The inseparables are three things from which we should not be separated: spiritual practice in body, speech, and mind. As examples of spiritual practice in body, the text mentions service to one's spiritual mentor, offerings to the Triple Gem, and devotional practices such as Circumambulation around sacred reliquaries. We can elaborate on these to include any type of physical service or wholesome action that is chiefly of the body.

Verbal spiritual practice consists of reciting the verses of taking refuge or praying for the benefit of the world, and includes any type of wholesome speech. A word of kindness is verbal spiritual action. Thirdly, spiritual practice of the mind focuses especially on the cultivation of relative and ultimate bodhicitta.

It is important to understand the meaning of spiritual practice broadly, and not confine it to sitting cross-legged in meditation, or reciting verses, or doing prostrations. In an active working life, it is truly possible to have our spiritual practice permeate many activities that would otherwise be totally mundane. The crucial point here is the wholesome motivation for these actions. If during daily life we maintain an attentiveness to the practices we have adopted, this itself becomes spiritual practice.

It is important also not to ritualize our practice too much. Formality sets up an unnecessary dichotomy between spiritual practice and daily life. Guilt is unnecessary, and there is no need for internal conflict between dharma practice and the enjoyment of having friends over for an evening, going for a vacation, or a walk in the park. By telling ourselves, "If I were really a dharma practitioner, I would not go skiing," we set up internal strife. It is far more fruitful to integrate our spiritual practice with our daily life. Eventually, through the natural process of transforming our minds, we may find ourselves less inclined to turn for our enjoyment to areas that most people find necessary, or at least attractive. Allowing this process to unfold naturally avoids a lot of unnecessary painful struggle.

Excerpted from: A Passage from Solitude, by B. Alan Wallace. 1992 by Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, New York 14851.