One day at Nalanda The day begins with the sound of the gong at 5:30 am.
This same sound marks out the beginning of our various community activities during the day.
The morning practice starts at 6:00 with half an hour of prostrations to the 35 Buddhas. This purification practice consist of prostrating one's whole body on the floor while reciting the names of the 35 Buddhas. As one is doing the body and speech practice, one also visualizes the 35 Buddhas and meditates on refuge, bodhicitta, regret for negative actions and so forth. These prostration end with the recitation of the Confession Sutra.
At 6:30 we start the "Offering to the Spiritual Master" (skt: Guru Puja, tib: Lama Chöpa), which like all puja is a chanted meditation. The Offering to the Spiritual Master is a Guru Yoga Practice, that is a practice where one tries to receive and develop the qualities of one's master. This practice is chanted in Tibetan and following the instructions of Lama Zopa Rinpoche we have inserted some more prayers in English and we slow down or stop at certain points in order to do deeper meditation.
From 7:30 until 8:10 we silently meditate on the lam rim before chanting together the auspicious verses to finish the practice.
Breakfast is at 8:15 and the rest of the morning is generally free to use for one's personal practice or study. If there are teachings, they can be in the morning or the afternoon or both. A vegetarian meal is prepared each day by the monks in turn.
Lunch is at 12:30. It is preceded by a blessing prayer and ended by an offering to the pretas as well as a dedication prayer for our benefactors and the recitation of the King of Prayers and the Heart Sutra.
If there are no teachings in the afternoon, that time is generally spent for work. The work necessary to keep the monastery functioning is shared between the monks and every one has some task or responsibility.
The evening community practice begins at 6:00 with 20 minutes of prostration to Vajrasattva. This is followed by evening puja which varies according to the day of the Tibetan calendar. We do Tara, Medicine Buddha, 16 Arhat, Tsog Offering, Kalarpa and Mahakala Pujas on a regular basis.
The rest of the evening is free for one's own prayer, meditation, and study.
No meal is prepared in the evening and those monks or visiting retreaters who want to eat prepare their own food.
