Reflections on Meditation - April 2023
This months reflections on meditation. A collection of Substack notes for the month of April 2023 from Now About Meditation.
Allan Lokos tells us:
"Before you speak, stop, breathe, and consider if what you are about to say will improve upon the silence."
This is a valuable reminder of the power of our words and the importance of mindfulness in communication. In our fast-paced and often reactive society, we may find ourselves blurting out our thoughts without taking the time to consider their impact on others. However, this sentence encourages us to pause and reflect on whether what we are about to say is necessary and beneficial, or whether it would be better left unsaid. By choosing our words carefully, we can foster deeper connections with those around us and create a more harmonious environment.
When you encounter something positive and healing, pause with it, lighting the lamp of your mindfulness to savour and appreciate it. - by Thomas Bien
The above emphasizes the importance of being mindful and present in the moment when we experience positive and healing moments. By pausing and lighting the lamp of mindfulness, we can fully appreciate and savour these moments, allowing them to have a deeper impact on our well-being. This concept is rooted in mindfulness practices, which encourage individuals to be fully present, without preference, and judgment towards their internal emergent experiences. Because of this, by being mindful, more fully present in our lives with those moments that are positive and healing, and fully savouring them, we naturally start to cultivate a greater sense of gratitude and positivity in our daily lives, which can ultimately lead to improved mental and emotional health.
"When we read or hear about the benefits of meditation, it is tempting to dwell on the stories of wonderful outcomes instead of doing the work of actualizing these possibilities ourselves." - by Narayan Helen Liebenson
It cannot be denied that the potential benefits of meditation have been widely discussed, studied and documented, and there is evidence for the potential application of mindfulness meditation at reducing stress, and anxiety, and improving focus and emotional regulation. However, it's easy to get caught up in reading about the positive effects of meditation without actually putting in the effort to practice it for yourself. It is actually quite easy to get lost imagining yourself experiencing wonderful outcomes from practising mindfulness, rather than committing to the hard work and discipline required to practice mindfulness. It's important to remember that meditation is a skill that requires real effort and commitment to practice regularly with patience, and the benefits will only come through consistent effort and dedication. So rather than dwelling on the potential benefits we might experience, we should focus on the practice itself without expecting an outcome, to let any potential transformative power it can have on our lives work through naturally out of the influencing nature that our expectations can have on potential outcomes.
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche comments,
“The state of realization, complete enlightenment, means that no cloud cover can ever return; its causes are utterly and permanently eliminated. When the clouds vanish, what else can cover the sun?”
This sentence describes the state of complete enlightenment or realization, where all obstacles and causes of suffering have been permanently eliminated. It suggests that this state is like a clear sky with no clouds, where the sun is always shining and cannot be obscured by anything. The idea is that once one reaches this state, there is no turning back or regression into suffering because the root causes have been completely eradicated. It is a powerful image that underscores the transformative power of achieving complete enlightenment.
"The goal of practice is not to pursue pleasure and avoid pain, but rather to experience both with full awareness, neither favouring one nor opposing the other." - by Andrew Olendzki
In mindfulness meditation, the goal is not to seek pleasure or avoid pain. Instead, the objective is to cultivate an open awareness and to experience both pleasure and pain with equal openness and equanimity. In the above comment Andrew Olendzki, an expert in Buddhist studies and meditation, points to this and that the practice of mindfulness involves developing a non-judgmental and accepting attitude towards one's thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. This means neither grasping onto pleasurable experiences nor resisting unpleasant ones, but rather observing them with full awareness and a balanced perspective. By cultivating this mindful awareness, one can develop greater resilience, emotional intelligence, and inner peace, regardless of the circumstances of life.
“In seeking to “live more like a monk,” it is vital not to confuse the outer appearance and forms of ritual life with the wisdom and compassion that such rituals are meant to instil. In other words, don’t confuse the jelly jar for the sweet jelly within.” - by Jundo Cohen
In the above sentence, Jundo Cohen cautions against a common mistake that we can make when trying to live a more contemplative, monk-like life. It suggests that the external aspects of monasticism, such as their dress, rituals, and other practices, although important, are not what provide the essential outcomes and benefits from living more like a monk, which ultimately is aimed towards the cultivation of wisdom and compassion. Considering this, Jundo Cohen advises against mistaking the outward trappings of monastic life for the inner qualities that they are meant to cultivate. Instead, they suggest that we should focus on developing the inner qualities of wisdom and compassion themselves, rather than simply imitating the externals of monastic life. The analogy of a jelly jar is used to illustrate this idea, suggesting that people should not be distracted by the container (externals of monastic life) but instead focus on the sweet jelly inside (the qualities that it aims to cultivate, wisdom and compassion). All in all, I would say that we all should try to cultivate wisdom and especially compassion in our lives, and we can surely do this without needing to become “monks” or “nuns”.