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Rigdzin Shikpo: Just a Trick of the Mind
Jeffrey
Veteran
From the book Never Turn Away pg 28..
"Just a Trick of the Mind
At times, there may not be very much going on in your mind. At other times, your mind is in turmoil and you want to be up and away. There might be a very strong emotion behind this that needs to be turned toward and acknowledged. Try not to allow any thoughts and feelings to get behind you and direct the meditation, like a puppet master manipulating a puppet. It's very important to acknowledge all thoughts and feelings as just that, and not give any of them a special status.
In meditation there are generally three things that go on. First, there is the object of meditation. Second, there is the person who seems to be meditating. Third, there is the judge or commentator, who constantly takes the meditative temperature, determines whether we are winning or losing, when it's time to finish, and what to do next--the person in charge of events. It's like a seemingly reasonable person standing back and watching the meditation show through binoculars, deciding how well we are doing. But that commentator is not external to the stream of thoughts passing through our minds.
So when a particular set of thoughts or emotions gets behind you, realize it is just a trick of the mind. Everything is part of the practice. And any sense of someone directing events or making reasonable decisions is just another thought or feeling.
The whole basis of Buddhist meditation is to see the contents of our minds as they are, without judging them. This is the first step, but in some sense, it's the whole thing. By doing that we begin to relate to our state of judgemental mind to send us scurrying off or convince us we're not suited to meditation. In fact, everybody is suited to this kind of meditation because, basicly, all our minds are the same. Meditation is about relating to the mind in the simplest, most direct way possible. And while that might be irritating or seem difficult to do, any irritation and difficulty is equally just another part of the mind's display.
Meditation is part of our sanity as human beings. It is a natural function of the mind and, in some sense, a natural function of the body. There are other methods where you try to invent yourself as a better person, but that won't help you see the contents of your mind as they actually are. This meditation is about relating to the mind as simply and directly as we can. And as we sit quietly, experiencing our thoughts and feelings, we can be confident that this is not only something we need or want to do; it is part and parcel of being human."
"Just a Trick of the Mind
At times, there may not be very much going on in your mind. At other times, your mind is in turmoil and you want to be up and away. There might be a very strong emotion behind this that needs to be turned toward and acknowledged. Try not to allow any thoughts and feelings to get behind you and direct the meditation, like a puppet master manipulating a puppet. It's very important to acknowledge all thoughts and feelings as just that, and not give any of them a special status.
In meditation there are generally three things that go on. First, there is the object of meditation. Second, there is the person who seems to be meditating. Third, there is the judge or commentator, who constantly takes the meditative temperature, determines whether we are winning or losing, when it's time to finish, and what to do next--the person in charge of events. It's like a seemingly reasonable person standing back and watching the meditation show through binoculars, deciding how well we are doing. But that commentator is not external to the stream of thoughts passing through our minds.
So when a particular set of thoughts or emotions gets behind you, realize it is just a trick of the mind. Everything is part of the practice. And any sense of someone directing events or making reasonable decisions is just another thought or feeling.
The whole basis of Buddhist meditation is to see the contents of our minds as they are, without judging them. This is the first step, but in some sense, it's the whole thing. By doing that we begin to relate to our state of judgemental mind to send us scurrying off or convince us we're not suited to meditation. In fact, everybody is suited to this kind of meditation because, basicly, all our minds are the same. Meditation is about relating to the mind in the simplest, most direct way possible. And while that might be irritating or seem difficult to do, any irritation and difficulty is equally just another part of the mind's display.
Meditation is part of our sanity as human beings. It is a natural function of the mind and, in some sense, a natural function of the body. There are other methods where you try to invent yourself as a better person, but that won't help you see the contents of your mind as they actually are. This meditation is about relating to the mind as simply and directly as we can. And as we sit quietly, experiencing our thoughts and feelings, we can be confident that this is not only something we need or want to do; it is part and parcel of being human."
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