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What really is meditation?

betaboybetaboy Veteran
edited January 2014 in Meditation
Meditation is not awareness of breath.
Meditation is not awareness of thoughts/feelings.
Meditation is not awareness of sensations.
Meditation is not a doing.

As long as we're engaged in conscious activity, the subconscious activity remains suppressed. Once the former is dropped, the latter reaches the surface. That's why zen emphasizes doing nothing. Doing nothing means your conscious mind is silent - which in turn means that the deeper layers of the mind, memories and experiences and all, become active, and you see for the first time what's buried underneath. Devoting a few hours each day to nondoing, we eliminate more and more of this subconscious ignorance (for lack of a better term) - and sooner or later, the lake will be free of ripples.

This might take a lifetime or countless lifetimes, depending on how much we're accumulated. But once it's done, you'll realize that you've just attained what you already were right from the start. You don't create a new mirror - you simply wipe the dust off the old one. This wiping process is what meditation is all about. Very slow, painful, and exceedingly frustrating. But it ought to be done.

Comments

  • Sounds good. May it be so!
  • genkakugenkaku Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
    Any time I hear someone using the word "we," I have an overpowering urge to head for the exit.
    ChazInvincible_summer
  • Meditation can be used for many things. Like mental and physical conditioning, relaxation, cultivating wisdom, and many other things. It can help develop overall well being. Awareness of breath, thoughts and feelings are the methods used to reach meditation. You don't just get meditation as soon as you sit down. You use various methods to reach a meditative state.
  • personperson Don't believe everything you think The liminal space Veteran
    As long as you practice what you preach it sounds like a solid take to me.
  • Dana-Sila-Bhavana is the real treasure of humanity; the gradual path to freedom.

    The gradual training begins with the practice of generosity (dana), which starts the long process of weakening the unawakened practitioner's habitual tendencies to cling to views, to sensuality, and to unskillful modes of thought and behavior. This is followed by the development of virtue (sila), the basic level of sense-restraint that helps the practitioner develop a healthy and trustworthy sense of self. The peace of mind born from this level of self-respect provides the foundation for all further progress along the path. Finally, the mind is trained to refine our intentions and our insights so that we instinctively choose the way toward freedom in every decision we make.

    Sila (precept or discipline) is the fence against the encroachment of bad things which destroy our life and others' lives.

    Bhavana (meditation) is about developing our human mind. One who practices bhavana will be wise, knows how to behave and how to respond to all situations. The Buddha said, “Bhavana is the fence of mind which protects us from wrong thinking, which is the cause of suffering.”

    http://coastsidevipassana.org/talkarchive/Jim Bronson-05-20-09.pdf

  • But it ought to be done.
    Really? Just more of the same?

    One ought to meditate? When? Tomorrow? How about now?

    :wave:

    Message from Mr Cushion:
    You talk the talk but you walk when you need to sit.
  • But it ought to be done.
    Really? Just more of the same?

    One ought to meditate? When? Tomorrow? How about now?

    :wave:

    Message from Mr Cushion:
    You talk the talk but you walk when you need to sit.
    how
  • seeker242seeker242 Zen Florida, USA Veteran
    betaboy said:

    You don't create a new mirror - you simply wipe the dust off the old one. This wiping process is what meditation is all about. Very slow, painful, and exceedingly frustrating. But it ought to be done.

    If you want a Zen perspective, the story about how Huineng became the 6th patriarch is interesting. Specifically, the writing contest between Shenxiu and Huineng.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenxiu#Verse_contest

  • howhow Veteran Veteran
    Meditation is a dissolving self, not the plans for dissolving a self.
    EvenThird
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