Lesson 1.7: Preparing to Practise

Course One: Foundation · Lesson 7 of 8 · 9 min read

Preparing to practise

Sunita's notebook does not begin a healing session with a bowl. It begins with incense, then a prayer, then tingsha — and only then the first strike.

It would be easy to read that as decoration, the kind of thing added to make a practice feel more authentic. It is not. The opening does a specific job, and once you have done it a few dozen times you will notice what happens on the days you skip it.

What is the opening actually for?

The traditional answer is that incense purifies the space, the prayer directs the energy, and the tingsha clear what is already there — and that white or Buddhist colours keep negative energy from entering the body. That is what the notebook records, and it is what Sunita was taught.

There is also a plainer explanation, and the two do not contradict each other.

You cannot settle another person while you are unsettled yourself. A practitioner who walks in from traffic and immediately picks up a bowl brings the traffic with them. The incense, the pause, the small bright sound — these take ninety seconds, and in those ninety seconds the practitioner stops being someone who was just doing something else.

Whatever you believe about energy, the sequence works. Take it seriously for that reason if not for the other one.

The opening sequence

Incense

Lit first, before you sit down, and given a moment to establish itself. Nothing elaborate — Tibetan or Nepali incense and burners are traditional here, and juniper, sandalwood and nag champa are the common choices.

If you are working on someone else, ask first. Some people find incense unpleasant, and a few cannot be near smoke at all. In that case light it beforehand, air the room, and begin without it — the practice does not collapse.

The prayer

The notebook says simply: pray before you begin, so that the energy flows from crown to leg.

What you say is not prescribed. If you have a tradition, use it. If you do not, a plain intention works — something to the effect of let this be useful, let it move through and out, let me not get in the way of it.

The point is that you have said something deliberate before you make the first sound. A session begun without intention tends to wander, and you will feel the difference in the first two minutes.

Tingsha — how to use them

Tingsha are the small pair of cymbals joined by a leather cord. They produce a short, high, very penetrating tone, and they are used to open and close every session in this tradition.

How to play them:

1. Hold one cymbal in each hand by the cord, near the top, so they hang freely.
2. Bring them together edge to edge — not face to face. Face-to-face produces a dull clack; edge-to-edge produces the ring.
3. Let them separate immediately. Do not hold them together.
4. Let the sound run all the way out. It lasts far longer than people expect.

How the notebook uses them: two or three strikes, quietly, while moving in a circle — around the room, or around the person you are working on. The instruction is specific about volume. It should be a small sound, not an announcement.

If you are working on someone lying down, the circle is walked slowly around them, striking once at intervals. If you are practising alone, turn slowly on the spot.

Our page on tingsha covers what they are and how they are made, and you can see the available pairs if you do not have any. They are not required to complete this course — but they are the one accessory that genuinely changes how a session feels, and they are inexpensive.

Colour

The notebook records that white is worn as a sign of peace, or otherwise the Buddhist colours — maroon and saffron — and that this is to prevent negative energy entering the body.

In practice, most home practitioners wear whatever is comfortable, and light colours are the usual choice. If you find that dressing deliberately helps you take the practice seriously, it is doing its job. If it feels like costume, skip it. What matters far more is the next section.

The space

• Phone off. Not silent — off. A vibration in the next room will end a session.
• A firm surface. If you are setting the bowl down, use a ring cushion on something solid. A bowl on a soft sofa or a bare hard table will buzz.
• Sit where your back is supported and your feet reach the floor. You will be still for ten to twenty minutes.
• Face away from a window if you can. Movement outside pulls attention, even with eyes closed.
• Same place, same time. The strongest single factor in whether a practice survives its first month.

Practice

Build your own opening and repeat it for five days without changing it.

1. Choose your spot and your time. Write both down.
2. Light incense, or if you have none, simply sit for thirty seconds before touching the bowl.
3. Say your intention. The same words each day.
4. Sound the tingsha two or three times in a slow circle. If you have none, three quiet strikes on the bowl will serve.
5. Then play — crown to root, as in Lesson 1.6.

Keep it under two minutes. An opening that takes ten minutes is one you will eventually stop doing.

Common mistakes

• Skipping it because it feels superstitious. Treat it as preparation rather than ritual and do it anyway. You will notice the difference.
• Making it elaborate. The more steps you add, the sooner you abandon the whole thing.
• Striking tingsha loudly. A small sound. They are startlingly loud if struck hard, especially near someone's head.
• Clapping tingsha face to face. Edge to edge, or you get a clack instead of a tone.
• Changing the words every day. The intention works because it is the same one.
• Lighting incense without asking. Always check with anyone you are working on.

How do you know you got it right?

Your opening takes under two minutes, it is the same every time, and by the end of it you feel slightly different from how you felt before you started.

That last part is the whole test. If the opening changes nothing in you, it is decoration — shorten it and make it more deliberate.

Something to sit with

You have just spent a lesson on the ninety seconds before anything happens. Where else in your life would that kind of attention to beginnings make a difference?