life, I will tend to seek relief in things around me rather than seeing all things as opportunities to practice being present.
   The 'gratitude' that is often described in Buddhist teachings is quite different from what I hear commonly. I recently read in Dzogchen Ponlop's book Mind Beyond Death, where he talks about the four reminders as common preliminary practice. They are "(1) precious human birth, (2) impermanence, (3) karma and (4) the shortcomings of samsara. All of these forms of reminders generate focus but they also grant practitioners a certain kind of gratitude. Rather than being grateful for particular things that are impermanent to begin with, these four reminders seem to focus the mind just a little bit beyond what is present here and now. While we are blessed to be born human, for example, this gratitude also carries with it a certain responsibility to ensure that we are not reborn in a less favorable state for practice. It is also sobering to reflect that humans are fragile beings, subject to impermanence, suffering and cause/condition. The gratitude comes more from discovering teachings that will help one go beyond this suffering. This gratitude seems more engaged than simply being grateful for one's possessions.

Ponlop, Dzogchen (2006, 2008), Mind Beyond Death Ithaka: Snow Lion.