Finding Our Way Home

     “When sitting in meditation, you may have strange experiences or visions such as seeing lights, angels, or buddhas. When you see such things, you should observe yourself first to find out what state the mind is in. Do not forget the basic point. Pay attention. Do not wish for visions to arise or not to arise. 
     If you go running after such experiences, you may end up babbling senselessly because the mind has fled the stable. When such things do come, contemplate them, do not be deluded by them. You should consider that they are not yourself; they too are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and not yourself. 
     Though they have come about, do not take them seriously. If they do not go away, re-establish your mindfulness, fix your attention on your breathing, and take at least three long inhalations and exhalations – then you can cut them off. 
     Whatever arises, keep re-establishing your attention. Do not take anything as yourself – everything is only a vision or a construction of the mind, a deception that causes you to like, grasp, or fear. When you see such constructions, do not get involved. 
     All unusual experiences and visions are of value to the wise person but harmful to the unwise. Keep practicing until you are not stirred by them.”

       Kornfield J, Breiter P. “A still forest pool. The insight meditation of Achaan Chah.” Quest Books, Wheaton IL, 1985.


      “Your true home is wakefulness. Go home!”            Ashin Tejaniya

Peter O pics   www.dpreview.com

Mindfulness - a Deeper, Broader Definition

     "Mindfulness has a wealth of meanings. Mindfulness is living in the present moment, but that is really not enough. Black labs & golden retrievers - amazingly playful, friendly dogs running around - they are living in the present moment, but they don't look like they're being too mindful, literally being led around by the nose. They're very much in the present, but it's not mindfulness. So I call that quality of mind 'black lab consciousness' to distinguish it.
     So then we might say that mindfulness is the observing power of the mind - so we're really observing what's happening, as it's happening. With a black lab there isn't much observation - no stepping back & knowing what's happening. The lab seems pretty identified with what's going on. There doesn't seem to be a lot of self-reflection. The observing power of the mind has to do with stepping back & knowing that we're knowing, rather than simply knowing.
     But even that's not enough for mindfulness, because we can be observing something through a filter of various mental factors, for example the filter of desire or the filter of anger, and we're not aware of that. So we're observing what's happening, but we're not being mindful. So mindfulness is yet something else again. It's not just being in the present, it's not just observing in the present, it's observing in a particular way. It's being aware of what's arising, but without greed or attachment, without aversion or condemning, and without delusion or being identified with it.
     So that's a very particular kind of awareness. And right there it leads the understanding of mindfulness into an ethical dimension. Mindfulness is always a wholesome state of mind, because it's free of greed, and free of aversion. Mindfulness is very rich, it's not a superficial quality of mind.
     People come to retreats and have a daily practice so that mindfulness can operate throughout our daily lives. And it's a tremendous blessing - the more mindful we are, the less we suffer." Joseph Goldstein

     This & other "Buddha at the Gas Pump" interviews: http://batgap.com

Doubt & the Path

     "'True love and prayer are learned in the moment when prayer has become impossible and the heart has turned to stone.' Thomas Merton

     This is something I experienced myself after about 12 years of practice, when I went through a period of several months where nothing made sense anymore. By just staying with the experience and not buying into the story that everything was wrong - that I was wrong, the practice was wrong, the teacher was wrong - I pulled out of it and entered into practice much more deeply than I ever had before. So I think it's really important for all of us to understand that dry spots are a very natural part of practice and that they don't mean we're a failure on the path."     Ezra Bayda, Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, Summer 2013

     See also: http://www.johnlovas.com/2013/06/embracing-difficulties.html

Martha on her path

 

Objectivity & Observer mind

     “You can be aware of bodily sensations, mental feelings, and mental activities. But do not think of them as ‘mine’; they are just what they are: sensations are sensations, feelings are feelings, mental activities are mental activities – that is their fundamental nature. Always try to observe them with this view in mind; if you don’t, ie if you experience them as ‘mine’, attachment or aversion will inevitably arise.”

         Ashin Tejaniya “Don’t Look Down on the Defilements – They Will Laugh at You."

http://sayadawutejaniya.org/teachings/

Photo: Julius T. Santos   www.dpreview.com