Smile Exercise
Being physically active and fit is something that most people agree is a good thing. There are lots of ways to be active and to stay in shape, of course belonging to a gym and working out is an option, but there are other options.
There are over 300 muscles in your face, and when was the last time you heard much talk about exercising those muscles. We shouldn’t ignore our facial muscles, they are important too.
When you frown or express anger in your face you are causing a lot of tension in your facial muscles. You are in a sense making your face hard. The way to exercise and reduce the tension in your face is really quite simple.
Smile!
I know there are just some times when you don’t feel like smiling. Maybe you just got off the phone and it wasn’t a pleasant call, perhaps it was a rude customer, or even a rude store employee, or maybe it was your boss. Perhaps you just received some discouraging news, and smiling is the last thing you can think about doing.
Yet the funny thing about smiling is that it works both ways. If you feel joy you smile and if you smile you can feel joy. Try it sometime.
Just breathe and smile, chant and smile. Go on, even just a little upward reach of the corners of your mouth. See if by turning the corners of your mouth up it doesn’t help lift your spirits even for a moment.
May be I am wrong. But sometimes when the problems are just so bad you don’t know where to begin or even if you will be able to begin, if you take a moment and try to light a little spark of joy, breathe in a little bit of calm, you can awaken you inner life to joy and give yourself some space to feel joy and appreciation for the many good things in your life.
“He should expound with a smile the wonderful meaning of the Dharma to bhiksus and bhiksunis, to upasakas and upasikas, to kings and princes, to government officials, and to common people.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter XIV)
The seed of joy begins some place, and the easiest way to plant that seed is to make a cause for joy. The easiest cause for joy is to practice being joyful. I have shared before that when we can identify the things in life we can be grateful for it has been shown to be the most beneficial self practice for being happy.
The Lotus Sutra teaches us that expressing our gratitude to the Dharma provides immeasurable merit. When we chant Odaimoku and do so with great joy, when we sing out our Odaimoku as a song of joy and celebration to the Dharma that is the fertile ground for nourishing our enlightenment.
“Know that, when you remove your doubts, and when you have great joy, you will become Buddhas!” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter II)
