Faith is not a static state, but a living process that requires daily attention, analysis, and strengthening. To ensure that the Symbol of Faith stops being just text on paper and becomes your direct internal experience, a special daily practice is passed down in our tradition.
The Meaning of the Practice
The true Symbol of Faith is found not in words, but in your heart, in the form of non-conceptual awareness. By meditating on it, you gradually shift your focus from intellectual understanding to direct contemplation of divine reality.
Step-by-Step Guide to Meditation
This simple practice helps center the mind and dive deep into the meaning of the Teaching.
- Preparing the Space
- Prepare a home altar by arranging offerings: fresh fruits, flowers, sweets, and incense.
- Recite the mantras of the five Refuges ("Pancha-ratna-sharanagati").
- Perform achamana — the ritual purification of the mouth, body, and space with water from the altar.
- Attunement and Invocation
- Chant the OM mantra three times, mentally invoking the power of blessings from all saints of the Lineage.
- Purify the space with the sound of sacred mantras: recite the Gayatri mantra, the Mahamrityunjaya mantra, the "Asatoma..." hymn, and the Guru-yoga mantra ("Gurur Brahma...").
Contemplating the Text
Take the text of the Symbol of Faith and work through each paragraph sequentially:
- Whisper the first point.
- Reflect on what you read for some time with deep faith and devotion.
- Make an offering on the altar (a flower or incense), bow, and ring the bell.
- Repeat these steps for each subsequent point, tuning more and more into the meaning of the words.
- Conclusion
- Visualize the Refuge Tree above your head — the gathering of all saints and deities of the Tradition.
- Recite the Refuge mantra ("Namo Guru Deva...") and toss a few flower petals into the air as a final offering.
- Make a final bow to the altar and chant the OM mantra three times.
Points to Remember
The most important thing in this practice is not to turn it into something mechanical. Meditation on the Refuge is a conversation with the Divine, a sincere appeal of the heart.
Over time, this meditation stops being a "scheduled practice" and becomes a natural part of life.
