| In a meditation session at our Vihara last month, during the
question-and-answer-time, one lady told me that while meditating that evening
she had been thinking, Why on earth am I meditating here? What is the purpose
of it? What good can it offer me? She was describing to me what was going on in
her mind during the meditation. I believe she meant what she said. She was tempted to meditate without being convinced about why she had to do so. She wasn't the only person not to understand. Her husband told me the same thing that evening, too! I was surprised to see that both husband and wife as well as their daughter felt the need for meditation but did not really have any idea what meditation meant for them. Actually, this is a common problem we often come across. I remember some years ago asking my mother to meditate. She did not want to say " No " to me but far from being convinced by my suggestion, she actually found it unattractive. Later she spoke to my sister about it. She said, "My girl, your brother seems to see me as a short tempered woman ; that is why he asks me to meditate." But now I am glad that after a few attempts she has come to enjoy it although she hasn't taken it up as a way of life as my father did. It is quite funny to think about it. Meditation was not attractive to her at all until my father died about twelve years ago. Many have heard about meditation but are not sure what meditation means and how practical it can be. A few months ago, while I was on a flight back to London, a lady passenger explained to me how she meditates. She said she sits quietly, closes her eyes and tries to think only of the good things in her life. And that, for her, is meditation. So let me say a few words as to what meditation is. The ultimate aim of the practice is to understand life as it is. Bhavana, the original Pali word used for meditation in Buddhism, really means developing the ability of your mind . Other words for meditation in early Buddhist scripture are Jhana, Dyana in Sanskrit , Cha'n in Chinese and Zen in Japanese . The mind has an immense capacity to think, to learn and to know. Leave it undeveloped and it can make you unhappy and your life a misery. That is the negative ability of the mind. We discover during the course of meditation that we really know very little about ourselves especially when it comes to how our mind works. The mind is the most valuable asset we as human beings possess. Neglecting its welfare is to neglect all the potentials in your life. There are many types of meditation in Buddhism itself. Each requires an instructor. It is not recommended to try it on your own even with help of the best text. As far as Buddhism is concerned , meditation does not involve imagination or any kind of superstitious object. It is not based on superstitious belief. It focuses on the object easiest and best known to each and every one of us like focusing on breathing in and out. This evening I shall confine myself to Vipassana which means Insight Meditation. This type of meditation emphasizes solely how our mind functions and seeks to develop its ability. It has three steps: first we learn how our mind works, how different objects are trying to win the attention of the mind and dominate it. In this primary stage, we discover that our mind has many objects like thinking, wandering, worry, fear, agitation, anxiety and aversion. The way they come to our mind is surprising. We do not mean to think but thoughts just come to our mind and waste our time. For instance, we may find ourselves thinking about something we have done today or what we have to do tomorrow. We waste a lot of our mental energy by unintentionally being lost in such thoughts. These negative thoughts are like pollution. A plant cannot grow healthily in a polluted environment. The mind cannot grow to its full capacity with these polluted thoughts. To our surprise, we discover how such thoughts are succeeding one another endlessly. If a fear happens to be present in our mind the whole set up of the mind can be dominated by fear and as a consequence we experience a pessimistic attitude to life and low self-esteem. Having learned how our mind works we start to tackle the problem by stopping ourselves being led away by those involuntary thoughts. In this way we save our mental energy. How do we save our mental energy? To give an example to something incomparable , mind is to me like a natural lake with pure water and aquatic creatures and lotus flowers in it , and with a green environment around it. People living nearby find the lake very much a part of their life as they depend on it in many ways. When we are purposelessly lost in thought it is like water from the lake is leaking. When I say leaking it means the water is going out unnecessarily and obviously without our knowledge. While the water continues to leak, the lake is bound to go dry. Many aquatic creatures will suffer. Lotus flowers will suffer. The environment around the lake will suffer. The problem with most of us is that when it comes to our mind we take everything too much for granted. We assume we know almost everything in our life. Like fish which take water for granted and never learn about it although it is very much part and parcel of their life. The reality comes only when something starts going seriously wrong. Someone whose mental energy leaks and leaks away is seeing himself becoming weak in thinking, learning and understanding. Sometimes we complain "I cannot catch what the lecturer said, my mind was not composed". That is leaking. Not only making you weak but as the mind is polluted with so many unwanted thoughts, one is easily frustrated and this affects those around you. So, in the first phase, we make an effort to learn how our mind works, how it can be polluted and how it can be purified. We do not try to control it at this stage but rather try to follow it by watching its function closely so that we can understand it adequately. We just try to know the mind and its function as it is. In the second stage one sees one's mind becomes contemplative. One is mostly aware that one's mind is functioning. The mind will not necessarily engage in unintended thoughts and waste time. We say in this stage mind becomes stronger since you are able to save your mental power. We focus on increasing mental energy by trying to build-up a developed concentration. As the last task one can now start to free the mind from any kind of disturbing thoughts that can pollute it. This is the stage where we can use our mind to its full capacity to get rid of all these unwholesome thoughts that ever seek to pollute it. Peace in our mind will last undisturbed only when the mind can no longer be polluted. Every day we interact with the world in six ways: through seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and thinking. Actually, we live our life in these six worlds. I can not think of any other world other than these six. The first five are physical and the sixth is mental. Something perceived in one of the first five can leave an impact on the sixth. If it continues to do so throughout our mind is bound to become polluted. The aim of meditation is to learn about these worlds through our experience; to prevent any possible pollution coming through them; to prevent any mental energy leaking through them; to increase mental energy through them and make the best use of them. First save the mind and then increase its function positively. This is the very reason why we need to meditate. May you be happy! |
HOT LINKS
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Home Page |
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Initial Steps to Cope with Fear and Pain |
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Why we need to meditate |
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The Concept of Dukkha |
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Bhante answers your questions on meditation |
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An Understanding of Anicca (Impermanence) |