I gave in yesterday and failed to keep pure brahmacariya. The belief that doing so would somehow release the pressure and save me from worse deeds in the future definitely under girded the act but I can now see how foolish that was. My mind is more aflame now than it was before and it will take some time to contain the flames.
One thing that I have played with is the idea of offering each of my body parts to beings as a contemplation. On a silver platter I offer my head hair, on another body hair, nails on another, teeth, skin and so forth. The image of my disintegrating corpse offering pieces of itself to hungry ghosts, animals and demons is enough to immediately chasten me and help return some clarity to the mind. In some ways it’s an extension of chöd practice but for now its freshness is just what’s needed to do the job.
Thirty-Two Parts of the Body
Handa mayaṃ kāyagatā-sati-bhāvanā-pāṭhaṃ bhaṇāma se:
Ayaṃ kho me kāyo,
Uddhaṃ pādatalā,
Adho kesa-matthakā,
Taca-pariyanto,
Pūro nānappakārassa asucino,
Atthi imasmiṃ kāye:
Kesā
Lomā
Nakhā
Dantā
Taco
Maṃsaṃ
Nahārū
Aṭṭhī
Aṭṭhimiñjaṃ
Vakkaṃ
Hadayaṃ
Yakanaṃ
Kilomakaṃ
Pihakaṃ
Papphāsaṃ
Antaṃ
Antaguṇaṃ
Udariyaṃ
Karīsaṃ
Matthake matthaluṅgaṃ
Pittaṃ
Semhaṃ
Pubbo
Lohitaṃ
Sedo
Medo
Assu
Vasā
Kheḷo
Siṅghāṇikā
Lasikā
Muttaṃ
Evam-ayaṃ me kāyo:
Uddhaṃ pādatalā,
Adho kesa-matthakā,
Taca-pariyanto,
Pūro nānappakārassa asucino.
Let us now recite the passage on mindfulness immersed in the body.
This body of mine,
from the soles of the feet on up,
from the crown of the head on down,
surrounded by skin,
filled with all sorts of unclean things.
In this body there is:
Hair of the head,
Hair of the body,
Nails,
Teeth,
Skin,
Flesh,
Tendons,
Bones,
Bone marrow,
Spleen,
Heart,
Liver,
Membranes,
Kidneys,
Lungs,
Large intestines,
Small intestines,
Gorge,
Feces,
Brain,
Gall,
Phlegm,
Lymph,
Blood,
Sweat,
Fat,
Tears,
Oil,
Saliva,
Mucus,
Oil in the joints,
Urine.
Such is this body of mine:
from the soles of the feet on up,
from the crown of the head on down,
surrounded by skin,
filled with all sorts of unclean things.
Cattāri Brahmavihārā 
Leave a Reply