Getting somewhere or not

misecmisc1

Is the practice about getting somewhere or not getting somewhere? What's your take on it? For me, having an idea of getting somewhere or achieving something helps but when the output in real life seems to be no transformation, it eventually leads to my frustration. But without an idea of going somewhere or to achieve something, then why practice at the first place?

Zenshin

You practice to condition your mind to go nowhere. Does a dog have Buddha nature? Mu.

Jeffrey

We go to non-grasping of: pleasure, how things are in this life, and even peace. Refuge and study of the dharma. But it's complicated because why wouldn't we just enjoy pleasure and peace and things? Does pleasure have a defect? And particularly does attachement to pleasure have a defect? Can we have things just the way they are forever?

Zenshin

@misemisc1, sorry I didn't express myself very well I haven't been awake very long and haven't had my full morning ration of coffee and cigarettes yet! Plus I had my schizophrenia depot a couple of days ago, several days late and I have just realised how tranqed I am. No bloody wonder I can't hold down a job due to sedation!

My first forays into Buddhism were through Theravada - mainly Thai Forest Tradition, the teachings of Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho. I had a profound moment of Vipassana about a year after I started practicing through a phrase by Shakyamuni in the sutras where I saw I didn't own my body or mind and there is no barrier between self and other just the illusion of one. It's taken me several years since then to properly assimilate the data (jeez, I sound like the Borg from Star Trek!), lol.

For years after I was always trying to attain Jhana or have another moment of Vipassana with no success. It wasn't until I studied Zen with Jundo and Taigu over at Treeleaf that I began to meditate with no thought of gaining or losing in meditation. The point of practice is to reveal what you have had from the beginning (not that there are really any beginnings or ending just the illusion of them). I realised that this was something the Thai Forest Masters had been teaching me all along!

These are a couple of things that have helped me over the years, the first from Ajahn Sumedho - sit, compose the mind and do some breath meditation for ten or fifteen minutes to settle the Sakkaya- ditthi down, then say to yourself deliberately I am a human being. Try to notice the gap between the words it will make you aware of your own sense of awareness as you get better at this you begin to realise that awareness is cool, peaceful and empty of self and you can rest in it. It's like a mirror it reflects whatever is put in front of it without being disturbed by the reflection.

Also you can use a Hua-dou like What is this? referring to yourself, that one stops my thoughts dead revealing pure awareness. Not that the point is not to have any thoughts, just to be at peace with them, which that awareness already is.

federica

@misecmisc1 said:
Is the practice about getting somewhere or not getting somewhere? What's your take on it? For me, having an idea of getting somewhere or achieving something helps but when the output in real life seems to be no transformation, it eventually leads to my frustration. But without an idea of going somewhere or to achieve something, then why practice at the first place?

Wherever you are, there you are.
Where do you think you're going? More importantly, how do you think you're going to get there..?
Your achievement is moment by moment. It's not a destination, it's a way of living. There is no time-frame, there is no periodic practice.
Life is the destination, and you're in it.

Jeroen

I think it is often about letting go of things, and bringing awareness to those parts of yourself that had been unaware. In a way as you proceed along the journey you become more yourself, more aware of who and what you are. It’s not going to another place, it is turning inward and revealing what you find there.

person

Just to add to the good points others have made. Results from practice are usually slow and incremental. It is hard to see them over a period of a few weeks or even months. Its usually only when we can look back after a long time do the fruits become apparent. Though at times our efforts produce more instantaneous, large changes, if those sorts of rare events are what we are expecting then we will probably become dispirited and unmotivated to continue.

Zero

@misecmisc1 said:
...then why practice at the first place?

What's the alternative and how's that going?

JaySon

Jeffrey

Another quote made me think of this thread:

Young people think their lives will last a long time; old people think life will end soon. But we can’t assume these things. Our life comes with a built-in expiration date. There are many strong and healthy people who die young, while many of the old and sick and feeble live on and on. Not knowing when we’ll die, we need to develop an appreciation for and acceptance of what we have, while we have it, rather than continuing to find fault with our experience and seeking, incessantly, to fulfill our
desires.
If we find ourselves worrying whether our nose is too big or too small, we should think, “What if I had no head – now that would be a problem!” As long as we have life, we should rejoice. If everything doesn’t go exactly as we’d like, we can accept it. If we contemplate impermanence deeply, patience and compassion will arise. We will hold less to the apparent truth of our experience, and the mind will become more flexible. Realizing that one day this body will be buried or burned, we will rejoice in every moment we have rather than make ourselves or others unhappy.
~ Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

Maybe wondering if our "knows" or "knowledge" is too big or too little is a comparable not exceedingly important worry as if our physical nose?

Shoshin

@misecmisc1 said:
Is the practice about getting somewhere or not getting somewhere?

If I were you I'd focus your studies on the 4NTs specifically number 2 This seems to be your main obstacle/sticking point when it comes to practice and the path....

misecmisc1

So is there something to attain by doing practice? Or in other words, is there something to become after doing practice?

Jeffrey

I think Buddha answers this in sutras. You could read those. I don't have a link. But Buddha I am positive remarks on the benefits of his teaching.

Shoshin

@misecmisc1 said:
So is there something to attain by doing practice?

Well Yes & No ..."Emptiness"

Or in other words, is there something to become after doing practice?

Hmm ...Happier ....

federica

@misecmisc1 said:
So is there something to attain by doing practice? Or in other words, is there something to become after doing practice?

How can we respond to something it seems you've never achieved?