[unmalryAlalry]

At the end, the Bhante blessed me and tied a piece of white fibre around my wrist, I'm unsure of the significance of this.

The answer is depended on how we use it. For example,

- someone thinks that it is useless and just throws it away;

- someone uses it as a wristband for beautifulness;

- someone uses it to show other people that he/she went to vihara and such made him/her feeling good by being interesting or talked by others;

- someone uses it to feel that he/she is special from the others. The others did not go to Vihara but he/she did;

- someone uses it to feel good that Bhante gave it and was friendly to him/her;

- someone uses it as a supernatural thing which should protect him/her from bad things or evils;

- someone uses it as a supernatural thing which should support him/her to be successful or to recover from sickness;

- someone uses it to remind him/her how he/she likes Viahara and that he/she should go to Vihara again;

- someone uses it to remind him/her to think of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Monks at everytime he/she saw it;

- someone uses it to remind him/her that he/she has to refrain from bad doings and should control and improve his/her morality;

- someone uses it to remind him/her that he/she should be clam and should not allow bad thinking or desire to concur his/her mind. He/she should improve his/her mindfulness;

- someone uses it to support his/her practice, e.g. at anytime he/she saw it, he/she feels that the wrist is part of body (like a wheel is part of a car), the body is not self, the wristband is not self;

- someone uses it to support his/her practice, e.g. remind him/her for awareness (‘Sati’). At anytime he/she saw it, he/she will have awareness (‘Sati’) and will be awaken. For example, he/she would aware that the eyes (as part of body) are looking at the wristband (not he/she is looking). He/she would aware that his/her mind is thinking about the wristband (not he/she is thinking); and

- etc.

From the above examples, the significance of and the benefits from such piece of white fibre are various depending on how we use. It would mean nothing, bad thing (e.g. greed to receive more, wear it as wanting to be beautiful or be special which creates more self), a little useful thing or very useful thing.

The body, and the mind are similar. It depends how we use them. We can use our body and mind to do and think good things, bad things, or nothing. One may use them to harm himself/herself and so many other people. One may use them to help himself/herself and so many other people.

The breath is similar. If we just breath in and out for nothing each day, such breaths are just for living and mean nothing (waste) in our practicing. If we add awareness into those breaths, such breaths are not only for livings and are useful for our practicing. We just need to know how to add awareness into them (which I already explained how to aware body and mind and how to feel the body breath in other threads).