Repost:sunyata contemplation

dkode

Sorry for the repost, but there no responses in the other forum, so maybe someone will find this topic more appealing here

In the last couple of weeks I've started to understand what sunyata means and am contemplating it pretty regularly.

My question is, as I begin to regularly contemplate sunyata and associate more with awareness, is it normal to do so? Or is it not good to get too absorbed in awareness.

Throughout my day now, when not too burdened by thought, I try to re-align myself with awareness and contemplate it for a moment or two. By doing this I seem to be gaining a better understanding of what it is and feel more complete and one.

I fear that I might be getting too attached to this, but in the sense of awareness is this ok to be "attached" to the idea?

I'm trying not to slip into pitfalls but without guidance (at the moment I havent found a teacher in my area) i feel like I might come across these pitfalls and am trying to do my best to avoid them.

I went to an aquarium yesterday and while looking at the fish and all the different forms of life at the aquraium I found I felt compassion towards all the animals no matter how large or small, this was very rewarding to me because I have never felt this compassion before towards animals like I did. This in turn made me contemplate awareness more and I found that I was marveling at the complexity and simplicity of life in this place and how precious and wonderful it really was, it almost brought tears to my eyes.

It feels very good, I feel like I am starting to find some sort of peace that I have never found before.

thanks!

Sean

zenmonk_genryu

Awareness and Sunyata are not things that can be contemplated, except in a pretty abstract, intellectual sense. Stick with breathing and posture and you will truly be contemplating awareness and Sunyata.

Simonthepilgrim

May I add my voice to brother Genryu's? You would be better-off forgetting 'Sunyata' or any other label. Just be aware. There is enough to do there. There is enough happening.

If you must have a word to roll around your mind, why not try "compassion"? You could watch how you turn it outwards well enough but, at the same time, level criticism at yourself. If structured meditation is your thing at the moment, meditate on compassion.

dkode

thank you for the advice.

simon, what do you mean by leveling the criticism at myself? My compassion towards myself?

Simonthepilgrim

dkode wrote:

thank you for the advice.

simon, what do you mean by leveling the criticism at myself? My compassion towards myself?

Your questions show how you experience compassion towards other beings and, at the same time, the eye you cast on yourself sees your need. I am not sure whether it is true that we need to connect with the experience of compassion towards ourselves before we can genuinely experience it towards others but it is often asserted.

Personally, I have found that, if I am asked to describe the unfolding process of a loving-kindness meditation, it goes like this:
* I may have to start with connecting with compassion towards those whom I find it easy to love. This causes the psysiology of a compassionate mind to begin to arise. Keeping my attention in the here-and-now, I notice the changes in body. Noticing enables them to reinforce and to widen the scope of my attention to those I find it harder to love. And so it goes, feedback reinforcing the focus on compassion.
* It has been late in my own practice that I have managed to experience the sort of love for myelf that I feel towards my children but it is coming.

Iawa

Simonthepilgrim wrote:

Personally, I have found that, if I am asked to describe the unfolding process of a loving-kindness meditation, it goes like this:
* I may have to start with connecting with compassion towards those whom I find it easy to love. This causes the physiology of a compassionate mind to begin to arise. Keeping my attention in the here-and-now, I notice the changes in body. Noticing enables them to reinforce and to widen the scope of my attention to those I find it harder to love. And so it goes, feedback reinforcing the focus on compassion.

Thanks for the affirmation. I've recently been given this to practice, I early on found myself stumbling over my resentments.