Vipassana & You: May 2011

REMINDERS FOR VIPASSANA MEDITATORS

Expectations
We really must let go of a lot of baggage which we have been carrying with us for a long time and one of them is our expectations. Unlike all our other worldly activities, a goal-oriented attitude is detrimental in meditative practice. Let go of all expectations. Do not even expect to be free of your pain. There is no need to overcome pain. Simply accept it and just observe it without any resentment. When wisdom matures the mind becomes indifferent to it. It does not matter then if the pain is there or not.

The most common mistake in practice is expectation of good results.
Don’t try to make something happen in the practice. Don’t try to achieve or even attain anything at all. When the right conditions and causes are present, Enlightenment will happen even if you do not wish for it.

Keep your attention entirely on the practice without trying to get results. Put aside all your hopes and expectations. The aim of practicing is to train the mind to really experience what is going on inside us in the present moment. If you are so obsessed with results you cannot really be with the present phenomena.
Practising with a goal in mind is like “catching a feather with a fan”. The more you go after it, the more it eludes you. In getting what one wants or in experiencing what one longs for, one is pleased with oneself. One is thus enslaved by a false perception of satisfaction with the five aggregates.
The subtle form of craving for results in meditation practice is known as Dhamma Raga.

THE PURPOSE OF PRACTICE
The purpose of vipassana meditation practice is to enhance mindfulness and understanding so we cultivate mindfulness for the sake of developing even more awareness and understanding of all psychophysical phenomena.
In a way, we can say vipassana should be practiced for its own sake.
By letting go of all clinging and expectations we are “not clinging to anything in the world”. We are thus not identifying the self with any of the five aggregates which leads to a deepening realization of the ‘empty nature’ of all phenomena.

DO NOT BE A CONTROL FREAK
Do not reject or try to avoid any experience that is occurring. (beware this subtle manifestation of dosa). Be receptive to all that happens within the mind and body. Be open to all your experiences and acknowledge them. Do not try to control anything during practice. If it so happens you think you have succeeded in manipulating your experience then it will be to your undoing as this idea only reinforces a sense of self /ego (atta). This deeply ingrained delusion in us can only be abandoned through development of insight. At the same time do not wish for a particular experience or try to create anything eg. visions. (lobha).

DOUBTS
Doubting is natural as long as you are not yet a sotapana. Treat it as you would other mental processes. Remind yourself not to identify with it. Note it and be aware of the whole process of doubting as soon as it arises in the mind.

THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
The Buddha adopted a clinical approach to our human condition very much like a doctor’s. He first diagnosed our problem; the suffering inherent in our being born human. Then he identified the cause of our suffering or dissatisfaction. Next, he held out the promise of a complete cure and lastly he gave us the prescription.
He defined three underlying reasons which are the causes for our dissatisfaction in life, that is, attachment, aversion and ignorance.

WISDOM & ENLIGHTENMENT
Wisdom is not a gift from the unknown. Like any other mental faculty, it arises out of specific conditions which can be cultivated and nurtured. This is exactly what we are trying to do when we practice.
Practice is not something that begins and ends on the meditation cushion. We have to remember to do it all the time just like we need to breathe in fresh air and breathe out at all times regardless of what activity we are engaged in. It should be integrated into everyday activities so that ultimately our whole life is meditation.
“Wisdom comes from being mindful continuously in all postures for a sustained period of time – certainly not from sitting for hours on end”. “Wisdom has nothing to do with how many retreats you have done. It is beyond all ideas and form.”
Wisdom arises when ignorance disappears just as darkness disappears when there is light.
A flash of insight can come about at any moment when we are mindful and when the conditions are right, when one’s wisdom is thoroughly mature. It may not necessarily happen when we are engaged in the actual sitting meditation practice.
It is said that once sati is well established, every moment bears with it, the potential for awakening.
Enlightenment is not an event that can be observed or expected to happen at a certain time. It can happen at any time but it is the result of a gradual process of transformation. The gradual nature of progress towards awakening is comparable to the ripening of fruits. Neither the meditator nor the farmer has the power to make his effort ripen whenever he wishes it but their persistent effort will eventually bring about the desired results.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTELLECTUAL WISDOM & INSIGHT

“Vipassana is directly seeing into one’s own nature”
Sati is mere awareness of mental and physical phenomena, free from intellectualization. When observing phenomena objectively, that silent and watchful state of mind is free from any form of identification…there is complete absence of any sense of “I” or “Mine”.
Knowing something intellectually is very different from understanding it from the mind that is absorbed in vipassana meditation. No amount of theoretical understanding can substitute for direct personal experience.
How does awareness lead to Wisdom in Vipassana? Through clearly knowing the observed phenomena. This clear knowing brings about understanding (Right View) directly. There is no room for thinking or reflecting. This understanding is the comprehension of the three universal characteristics – impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and Non-Self (Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta) inherent in all conditioned phenomena.

Enlightenment cannot be described as it is beyond the intellect. Words only serve to limit, distort and confuse the actual reality.

ATTACHMENT TO PEACE
Some meditators cannot even distinguish between insight knowledge and the state of profound peace. They get stuck within the practice itself due to attachment to peace. This is known as ‘stagnating within’the practice.

OPPORTUNITIES
We have limitless opportunities to cultivate positive qualities and to develop our mind in this life but we spend our time heedlessly going after material well-being and indulging in sensual pleasures. No matter how great your achievement of materialistic goal, it is too small and too short term to be worthy of a lifetime’s effort. If we develop our mind in this life we are investing in a more worthwhile venture which will give wholesome results not just for this life-time but for many lives to come.
Our time in this existence as a human being is limited. From the day of our birth, every second brings us nearer to our grave. Before we know it, our life is over and it is time to die. If we lack the proper foundation of a stable practice, we go towards death helplessly, in fear, confusion and anguish.
The Buddha reminded us before he passed into Parinibbana, that “it does not matter whether I am here or not. Liberation does not depend upon me but upon practising the true Doctrine. Just as a cure depends, not on seeing the doctor but upon taking the medicine as prescribed. The time of parting is bound to come, one day. I have done what I could for myself and for others. To remain longer would be without purpose”.

Vipassana & You

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

REMINDERS FOR VIPASSANA MEDITATORS

Monday, May 2, 2011

WEEKEND RETREAT MAY 27th TO 29th, 2011