Vajra Schedule

Creating a Vajra Schedule is the real key to developing Shila or the paramita of Discipline and a fruitful practice. As Dudjom Rinpoche recommends, “Make it even and regular, never sporadic.” This is critical advice on retreats, but even in daily life, this approach can bring real, lasting benefit and should be developed gradually and creatively according to the individual. Everyone has a different relationship to structure and discipline, and often even just the word can carry a negative punitive connotation for some people. Another way to think of it is to see the Vajra Schedule as a magical blueprint for fulfilling your true potential. Remembering the joys of meditation can be helpful in developing a healthy and rewarding relationship to structure and the discipline. Over time this will create a firm support for our practice, in the same way the bones are a firm support for the muscles. Too much rigidity and they break, but firm, strong, alive, well nourished and weight bearing they are resilient and stronger than steel. It is in the marrow that blood is produced, the lifeblood of practice. These various elements described below can help you to develop a schedule that works for your type of practice and lifestyle in the modern world. Sometimes we have to be more organic, but this can help create a structure you can rely on. In this aspect of schedules and timing, we are connecting and aligning with the energies of the heavens, the celestial dimension, what is happening above with the Sun, Moon and Stars. This cosmic dance of the universe creates our phenomena of time, cycles, seasons and determines our calendar in order to structure our practice. This celestial influence of the universal holomovement gives our life a spiritual orientation.

The four times of day are early morning, morning, afternoon and evening. Traditionally practices sessions are usually done in 4 or 6 practice sessions of 1.5-2.5 hours each. If you have limited time for your formal practice, then picking one of these four times is a good place to start, then gradually adding short moments throughout the day. The early morning is good for pacifying, morning for enriching, afternoon for magnetizing and evening for protecting and destroying obstacles. There is a break for breakfast and or tea and the main meal of the day is taken at midday. Buddhists traditionally would not eat again after lunch or if they do, it is a very light evening meal. In the original sangha, the monks would beg until midday and eat their one meal a day round noon. They would receive food offering in a begging bowl and eat whatever was offered, sometimes sharing with others. This poetically flows with the movement of the Sun, which symbolizes Wisdom of Ultimate Reality. Dawn’s first rays of light and the moments before dawn are the times for pacifying the mind and awakening Bodhicitta. Pacifying means to make peaceful, open, spacious and patient in the emerging wisdom and accommodating to all the day has to offer. As day breaks and the sun climbs towards it’s apex, this is the time of enriching. During this time the full strength of our practice and activity is gathering momentum and brightness and is shining like the Sun, impartially illuminating and embrightening the hearts of all beings. The main meal of the day is a feast celebration around Noon, the culmination of the morning’s practice and activities. It is best to make it an offering shared with with Three Jewels, Three Roots and Three Vajras. Traditionally Buddhist monks would go around gathering alms and offering in their begging bowls until eleven or twelve, and then gather and eat the offerings, mindfully in awareness with great appreciation. Sometimes they would share these offerings with others who did not receive as much. Afternoon is the time of magnetizing, enjoyment warmth and openness. At twilight as the Sun begins to disappear into night and the moon rises, this is the time of practices that offer protection and destroy obstacles to wisdom. The Moon is the symbol for Skillful Means and Compassion which reflect the Sun’s light and illuminate the dark of night. So that is the context for practices done at these times.

The twelve times of day and night are two hour blocks of time that are associated with the powerful Tenma Sisters, Dakini protectors who protect the Dharma, so certain times of day favor certain practices or activities.

The Chinese Medical Clock contains 2 hour blocks of time during which various meridians and organ systems are active. These blocks of time are ideal for certain activities and can be useful to know when designing a schedule.

In Ayurveda, the Indian science of Life, the Daily Routine is pivotal. It is called a dinacharya. Banyan Botanicala has wonderful information on this rich topic on their website which can help you design a daily routine according to your constitution.The Ayurvedic clock has periods for Pitta, Vata and Kapha. In this system, the Sattva times for spiritual cultivation and clear awareness are enhanced in the early morning as well as the pause in each breath. An Ayurvedic schedule is a daily routine tailored to your unique constitution called a Dinacharya. More information and resources can be found on Banyan Botanicals website: A daily routine invites health, vitality, and a sense of clarity into our lives. Adopting an appropriate daily routine is undoubtedly one of the most grounding and nurturing things you could do for yourself, and while the concept of having a daily routine is at the heart of an Ayurvedic lifestyle, no single prescription is right for everyone. https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/ayurvedic-living/living-ayurveda/lifestyle/introduction-to-daily-routine/