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Monday, July 19, 2010

Is this Silencing the mind...or what??!

Silencing the Mind vs Training the Mind

I thought meditation was about silencing the mind…what is going on?!

You may have noticed by now that, in these meditations, the mind is working hard – one thing after another – this is not silence!  What’s up??!

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Around the year 770AD, the great Indian Yoga Master Kamalashila was called to Tibet to participate in a debate with a Chinese monk.  The Chinese monk was teaching that students could reach enlightenment only by clearing the mind of all thought.  In the debate, Master Kamalashila proved him wrong and wrote the classic book, Bhavanakrama or “The Steps of Meditation.” 

Centuries later, we are still trying to reach high states of yoga – ultimate wisdom and lasting bliss - by simply sitting and silencing the mind.  Try it yourself…it does not work…we need some training! 


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There are two ways to meditate with two very different results:

1) You can sit to meditate without much instruction, and simply work on slowing down your thoughts, and the mind will calm. You will experience peace. You will experience joy.  It is so nice.  You may just love it because it will feel good.  You will be happy to disconnect from the busy world and allow your mind to rest in a sweet, slow, quiet place.  With practice, your mind will become clear and focused.  You will be able to do more things in your day.  It is wonderful. 

2) Or, you can train your mind to see ultimate reality, to become omniscient, to see past all illusions.  You can train your mind to be able to get yourself and others out of pain and into experiencing pure and lasting bliss.  To do this quickly, we must practice Tantra, but it is necessary for us to be able to get into deep states of meditation in order for our Tantra practice to work. 

The Lamrim is mind-training to experience the highest goals of yoga.  This is not meditation to feel some calm and peace – all that will come too, but, we have to work hard for the bigger results...

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Stick with it. You are doing so well.  Few people reach the highest goals because it is hard to practice so intensively especially when we are juggling so many things in our lives.  You can do it.  Even half an hour a day can get you there.  You can study the meditation topics before you sleep or on the train to work or in-between meetings --- you just need that half an hour  of real solitude and quiet to do the actual meditations.  

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Some tips:

Do this meditation course for someone else.  Be firm in your motivation.  You are doing this for others.

These meditations are hard work, requiring great discipline and patience.  If you are doing them for yourself - your own peace - you will not make it to the end goals...you will not get very far...serving yourself is not a very strong motivation.  If you do this for others, you have a very good chance.  

The love you have for others will fuel your practice.  Your great burning desire to help others and take away the pain of others - that is what will get you to your meditation cushion everyday.  Love has that power.  It is your love for others that will get you to the end goals of this path.

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When it all feels overwhelming, remember the magic of Direct Realizations

The magic of direct realizations is that once you realize them, the feeling never goes away - you don't have to spend time doubting or contemplating these topics again because you have realized them directly - it is a permanent stage and it will save you so much time...it may feel slow at the beginning...but in the long run, it will actually speed your progress substantially. If you stick with this, you will reach the ultimate stages in this lifetime; jivanmukti. (Remember Lamrim means Stages on the Path. The final stage will be realizing ultimate reality.)

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The right attitude




When listening to (or reading) these teachings, it is important to allow your mind to be open and supple. A great teacher Geshe Potowa went to the discourse of another great scholar, Geshe Chokyi Woser. Potowa benefitedd immensely from the teaching and said, "I didn't learn anything I had not learned before, but I did gain understandings I had never understood before." This is the the attitude we must also observe when learning these meditations. You may have heard about these realizations many times, but, have you understood them and realized them directly? 


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