SERENITY

                                                                     or

                        Tranquility or Calmness in thought, word and deed needs

                                                      FAITH( SADDHA)

                        to surrender and accept what one cannot change in life.

                                                            COURAGE

                          Involves VIRIYA or EFFORT to change what one can

                                                                 and

                                                    WISDOM or PANNA

                    to know the difference which can arise only in a state of 

                                                       SAMADHI

                                 which can be reached with the help of  

                                           SATI  ( MINDFULNESS)

       and Stillness that can reflect the real nature of things as they  actually are,

                                 to be able to KNOW the difference.

 

Whilst making a hot cross bun loaf  I was aware of the presence of each of the faculties :

 

I certainly needed Viriya as the kneading part of the process required  lots of effort and energy.  I started to think about the yeast and how it is also a form of Viriya as it is active and adds life to the recipe - without it the loaf would be airless and unleavened.

 

Samadhi arose whilst weighing out the ingredients and following the recipe.  I also focused on the task and tried not to let my mind wander.

 

I had faith (Saddha) in the recipe and felt confident the quantities of ingredients were correct and the loaf would turn out well.  This conviction enabled the task to flow seamlessly from one stage to another.

 

I thought about Panna, and wondered if it was present at all.  I realised it was there in the background, prompting me to check certain things i.e. was the yeast in date?  I had once made a similar recipe with out of date yeast and it was a failure.  I also thought back to a time when I had not allowed the mixture to prove sufficiently – this also resulted in a substandard loaf.  I used wisdom to learn from past mistakes.

 

Sati was present throughout the whole activity as I stayed aware and mindful of what I was doing with my hands – stirring, kneading, mixing, weighing.  I tried to stay ‘with’ the activity and not become distracted by other thoughts.

 

 

Overall, I found the whole process to be rather calming and I felt a sense of satisfaction and wellbeing.  I did not rush through each stage, I focused my mind and was in no hurry to complete task.  The end result was worth the effort.