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Page 2 of 3
All
together, meditation in Buddhism is extremely severe. I don’t want to
convert you to this particular style or approach necessarily. But I
think it is worthwhile to apply your exertion to the practice of
meditation; that is necessary if you want to learn something from the
practice. I have personally learned from this practice. I don’t mean
this as a testimonial, particularly, but I feel I should share with you
that I have gained wisdom and clarity myself from this practice. I’m
giving it to you as I have learned it, as I received this myself. The
only difference is that you don’t speak Tibetan.
According to the Buddha, meditation is a three-fold process. The first stage is what is called shamatha. The second process is vipashyana, and the third is the combination of the two: shamatha–vipashyana. Shamatha,
which I am presenting here, means the development of mindfulness. It
can be practiced in group situations or individually. The meaning of
mindfulness is up to you to discover.
This
particular approach to meditation practice is paying attention to what
is happening. It focuses mainly on your breath, your ordinary breathing.
If you’ve been running and then you stop and sit down, the first thing
you do is to try to regain your breath. At that point, you pay attention
to your breathing. Or if you are doing things and then you want to
relax, then you sit down and say “phew.” So breathing plays an important
part in ordinary experiences. Breathing is quite natural. It’s a
natural situation, part of what we naturally associate with relaxation.
Shamatha literally
means the “development of peace.” Peace in this case doesn’t mean a
state without war. It has nothing to do with politics. We also are not
talking about a psychedelic sense of getting off on peace. Here, we are
simply talking about peace as non-action. If you are having an intense
time with your friends, your parents, or with your business, you might
sit down and say “phew!” Peace is that kind of flopping down. But please
don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. You can’t get this kind of peace
instantly. You have to apply exertion and patience.
In
the practice of meditation, we speak of peace in a very particular,
extraordinary, and eccentric sense, as it was taught according to the
Buddha. The Buddha was a very eccentric person, in that he attained
enlightenment, which is extraordinary. Initially, we can’t actually
understand what it means that he attained enlightenment—but he did. We
are also on that path. We have no choice. In one of the sutras, the
Buddha says that those who practice dwelling in peace, or shamatha, are
building a staircase toward enlightenment.
That
is what we are doing in the practice of meditation: constructing a
staircase toward enlightenment. It requires very precise measurement of
the boards to build the steps properly. All the angles have to be
properly considered, and you have to use the right nails and hammer them
in carefully, because this staircase has to bear the weight of people
walking up it. Shamatha practice is building a staircase very
deliberately, according to the Buddha. A staircase to what? To
enlightenment? What is that? It doesn’t really matter. Just building the
staircase may be good. No promise, no blame. Let us simplify the
situation. Let us build this staircase very simply and directly.
When
you practice meditation, don’t make a big deal about it. Just sit down,
relax, and straighten your back, not to the extreme but in a deliberate
fashion. Your posture is a bit like how you would hold yourself if you
were going to ask your lover to marry you. Your approach would be
semi-relaxed—friendly and somewhat seductive, but straightforward.
That’s how your posture should be here. Then you place your hands on
your knees, which is known as the mind-relaxing posture, or in whatever
position you have been instructed in.
Then
you should just feel your breath, your natural breath. It might be
rough or deep if you had to run to get to the meditation room. Or your
breathing might be quite shallow. It doesn’t really matter. Just feel
your existing natural breathing. Sit quietly and listen to your
breathing. To begin with, just listen to it for a few minutes. In that
way, you can settle into the practice.
Then
you can begin to discipline your state of awareness, your state of
inquisitiveness. When you have nothing to do but sit and breathe, you
begin to wonder, “What can I do with myself?” Those thoughts are fine,
but then try to focus everything on your breathing. Listen to your
breathing, feel your breathing, completely, properly, as much as you
can. But don’t force yourself. Don’t hold yourself too tight, like an
Englishman with a stiff upper lip. Here, you are dealing with your
breathing very naturally. It’s just natural breath. You sit there as
though you’re about to address your lover. You just sit there and go
along with your breathing.
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