General Instructions
For each activity or game, there is a task (or more often, a series of tasks).
Cover the question(s) while you do the task.
After you have completed the task, uncover the first question and answer it.
Note: You may not be able to answer the question if you had not been aware of it first.
If this is the case, spend a moment or two considering the question and then repeat the task
with a view to finding the answer.
When you know your answer, continue with any following questions one by one.
If you are practising together with others, you may assign one person to be the questioner.
Only that person will see the question(s).
For each subsequent activity, switch the role of questioner.
 There is no one right answer to each activity. If you discovered something real about
the way your mind and body work together – that is the right answer.
Right answers may vary from person to person or even from session to repeated session.
 Wrong answers include guesses, copying the answers of others, trying to find a logical progression or just saying something to fill the space.
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Buddhist Mindfulness preparation activities
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1. Paper puzzle
Task
Take a sheet of paper, fold it in half twice and then roll it into a ball.
Question
Which hand did you use to pick up the paper after you had folded it?
Follow-up question
Why could/couldn’t you answer?
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2. Feeling books
Task
Put several books in front of you on a table. Close your eyes. Rearrange the books.
Select one of them by touch.
Alternatively, you can ask a friend to rearrange the books. Then with closed eyes, choose one at random and put it in front of you.
Still with closed eyes, feel the way that book is constructed. Feel the various textures of the cover, the pages, etc. Feel the textural differences between the book and the surface it is resting on. Feel the way it is bound and how it falls open.
Question
How did your experience of feeling the book differ from the one you are usually aware of when picking up a book?
Follow-up question
How might your book-feeling experience be relevant to meditation?
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3. Black bag gloves
Task
Get two small black plastic bags (the kind used in rubbish bins) and two large rubber bands and/or some sticky tape. You’ll also need a few sheets of paper and some pens and pencils.
Ask a friend attach a bag to each of your hands so that it is like a glove. The friend should use the rubber bands or sticky tape to hold the ‘gloves’ in place.
With your ‘gloved’ hands, pick up a pen, open it if necessary and write the day’s date and the time. Write the day of the week in pencil too.
Questions
What sensations did you feel when picking up the pen and using it?
What additional sensations did you feel when picking up and using the pencil?
Follow-up question
What emotions did you feel when you picked up the pencil and started writing?
Follow-up questions 2
What did your writing look like?
If it was different from your normal writing, what were the probable causes of that?
Follow-up question 3
What did you discover about yourself by doing this activity?
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4. Shower in the dark
Task
At night, have a bath or a shower with the lights out.
Question
Which sensations, thoughts and emotions stood out to you? Why?
Follow-up task
The next night, have a bath or a shower with the lights out but imagine/visualize
that the water that is touching your skin is golden light.
Question
Which sensations, thoughts and emotions stood out to you? Why?
Follow-up questions
How do the two bath-time experiences compare? How were they different?
Which one was more impressive or more enjoyable for you?
Which is more likely to lead to awakening to truth?
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5. Variable volume
Task
Put in some disposable earplugs.
Question
What did you notice in the first few moments after putting in the earplugs?
Follow-up task
Wear the earplugs for about 5 minutes then take them out.
Follow-up question
What did you experience/notice in the first few moments after taking the earplugs out?
Follow-up question 2 (optional)
How might your earplug experiences be relevant to the process of waking up
(becoming more aware)?
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6. Blind man's Kim's game
Preparation
Ask a friend to put several fairly small objects on a large tray or table top when you are not looking.
Cover your eyes with a blindfold or keep them closed.
Ask your friend to guide you to the table, etc. and sit down.
Task: Identify the objects by feel, smell, etc.
Follow-up question
How did it feel to identify objects without being able to see them?
Follow-up question 2
What did you discover about yourself by doing this activity?
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Click on the links below to go to other Dhamma treats.
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If you wish to go deeper into mindfulness practice or Insight meditation, you can join a course
or workshop at the House of Dhamma in Bangkok or contact a Buddhist centre near you.
Group sessions at the House of Dhamma are expected to restart in 2023
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