Deepen Your Practice: Waking Up

In his book Happiness, Thay writes about how we can recite a gatha when we first arise every morning to set the tone for our day. This is what he says:

We can start our day with the happiness of a smile and the aspiration to dedicate ourselves to the path of love and understanding. We are aware that today is a fresh, new day, and we have twenty-four precious hours to live.

Practice

As you wake up in the morning and open your eyes, you may like to recite this gatha:

Waking up this morning, I smile.

Twenty-four brand-new hours are before me.

I vow to live fully in each moment

and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.

The last line of this gatha comes from the Lotus Sutra. The one who looks at all beings with eyes of compassion is Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva who listens deeply to the cries of the world.

In the sutra, this line reads: “Eyes of loving kindness look on all living beings.” Love is impossible without understanding. In order to understand others, we must know them and be inside their skin. Then we can treat them with loving kindness. The source of love is our fully awakened mind.

After you wake up, you probably open the curtains and look outside. You may even like to open the window and feel the cool morning air with the dew still on the grass. When you open the window and look out, see that life is infinitely marvelous. At that very moment, you can vow to be awake all day long, realizing joy, peace, freedom, and harmony. When you do this, your mind becomes clear like a calm river.

Try to get up from bed right away after enjoying three deep breaths to bring yourself into mindfulness. Don’t delay waking. You may like to sit up and gently massage your head, neck, shoulders, and arms to get your blood circulating. You might like to do a few stretches to loosen your joints and wake up your body. Drinking a cup of warm water is also good for our system first thing in the morning.

Wash yourself or do what you need to before heading to work or school or to the meditation hall. Allow enough time so you don’t have to rush. If it’s still early, enjoy the dark morning sky. Many stars are twinkling and greeting us. Take deep breaths and enjoy the cool, fresh air. As you walk slowly to the car, to school, to work, or to the meditation hall, let the morning fill your being, awakening your body and mind to the joy of a new day.

What better way to start the day than with a smile? Your smile affirms your awareness and determination to live in peace and joy. How many days slip by in forgetfulness? What are you doing with your life? Look deeply, and smile. The source true smile is an awakened mind.

How can you remember to smile when you wake up? You might hang a reminder—such as a branch, a leaf, a painting, or some inspiring words—in your window or from the ceiling above your bed. Once you develop the practice of smiling, you may not need a sign. You will smile as soon as you hear a bird sing or see the sunlight stream through the window, and this will help you approach the day with more gentleness and understanding.