Around 2016 I decided to do a comic. It wasn't my first but it was one that I was dedicated to. I used LibreOffice Draw. Dates are ISO format YYYYMMDD.
Apriori Flower 01:01 - Apriori and King Flower are Talking
Dialogue:
Frame 1:
Apriori Flower: What are you doing?
Frame 2:
King Flower: The same thing you are doing?
Apriori Flower: I'm watching you.
Frame 3:
King Flower: Exactly.
Frame 4:
Apriori Flower: So you are watching you too!
Frame 5:
King Flower: Yes.
Apriori Flower: Oh.
Conclusion:
Apriori Flower is the dialogue of the mind where the mind is learning to be the master. There are two flowers and these flowers discuss observing. The big flower is King Flower. The small flower is Apriori. King Flower is the master and Apriori is learning to be the master.
A priori is knowledge that is self evident. It has no proof. It is a suspected knowledge. It is a lot like faith but there is a cause and effect. Apriori is the flower in your mind. The master is that faith. It is a developed trust. It is empirical which is what a priori is not. Apriori leads to the knowledge that can not be proven. It can only be experienced. You are the proof.
Apriori Flower 01:02 - King Flower teaches about practice
Dialogue:
Frame 1:
King Flower: Everything that you and I do is practice.
Apriori Flower: Everything?
Frame 2:
Apriori Flower: I'm practicing doing nothing.
King Flower: Doing nothing is practice too.
Frame 3:
King Flower: Practice is what you do during time. Anything that you do is practice. What are you going to do with your time?
Apriori Flower: I’m Thinking.
Frame 4:
Apriori Flower: What is behavior?
King Flower: Good or bad, behavior is still practice because practice produces results.
Frame 5:
Apriori Flower: I’m going to practice what I want to happen.
King Flower: Observed practice is meditation.
Conclusion:
Whatever we do in time is practice. There is good practice and bad practice. Everything that you and I do is practice. They say that practice makes perfect. They say that perfect practice makes for better. All activity is practice. So if you think that you are not practicing then you are practicing erratically.
Behavior is what we are doing in time. Even when there is not observable action in something there is still breathing, thinking and life. Life is the movement in time. Time is the observed movement. Practice always has results. Good practice brings good results and bad practice does the same. Meditation is learning to have good practice.
Apriori Flower 01:03 - Five Prescribed Practices
DIALOGUE:
Frame 1:
King Flower: There are five prescribed practices. They are like the five petals around your corolla.
Frame 2:
King Flower: 1. Respect Life 2. Respect Property 3. Respect Sex 4. Respect Truth 5. Respect Mind
Apriori Flower: And...
Frame 3:
King Flower: Your corolla is your mind. The petals and your corolla are your corona. You practice the 5 precepts and your are a noble flower.
Apriori Flower: How can I be noble when I do not own any property?
Frame 4:
King Flower: The 5 petals are yours. Your corolla is yours. This is your practice and your mind. You are the owner of time with practice.
Apriori Flower: Everything I do is practice?
Frame 5:
King Flower: Reduce your activities to the 5 precepts. If what you do is not this then you are not a practicing noble, Apriori!
Apriori Flower: Observed practice is meditation. I want to be the king flower!
CONCLUSION:
King Flower is describing the Five Prescribed Practices which are really presenting the positive of the Five Precepts of Theravada Buddhism. These are the basic practices for lay followers or those who are not monks.
King Flower is also giving Apriori the tools to remember. Everything that we know comes from something else we know. This is the thread from one idea to another. To enjoy training and learning a good practice one must be able to relate to the practice. King Flower has given Apriori a means to reflect and remember.
The Five Precepts are also known as the Five Pali Training Rules:
Pali training rules:
The following are the five precepts (pañca-sikkhāpada) or five virtues (pañca-sīla) rendered in English and Pali: I undertake the training rule to abstain from killing. Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi. I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking what is not given. Adinnādānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi. I undertake the training rule to avoid sensual misconduct. Kāmesumicchācāra veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi. I undertake the training rule to abstain from false speech. Musāvādā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi. I undertake the training rule to abstain from fermented drink that causes heedlessness. Surāmerayamajjapamādaṭṭhānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Precepts