4 posts tagged “meditation”

Time to time I get emails from folks on a variety of things. Those things that I wish to share and/or ponder later I throw here. Here is simply another one of those snippets. Something to think about and ponder.

Excerpt Number One:
THE WAY OF MAHA ATI
BY CHOGYAM TRUNGPA RINPOCHE

The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions and to all people, experiencing everything totally without mental reservations and blockages, so that one never withdraws or centralizes onto oneself.

This produces a tremendous energy which is usually locked up in the processes of mental evasion and generally running away from life experiences.

Clarity of awareness may in its initial stages be unpleasant or fear inspiring. If so, then one should open oneself completely to the pain or the fear and welcome it. In this way the barriers created by one's own habitual emotional reactions and prejudices are broken down.

When performing the meditation practice one should get the feeling of opening oneself out completely to the whole universe with absolute simplicity and nakedness of mind, ridding oneself of all “protecting” barriers.

Don't mentally split in two when meditating, one part of the mind watching the other like a cat watching a mouse.

One should realize that one does not meditate in order to go deeply into oneself and withdraw from the world.

... complete openness of mind is still the keynote.

CRAZY MONKEY MIND
 
The mind is like a crazy monkey, which leaps about and never stays in one
place. It is completely restless and constantly paranoid about its
surroundings. The training, or the meditation practice, is a way to catch
the monkey, to begin with. That is the starting point. Traditionally, this
training is called shamatha in Sanskrit, or shi-ne in Tibetan, which means
simply "the development of peace." When we talk about the development of
peace, we are not talking about cultivating a peaceful state, as such, but
about simplicity.
 
 From "Trapping the Monkey" in THE TEACUP AND THE SKULLCUP: CHOGYAM TRUNGPA
ON ZEN AND TANTRA. Page 72.

Pema Chodron is the resident Buddhist nun at Gampo Abbey in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and the author of five books. She observes...

Somehow, in the process of trying to deny that things are always changing, we lose our sense of the sacredness of life. We tend to forget that we are part of the natural scheme of things.

During the next week, remain conscious of the fact that you are part of the natural scheme of things.

To more deeply feel a part of the Big Whole, close your eyes and tell yourself to slow down.

Take a deep breath, hold for a second, and slowly exhale. As you let the breath fall out of you, become aware of the peace at the core of your being.

That is the place where you will truly feel just how much a part you are of the natural scheme of things.

Repeat the breathing technique several times and deepen your awareness as you become more present in the moment.

Joy!

For today's meditation, how about a Zen story?

Three scholars on the way to a civil service examination stopped to buy refreshments from a woman who sold pastries.

One scholar was calm and quiet while the other two argued over literature.

The woman asked where they were going, and the arguing men told her.

"You two won't pass the exam," she said, "but the other man will."

The results turned out just as the woman predicted, and the two who failed went back to find the woman to ask her if she knew some mystic art to predict the outcome.

"No," she said, "all I know is that when a pastry is thoroughly cooked it sits there quietly, but before it's finished it keeps making noise."

Our world is so full of noise it's a wonder any of us stay sane past the age of maybe fifteen.

During the coming week, become aware of the endless noise that surrounds modern life... and then consciously tune it out by taking deep breaths and shifting your consciousness inward.

Bliss and peace are only one breath away.

So take that breath and become aware of the gap between breaths and let go of the noise and become calm and quiet.