Homework: Seek virtues of yours and others. Rejoice in others' virtues & let them rejoice in yours
Updated: Jan 21, 2020
Make the effort to see the virtues in yourself and others. Congratulate others on their virtues and give them the opportunity to congratulate you on yours:
Sharing merit with those at home means looking for ways of applying our cheerfulness, love and compassion of mind to enhance the positive mood of others at home, by cheering them up with appreciation for the good deeds we have had the good luck to accomplish throughout the day. The ability to bring one’s good deeds out in the open, with the confidence to have other people congratulate you on them, helps reinforce one’s commitment to good deeds in a way that boosts one’s quality of mind with refreshments which helps one cope cheerfully and compassionately with all the situations of life.
Benefits to practitioner
The merit (positive energy from having done good deeds) will continue to nourish body, speech, and mind all the way home.
The merit already accrued will be multiplied further through the joy one takes in the merit one has done and looking forward to sharing our experiences with others at home.
If we are able to maintain our subtlety of mind, with our attention at the center of our body all the way back home, our inner experience will progress and our merit will increase not to mention forging a positive mood for our family at home.
If we succeed in this item of homework the chain of merit created will be continuous. The meritorious awareness we forge in those around us will eventually come back to consolidate us further.
Benefits to others
Our loved ones and family who haven’t had the same opportunities to go out and do meritorious deeds because of their duties still have the opportunity to accrue merit by the method of ‘rejoicing in the merit of others [anumodaana].
When our loved ones are able to pick up on the positivity of others in our family who have had the chance to do more meritorious deeds than themselves will enable them to go back to their respective duties cheerfully, inspiring them with the qualities of satisfaction and appreciation.
The mood of cheerfulness, smiles and endearing speech that arises naturally in the home as a result of practicing this item of homework helps to minimize fault-finding directed at ourselves, our spiritual teachers or Buddhism in general.
Reduces the any tendency for our loved ones to succumb to unwholesome behaviors.
Facilitates a constant flow of merit for everyone at home, fostering an atmosphere of improvement at home attracting good events happen in the family all because of the simple act of having family members appreciate the merit we have done on our arrival home.
Details of practice
Whenever the teaching monk gives the blessing at the conclusion of our meritorious deed, we should make the wish that the merit accrued be potent in bringing fulfilment and success to both ourselves and those back home.
At the time you have others rejoice in your merit, make sure your own mind is softly located at the center of your body with whatever level of inner experience you have attained for yourself.
Avoid getting drawn into arguments, speculative debates or any issues to perturb the mind before or during the time you have others rejoice in your merit.
Restrict yourself to only useful and positive words and don’t forget to smile!