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Use the inner stillness/peace as meditation object?
Hello Friends,
I’m considering to use the inner stillness/peace as my meditation object during daily life, instead of the postures/activities. The point is to try to achieve/maintain a state of mind in stillness free from delusions and cravings, free from fabrications (somewhat like returning to the original nature) at all possible times of daily life. If the stillness can be achieved, then fine; if not, then recollect the stillness to achieve it. I thought it would be more effective to watch the mind than to watch the postures for achieving "disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, stilling, direct knowledge, self-awakening, and liberation".
When the six senses are not pinched by the sense objects, I can remain focused on the inner quietness/stillness.
When the six senses are pinched by the sense objects (e.g. wondering thoughts), I can contemplate anicca/dukkha/anatta of these sense objects, and meanwhile reflectively contemplate the peace of the pure mind. So the sense objects can be dropped from the mind with disenchantment and dispassion while the mind can maintain the peace, untouched by the sense objects, without likes or dislikes of them.
I tried this method during sitting meditation this morning, and entered into a state of stillness/emptiness with no sense of the body for a very short while -- I'm not quite sure if it's a good state or not. It's not accompanied by piti and sukha, neither by a luminous alert mind.
This idea is related to the Patriarchal Chan [祖師禪, sometimes translated into Tathagata Chan 如来清静禅] of Master Huineng (the Sixth and Last Patriarch of Chán Buddhism). As a beginner, I don't really know the Patriarchal Chan. I'd like to learn about it and would appreciated information about it.
Your input/advice would be appreciated. All the best,
Muditaa
§10. One thing — when developed & pursued — leads solely to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding. Which one thing? Recollection of stilling. This is one thing that — when developed & pursued — leads solely to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.
— AN 1.287-296
I’m considering to use the inner stillness/peace as my meditation object during daily life, instead of the postures/activities. The point is to try to achieve/maintain a state of mind in stillness free from delusions and cravings, free from fabrications (somewhat like returning to the original nature) at all possible times of daily life. If the stillness can be achieved, then fine; if not, then recollect the stillness to achieve it. I thought it would be more effective to watch the mind than to watch the postures for achieving "disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, stilling, direct knowledge, self-awakening, and liberation".
When the six senses are not pinched by the sense objects, I can remain focused on the inner quietness/stillness.
When the six senses are pinched by the sense objects (e.g. wondering thoughts), I can contemplate anicca/dukkha/anatta of these sense objects, and meanwhile reflectively contemplate the peace of the pure mind. So the sense objects can be dropped from the mind with disenchantment and dispassion while the mind can maintain the peace, untouched by the sense objects, without likes or dislikes of them.
I tried this method during sitting meditation this morning, and entered into a state of stillness/emptiness with no sense of the body for a very short while -- I'm not quite sure if it's a good state or not. It's not accompanied by piti and sukha, neither by a luminous alert mind.
This idea is related to the Patriarchal Chan [祖師禪, sometimes translated into Tathagata Chan 如来清静禅] of Master Huineng (the Sixth and Last Patriarch of Chán Buddhism). As a beginner, I don't really know the Patriarchal Chan. I'd like to learn about it and would appreciated information about it.
Your input/advice would be appreciated. All the best,
Muditaa
§10. One thing — when developed & pursued — leads solely to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding. Which one thing? Recollection of stilling. This is one thing that — when developed & pursued — leads solely to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.
— AN 1.287-296
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Comments
best wishes
Quote:
NO MATTER HOW DEEP OR CONTINUOUS, samãdhi is not an end in
itself. Samãdhi does not bring about an end to all suffering. But
samãdhi does constitute an ideal platform from which to launch
an all out assault on the kilesas that cause all suffering. The pro-
found calm and concentration generated by samãdhi form an ex-
cellent basis for the development of wisdom.
The problem is that samãdhi is so peaceful and satisfying
that the meditator inadvertently becomes addicted to it. This
happened to me: for five years I was addicted to the tranquil-
ity of samãdhi; so much so that I came to believe that this very
tranquility was the essence of Nibbãna. Only when my teacher,
Ãcariya Mun, forced me to confront this misconception, was I
able to move on to the practice of wisdom.
Path to Arahantship
Aj Maha Boowa
genuine stillness is not a "resting place" because it is fluid; it is soft; it is letting go; it flows.
best wishes
I've realized that his method is not just about trying to obtain inner stillness at all, but is about contemplating the pure mind [the "essence" of the mind] all the possible time to abandon the incoming defilements.
My thanks and metta to all!