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A joy or a chore?
Jeffrey
Veteran
in Meditation
Since november I have been disciplined enough to say I meditate 30 minutes rain or shine.
The dark side is that I think the thought that meditation is something from the 'to do list' like washing my clothes. This thought is not a solid monolith. Instead I often also have joy in meditating particularly when some sunshine is coming today after clouds for over a week
But I just think it is interesting how it can become a chore. I know it is another thought just like a cloud in the sky, but I would like to link in to that joy. I remember maybe a year ago that it struck me that meditation (sometimes) can be like waiting in the dentists office, just a waiting.
Any thoughts? As 'always' I've probably already answered my question!
The dark side is that I think the thought that meditation is something from the 'to do list' like washing my clothes. This thought is not a solid monolith. Instead I often also have joy in meditating particularly when some sunshine is coming today after clouds for over a week
But I just think it is interesting how it can become a chore. I know it is another thought just like a cloud in the sky, but I would like to link in to that joy. I remember maybe a year ago that it struck me that meditation (sometimes) can be like waiting in the dentists office, just a waiting.Any thoughts? As 'always' I've probably already answered my question!
1
Comments
In one of my books a meditation practise is described as 'work'. When we go to work, we do it everyday, but we don't get paid everyday. We have to keep on going to work and eventually we reach a 'pay day'.
My meditation practise seems to run along those lines.
From my zen perspective, I would not deliberately link it to anything because the purpose of my meditation is to allow all phenomena to arise un manipulated by my habitual efforts to fiddle with those results.
Perhaps though, Tibetan practises have there own checks & balances for such things.
This is why having a teacher in person is so necessary. It's not required, but I think it is quite necessary. Because when you arrive at these points, that is when you go to your teacher and say "I am having such a problem" and he will tell you what to do. There is a teaching for basically any problem you can come across in meditation, from getting bored, falling asleep, to dealing with the emotions that come pouring out when you cut through the blahblah in your monkey mind. When you do not know what to do with those emotions and how to work through it with your practice, then how do you move past it? That is why having a teacher is so priceless. My teacher is not even close by. But he is always within contact (well most of the time) and will respond with an answer as soon as he can. It is ideal to have a meeting of the minds in person, but in our world it is not always possible. But it is better to have a meeting of student and teacher on the phone or in email than not at all, and to suffer along thinking you can do it all yourself when you cannot. For most people, there are always exceptions. But that is how meditation works on the Buddhist path. As was said in the retreat this weekend, Buddhism is self-confrontation, and when you start confronting your self with your deeper knowing mind, it gets painful. Knowing how to deal with that is not something that just comes naturally to most people.
Similar with meditation. Cleaning the mind is not always such a nice thing, but the cleaner it gets, the more enjoyable it becomes. At a point you may find yourself actually not really wanting to do anything else, especially on retreats I find.
Metta!
You will notice what is being talked about is formal sitting, confrontation, something arising, joy, boring, difficult, exercise etc.
I sit formally, just done that - see I have done something, now I have stopped.
Being mindful, before and after, how does that 'come into being'? I would suggest through the same processes . . . dependent on what we have learned: focus on the breath, internal chanting, slowing the chatter, becoming aware and naming the arisings, observing the arisings etc . . .