1. UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS - Many yogis begin this practice with enthusiasm, strong motivation and high expectations, but all too soon, after a few sessions, find themselves losing faith and feeling like a failure. This is most common amongst those who tend to be very “goal-oriented” in their worldly pursuits . By being patient, learning how to deal with expectations and having the right attitude, we can avoid this sense of failure which can dampen our effort to continue practising.
When we sit down on the cushion to practice, a variety of experiences can arise so at the outset we should never have any sort of expectation. We ought to be open to any experience. One of the most common expectation is, “ meditation is supposed to make one feel great.” So naturally when unpleasant experiences like pain arises, one will be averse to it and react by wishing to get rid of it, instead of just being aware of it. Similarly, one expects the mind to stay focused on the meditation object. But when unable to do so, one blames the outside sounds or thoughts that come up, taking them to be disturbances to the practice. Tell yourself when you sit down and close your eyes “May I observe whatever comes up and do nothing else”. Check yourself when you start to identify with a particular experience, adding a sense of “self” into it. More experienced yogis may sit, hoping that a past experience will come up again. They ought to acknowledge this attachment otherwise there will be no further progress.
2. THE WANDERING MIND – Beginner yogis tend to feel the need to overcome the wandering mind because they want to have a calm and concentrated mind. In this situation they are wanting to get rid of something and wanting something else to happen. Because of this underlying dissatisfaction of the present phenomena, they are not open to the reality occurring in the present moment – the wandering thoughts. They have missed the opportunity to develop mindfulness and the basic principle behind vipassana ie. to be extraordinarily attentive to whatever is happening.
3. THE THINKING MIND - Similarly, yogis have a strong tendency to feel disappointed and frustrated for having an endless train of thoughts. Instead of treating the thinking as just another mental activity to be noted, they try to repeatedly direct the mind to the primary object and to keep it there. Without being aware of it they are creating a lot of stress by putting in too much effort at directing the mind so neither calmness nor concentration will be achieved. If there is disappointment, simply observe and recognize that disappointment. Being mindful and clearly knowing the state of mind as disappointment is within the premise of Contemplation of Dhamma (Dhammanupassana) so this is in itself progress.
4. QUICK RESULTS – Yogis who have heard of results of the practice from others or have read about it, often make the mistake of hankering after these results. “The main exercises should be practiced for their own sake, as devices for strengthening mindfulness and concentration and not for quick results”. These “quick results” are at best, merely concepts in the yogis’ minds which are very subjective as one cannot really know insight knowledge before one has directly realized it. Whatever premature intellectual grasp one has of it will only serve to confuse the mind and thinking about it will interfere with the process of noting and attending to the meditation object. Once one is thoroughly familiar with the correct technique, through repeated practice, the results in terms of the stages of insight knowledges, will appear in due course, whether one wishes for it or not. When the insight knowledge is realized, one will be amazed to see the world of difference between the actual realization and the prior intellectual understanding of it. It is because of this, the actual experience of Insight Knowledges are usually never discussed openly or described by meditation teachers.
5. MAINTAINING REGULAR PRACTICE AFTER THE RETREAT – We can come up with all sorts of excuses not to meditate everyday because we may be lacking in right effort and right attitude. We can also be easily influenced by the people around us and our environment. It is imperative that yogis continue their practice in daily life no matter how short the time is, at their disposal. Progress will be slower than in retreat, depending on the persistence and sharpness of faculties of the individual. Please do not think that because the time is too short there will be no progress so it is of no use. In 5 minutes the mind can perceive a lot and mindfulness can be developed. Let us say there is one moment of mindfulness in one second..in 5 minutes you would have had 5 x 60 moments of mindfulness. That is 300 moments of mindfulness. In reality, there are much more as one second can comprise thousands of moments of mindfulness. Therefore, remember that no effort, however small will be wasted. There is sure to be mental development and accumulation of perfection (parami) which will be conducive for further progress. Practice is also possible during working hours. For example, while engaged in working at something, whenever the opportunity allows, one can direct one’s attention to the postures or to the breathing or abodominal movements, even if it is for a few seconds or minutes. No matter how busy your daily life is, you can still practice general mindfulness while going about with your daily activities even while talking. As long as you have time to breathe you have time to be mindful. The more we practice the more confident we are in the technique of vipassana and the effort we make is linked to this confidence as well as the right understanding/view of the practice.
6. SITTING FOR A LONG TIME – Some experienced yogis like to sit for longer than the prescribed one hour. This is usually not recommended except when the teacher approves of it or directs the yogi to do so. There are certain stages in the development of the practice when it is beneficial to sit longer than normal so the yogi is instructed to “sit as long as he likes” without any concern for the time. Normally, at these stages, the yogi is unaware of the time that has lapsed as he feels his posture is very very comfortable despite the long sitting or he may not even sense his bodily form at all. They can sit for two or three hours on a stretch without moving at all. Other yogis at other stages, may have a tendency to stretch their sitting to a further quarter or half hour when they are engrossed in observing painful sensations. This is a matter of individual preference and it is usually harmless. However, if the yogi is experiencing strong calmness or drowsiness, long sittings should be avoided as there is the obvious need to balance the mental faculties by getting up to do walking meditation. Energy is slacking so it has to corrected.
7. INABILITY TO SIT FOR ONE HOUR – When painful sensations arise it is advisable to direct one’s awareness to it and to observe it closely instead of reacting by changing one’s posture. Shifting of weight, wriggling the toes or legs and lifting the foot etc are considered changing of posture so these movements no matter how small should be avoided in the beginning. One should try to see the changes in the nature of the painful experience, in terms of intensity, type of sensation (eg stabbing pain / throbbing/ sharp/aching pain). Only when there is very excruciating pain which cannot be tolerated any longer, one can slowly and mindfully move one’s posture by noting first, the intention to do so followed by each and every movement made before sitting still again. The eyes should remain close during the changing of posture. Insight can arise by closely observing the nature of our experience in an objective way without any interference or additions. This means there should be no sense of self/personality involved in observing the painful sensations and no thinking about it too. At some stages the yogi is not able to continue sitting even before the hour is up, because of strong restlessness in the mind. There is the inclination to change one’s posture for no obvious reason (not because of discomfort) and after the change of posture is done, if the inclination arises again, it should be noted promptly as ‘restlessness’.
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