Start with the first seven days, or continue through all 28. Allow roughly 10–20 minutes for reading and reflection; practices have their own suggested lengths. There is no deadline and no promise of attainment.
Your first seven days
Read, try something small, and notice what questions remain. You may repeat any day. A practice can be shortened or replaced by ordinary attentive activity.
Week 1 · Foundations
- Day 1
Begin with a question ↗
Write what brings you to study and one question you want to understand.
- Day 2
Meet the Buddha ↗
Distinguish traditional narrative from historical reconstruction.
- Day 3
Understand the four truths ↗
Observe a mild frustration without blaming yourself for it.
- Day 4
Explore the path ↗
Choose one conversation in which to practise careful speech.
- Day 5
Try sitting ↗
Use a supported posture for five minutes or less.
- Day 6
Learn ethical training ↗
Choose one small act that reduces harm.
- Day 7
Review and rest ↗
Revisit your question and identify one source or community to explore.
Week 2 · Understanding experience
- Day 8
Observe change ↗
Notice one sound arise and end.
- Day 9
Study the aggregates ↗
Separate sensation, tone and interpretation in a mild reaction.
- Day 10
Explore conditions ↗
Identify a condition that feeds a recurring habit.
- Day 11
Reflect on intention ↗
Before a decision, name its purpose.
- Day 12
Read about release ↗
Notice the difference between temporary calm and the goal described.
- Day 13
Follow natural breathing ↗
Try up to ten minutes without controlling the breath.
- Day 14
Review the week ↗
Choose one adjustment that makes practice more manageable.
Week 3 · Traditions and voices
- Day 15
Meet Theravāda ↗
Learn one thing about a temple or monastic community.
- Day 16
Meet Mahāyāna ↗
Consider what awakening for the welfare of beings means.
- Day 17
Meet Vajrayāna ↗
Distinguish public study from transmitted practice.
- Day 18
Meet Chan and Zen ↗
Read a school’s own introductory instructions.
- Day 19
Meet Pure Land ↗
Learn why recitation matters to a named community.
- Day 20
Read a text ↗
Record a chapter, verse number and translator.
- Day 21
Listen to women’s voices ↗
Read one Therīgāthā poem and note its speaker.
Week 4 · Compassion in daily life
- Day 22
Cultivate goodwill ↗
Offer a simple wish of wellbeing to an easy person.
- Day 23
Respond with care ↗
Ask what help is wanted before offering a solution.
- Day 24
Appreciate good fortune ↗
Congratulate someone without turning to comparison.
- Day 25
Care amid uncertainty ↗
Identify an action and an outcome you cannot control.
- Day 26
Walk attentively ↗
Use a safe, ordinary route with eyes open.
- Day 27
Act generously ↗
Complete a helpful action within your capacity.
- Day 28
Choose what comes next ↗
Review the month and write questions for a living teacher.
Use your own notebook if you would like a record. This reading plan does not enrol you in a course or create a formal Buddhist commitment.