Sunday, November 25, 2012

The secret of meditation

My brother put me onto an interesting new teacher this week, Mingyu Rinpoche.  He has some charming introduction to meditation videos over at Tergar.org, the online community that has built around his teachings.

To teach what he calls "the secret of meditation" he leads students through a simple experiment.  First he asks them to spend a minute or so just listening to the sounds around them.  Next he asks them to spend a minute or so "meditating on the sounds around them."  The secret to meditation is that true meditation is really the listening.

One of the biggest blocks to meditation, and I'm still guilty of this, is the belief that meditation is an act of concentration.  We think that we're supposed to be concentrating on the breath.  And so we get frustrated with ourselves when we do it "wrong."

But meditation is really just awareness, and being conscious of the barest level of awareness.  Concentration is not only unecessary, it's not even the goal.  Concentration arises out of mediation. But the goal is really to engage in the simple act of being. In fact, in a certain sense it is to be without goal.

When we bring this way of awareness to the simple acts of life, then suddenly the act of living becomes much simpler.

Life becomes simpler, but it's a remarkably deep simplicity.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Wisdom

I remember back in CEGEP taking an ethics class and being asked to prioritize my values.  Most people chose happiness. I chose wisdom.  My reasoning was that wisdom was all inclusive, that if you were wise in all likelyhood you would be happy, and you would have all that you really needed.

My path towards wisdom has been a meandering one. And wisdom, of course, is not a value that you achieve and then sit smuggly wise for the rest of your life.  It's a value that needs constant replenishment and there is no wisdom without experience and knowledge of what is happening in the here and now.

One of the ways that I replenish it is through standing.  It's like a checkpoint for me.  If I find myself going off in a direction that's likely to bring me a whole lot of unhealthy stress, then I stand, and I remember.  Oh yes, the wise advocate, the Adam Smith self who balances The Wealth of Nations.  The ability I've cultivated to keep my mind wandering around the world like a stray puppy.  I need to get back in touch with that.

And I will get back in touch with that.  In fact I'm back in touch with that right now.