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Enjoy this clarification of Meditation and Mindfulness by Chogyam Trungpa. It might seem contradictory at times but it is worthwhile to start your practise and reread this text again. It contain layers of wisdom and can benefit your meditation path greatly. Remember to read the next blogpost on the technique if you are ready to go and sit down. Enjoy!
"Meditation as a practise is very confusing.
Sitting Meditation is simplifying the basic psychology, basic problems as it was presented by the Buddha. Simplifying in this case means; no expectation to the technique, that whether or not this technique is going to liberate you or going to show you a certain particular flashes of excitement, mystical experiences or whatever.
Meditation situation is extremely simply, without working on the metaphysical, philosophical overlay as such. But at the same time I feel that if you can go through training, I think you will be much better than simply catching a short glimpse. So again I ask your particular commitment for the training program. As much as you can, otherwise there are a lot of gaps, missing the point and unnecessary confusion.
Please try to stick around if you can and follow this particular instruction. I am not saying that this practise is more enlightening or more promising than other practises but what I am saying is that if you can go along with exertion and patience, you might have a chance to realise yourself. Understand yourself. Such understanding may be extremely boring or you might not want to do it. But that is the case, we cannot reject ourselves before we know what we are. So I am encouraging you to be very brave, please don’t chicken out, as they say, and reject yourself or congratulate yourself for that matter.
Try to work with the techniques that will be presented to you. A very simple technique developed in Buddhism and presented by Lord Buddha himself. A very simple situation.
Sit in a group situation, this is sometimes good and necessary in some sense but it is also important to sit by yourselves at your home, whatever you have set up as living situatuion.
Meditation according to buddhism is Bhavana. Which means exertion, discipline, which is the basic point. Unless you are not inspired to discipline yourself, you are hopeless. Once you are half way through and then lose hope and give up it is also hopeless, because you are causing further congestions and further indigestion.
So, this particular course is very demanding as presented by the tradition and lineage, I would like to stick with that particular process. Cop out right at the beginning rather, which is some kind of heroism at least. Think about that seriously.
Sit regularly and work with certain experiences that are by no means dramatic and purely discovering yourselves. And I do not promise on the other hand that you are going to see heavenly realms, colourful mantras or yantras, none of those. It is very simple, extremely down to earth to the extent it is irritatingly down to earth. You begin to come back to yourself rather than you getting messages form heaven.
Buddhist meditation is extreme, no trips involved, no kicks involved.
It is worthwhile to apply your exertion, it is also an open situation, no cohersion.
I am sure you will learn something, as I have gained wisdom and clarity myself. I am giving it to you as I have gone through it myself. The only difference is that you do not speak Tibetan.
Mediation is: Shamata, Vipashyana
Shamatha means development of mindfulness. Meaning of mindfulness is up to you, this particular meditation practise is paying attention to what is happening, namely your breath your ordinary breathing.
When you sit down the first thing you do is try to regain your breath. You walk to your place of relaxation and you sit, wheeew, breathing place is very important part in our common experience. This is the first thing we can catch, developmental peace. Nothing to do with war or politics, not a particular sense of peace, that you should get off psychedelics or peace that has been uplifted.
What we are talking here in terms of peace is non action, precisely the feeling when we sit down after we had a very heavy time with friends or family and we say wheeew. Also I don’t want you to think that you are going to get that instantly. You will have to apply exertion, vriya, and patience which is shanti. We will have to exert such experience and discipline and this discipline I would like you to try in the sitting practise.
If you have leg problems sit in a chair, but sit on the floor. Sit down on the floor, crossed legged, half crossed posture is fine, lotus not necessary. Sit on the cushion, don’t make a big deal of it, just sit down and relax. And straighten your back spine and straighten your neck, not extreme but somewhat extreme, somewhat deliberate, as if you are going to ask your lover for his or her marriage, semi relaxed, friendly seductive but straight forward. And then you can fold your hand in meditation posture or put hands on knees, which is known as mind relaxing posture.
Follow your natural breath. Doesn't matter the state of breath, just use existing, natural breathing. Sit quietly and listen to your breathing. To begin with breathing coming in and out of your nostrils and settle down for a moment. Then begin to discipline your state of awareness and inquisitiveness. You begin to wonder what can I do with myself and that is ok, but try to focus everything in your breathing as much as you can. But don’t hold yourself too tight like an Englishmen trying to speak with upper lip. You are dealing with your breathing very naturally, you are just there, about to ask your lover.
First step is to just go along with your breathing, especially the out breath and go along with it and not particularly to feel the temperature in your nostrils or breathe especially as for a particular situation as such. Breath out with natural breath, not really meditation as such, you are just breathing. At the same time I would recommend your mouth to open a bit not to have tight lips as if you are saying the word “a”. You attitude and attention is going out with your breath. As it meets the space around you don’t follow too far, just let it be. Then there is a gap, uncertainty maybe and your breath comes in automatically with physiological function. Don’t try to come back, just let it be. Then another breath is going out, gap...etc...do that way. Simplicity of the whole thing.
I would like you to work on this.
All kinds of thoughts come in, thoughts of attitude, future places, conversations etc. let them come through, don’t try to say they are bad or good, just let them come through. Don't live with them. By letting them come through you begin to find a sense that there is a sense of openness, that you don't find them particularly threatening or particularly helpful. They just become the general gossip that you begin to hear through the traffic. There goes something… You begin to find them “so what” and not getting involved. Thoughts like traffic. Just basic chatter that goes on in the universe. Just let them go through. That is the basic technique and practise of meditation.
I have some kind of trust in you that you can do it even though I do not know you."
by MASTER CHOGYAM TRUNGPA
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