Reflections on Meditation - June 2023
This months reflections on meditation. A collection of Substack notes for the month of June 2023 from Now About Meditation
Jon Aaron says the following on formal contemplative practice:
"The beauty of formal practice: we get to create a safe space in which we can experiment and begin to see our minds’ habits without acting from those habits."
Here Jon Aaron uses the word "beauty" to describe formal meditation practice and its main purpose to provide a space and practice through which we can observe our mind and its ingrained habits without being bound by them.
By engaging in formal contemplative practice, or any other introspective practice whose purpose is to cultivate mindfulness as an open quality of awareness, we might start to notice that with time we start to observe our inner environment from a vantage point from where we can objectively witness the patterns and tendencies of our thoughts and emotions.
This frees us from the compulsive habit of reactively acting upon automatic recurring thoughts and emotions, and through this, we can cultivate a deeper understanding of ourselves and gradually transcend the limitations imposed on us by our conditioned responses.
Author and Zen Teacher Vanessa Zuisei Goddard comments that,
"Clear faith blooms when we recognize in another the possibility of living a free, happy, peaceful life, and this recognition compels us to look for a way to get there ourselves."
At first, I could not get my head around what Vanessa Zuisei Goddard meant. Then after a while, I realised how insightful the words of Arthur and Zen Teacher Vanessa Zuisei Goddard are, as they beautifully convey the essence of clear faith and its transformative power. They are pointing out that the blossoming of clear faith occurs when we see in another person the potential to live a liberated, joyful, and harmonious life. This realization acts as a catalyst, propelling us to embark on our own journey to achieve such a state of being. The profound realization that others can live such a life instils in us a deep desire to find a path that will allow us to experience the same freedom, happiness, and inner peace. This recognition and subsequent pursuit solidifies our faith and strengthens our commitment to personal growth and transformation, illuminating the path forward on our quest for a fulfilled and meaningful existence.
Martin Aylward, the founding teacher of Sangha Live, tells us that,
"Embodied presence is an invitation, again and again, to soften, to settle, to relax, to open up to what’s here. When we’re driven along by our habitual thinking patterns, we’re holding those tensions. A free body is a relaxed body, an open body."
Here, Martin Aylward beautifully encapsulates the essence of embodied presence when he shares that it is an ongoing invitation to soften, settle, relax, and open up to the present moment. Often, we find ourselves unknowingly propelled by our habitual thought patterns, which in turn leads us to unwittingly hold onto tensions within our bodies. However, the key to experiencing freedom lies in cultivating a relaxed and open state to reorient our minds towards letting go of involvement with these tensions. Aylward reminds us that a body free from constriction is a body that is at ease, receptive, and ready to embrace whatever arises. Through this profound wisdom, we are guided towards a deeper understanding of the transformative power of embodied presence, nurturing our well-being, and connecting us to the richness of the present.
Author and mindfulness teacher Mark Van Buren tells us that,
"Loving ourselves involves accepting this truth that we are imperfect, and once we realize this, we can shift away from perfection and instead move toward perfecting our love toward our imperfect selves."
In sharing this insight, Mark Van Buren guides us towards a transformative understanding of loving ourselves. Van Buren suggests that loving ourselves requires embracing the undeniable truth of our imperfections. He highlights that once we realize perfection is an unattainable ideal, we gain the power to transcend the pursuit of perfection and redirect our focus towards cultivating an unwavering love for our imperfect selves. Instead of striving for a perfect self, we can embark on a journey of self-acceptance and growth, constantly evolving and refining our ability to love ourselves with compassion and authenticity.
Buddhist monk and the author of Mindfulness in Plain English Bhante Henepola Gunaratana tells us that,
"If you don’t try to translate an experience into words, you simply have the experience, not thoughts, sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch—they can all be experienced directly without words."
In the above quote Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, a renowned Buddhist monk and the author of "Mindfulness in Plain English," argues that the act of refraining from translating our experiences into words allows us to immerse ourselves in the present moment fully. By relinquishing the tendency to conceptualize our perceptions, we can directly engage with the richness of our sensory experiences. In this state, our thoughts, sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches become unfiltered and uncluttered by language, enabling us to embrace the raw essence of each sensation. It is through this direct and wordless connection with our surroundings that we can truly absorb the profound beauty and intricacy of the present moment.
Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher Maezumi Roshi tells us that,
"If your practice is breathing, be one with breathing! If your practice is shikantaza, or just sitting, then just sit! If your practice is koan, be the koan! "
Here Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher Maezumi Roshi emphasizes the importance of wholehearted engagement in one's spiritual practice. According to him, whether the chosen practice is centred around breathing, shikantaza (just sitting), or working with koans, the key lies in complete immersion with that particular practice. Maezumi Roshi is eluding to the notion that if the practice is centred around breathing, one should fully merge with each inhale and exhale, becoming inseparable from the rhythm and flow. Similarly, if engaged in shikantaza (just sitting), the practitioner should wholeheartedly commit to the act of sitting, letting go of distractions and allowing oneself to merge with emergent experience. If you working with koans, to embody the koan itself, delving deep into its essence and allowing it to guide one's understanding. Maezumi Roshi's guidance invites individuals to approach their chosen practice with unwavering dedication, merging their being with the very essence of the practice itself.
Meditation teacher Teah Strozer tells us that,
"We don’t have to build and rebuild a “me” on the passing content of the body-mind. Instead, we can stand as the observer."
In these words, meditation teacher Teah Strozer offers a profound insight into the nature of self and consciousness. Strozer emphasizes that we need not constantly construct and reconstruct our identity based on the transient experiences and thoughts that arise within our body and mind. Instead, she encourages us to adopt the role of the observer, the witness to these passing phenomena. By cultivating a detached yet engaged perspective, we can transcend the illusion of a fixed and separate self, gaining a deeper understanding of our true nature. Strozer's wisdom reminds us of the transformative effect meditation can have if we come to this realisation, as it enables us to disentangle ourselves from the ever-changing content of our existence and embrace a more expansive and liberating sense of being that is not defined or conditioned by our feelings, thoughts and past or future experiences.