Just as you try to be mindful throughout the day, it’s good to close the day with mindfulness, too. Thus as you prepare to retire at night you can be mindful. Be aware of whatever preparations you may make before going to bed. As you are preparing or arranging the bed, be aware too. And finally as you lay your body down, be especially mindful of that act. It is a significant act as it signifies your intention to sleep – your last act of closure for the day. So note the intention to lie down and then lie down mindfully, aware of the body lowering itself onto the bed and the head as it touches the pillow. Remember that the Buddha’s attendant, Ananda, was said to have attained enlightenment as he was lying down for the night. It seemed he became an arahant just or even before his head touched the pillow!

Of course, we know we can’t become arahants just like that, we are not Ananda, but then again, who knows?, perhaps one of these days we, too, might attain some special insight as we mindfully lie down. It is said that when the fruit is ripe it will drop, so we’ll never know when enlightenment might strike, when we are spiritually mature for some such insight or wisdom to arise. All we can do is to prepare the ground, to be mindful, and though we may not realize it, day by day, the plant of knowledge is growing from the soil of mindfulness.

So after having lain down mindfully, you can continue to be mindful of your state of mind and body. You can know the sensations in the contact between your body and mattress and your head and pillow. You can know your breath as you breathe in and out or you can know the rising and falling of the abdomen which occur as you inhale and exhale. You can be aware of your mind and the thoughts that may arise. You can stop your thinking and planning and allow yourself to drift into sleep. If you toss about in bed or intend to turn to the side or from one side to another, you can do all this mindfully, too, noting your intention to turn and then turn. Also you can radiate lovingkindness to specific persons and to all beings until you fall asleep. So you have the option of just being mindful of the body and mind, or radiating lovingkindness, or both, before falling asleep.

This is a really wholesome way of going about your sleep. If a person is suffering from insomnia, radiating lovingkindness and practising mindfulness during bedtime might help by way of cutting down on mental agitation and discursive thinking and planning which may be the cause of the inability to sleep. Also, even if the insomnia persists one can be consoled that at least the mind is kept in a wholesome and meditative state rather than one of agitation and anxiety.

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Again just as we close the day with mindfulness we must begin it with mindfulness, too. So have you thought about how you wake up in the morning? Isn’t it important to wake up on the right side of the bed? So here waking up on the right side means waking up in a good state of mind. Be aware that you have awakened. If possible try to be aware that you have awakened even before you open your eyes. Then open your eyes mindfully, noting even the intention to open the eyes before you open them. This may be rather difficult, that is, to be mindful even before you open the eyes, catching the awakening moment – but it is rather challenging and interesting – is it not? – to see how alert and mindful you can be at the moment of awakening.

But if you can’t catch that awakening moment and you found you have already opened your eyes, it is okay, you can still be mindful. Notice your state of mind. Are you fresh, alert, wide awake, or are you still sleepy and wanting to sleep some more? If you feel the latter way, you can notice the desire to linger in bed, how you turn from one side to another, not wanting to get up. But you know you have to get up, so try to summon that intention to get up and try to get up mindfully, with as much awareness as you can muster. Then go about what you have to do mindfully, walking to the bathroom door, opening the door, and being mindful of all the activities that follow – urinating, uncapping the tooth paste, applying the paste on the toothbrush, brushing your teeth, rinsing your mouth, soaping and washing your face, wiping it with the towel, and so on.

Then be mindful as you walk back to your bed, fold your blanket, make your bed, change, and so on. If possible it is good to do an hour of sitting meditation after you have washed your face. But if you can’t find an hour, how about 45 minutes or half an hour? It is good to start off the day with meditation which can help you to be more composed for the rest of the day. And needless to say, it is good also to do some meditation after you get back from work; it helps to clean or purify the mind after a day of activity.