Verse Fifty-TwoDo you think you can clear your mind by sitting constantly in silent meditation? This makes your mind narrow, not clear. Integral awareness is fluid and adaptable, present in all places and at all times. That is true meditation. Who can attain clarity and simplicity by avoiding the world? The Tao is clear and simple, and it doesn't avoid the world. Why not simply honor your parents, love your children, help your brothers and sisters, be faithful to your friends, care for your mate with devotion, complete your work cooperatively and joyfully, assume responsibility for problems, practice virtue without first demanding it of others, understand the highest truths yet retain an ordinary manner? That would be true clarity, true simplicity, true mastery.~ Translated by Brian Walker ~
More than one of you has emailed me to ask why I don't write about meditation very often. It's a topic that Lao Tzu addresses indirectly quite frequently and it's often the centerpiece for the eastern philosophies/religions of Taoism, Buddhism and Zen.
If the truth be known, unlike many of my Taoist colleagues, I don't meditate as it is commonly understood. I don't find a quiet space to sit cross-legged on floor and chant mantras or say "Ommmm." I'm certainly NOT disparaging anyone who engages in such practice. I'm simply stating that it's not for me.
A few years ago I tried to institute this sort of practice into my daily routine. I would find a quiet place on the floor to sit. I then tried fervently to clear my mind. Unfortunately, the process of trying to accomplish this always failed. Stray thoughts kept entering my consciousness and I would spend all my energy telling these thoughts to leave. In fact, at times, I would sit and repeat to myself, "think of nothing" which, of course, is a thought itself! I would realize that I was thwarting my attempts at clarity and would then proceed to give myself a lecture. ; (
After several attempts, I gave up. I decided that the practice of meditation either wasn't for me or was something I would discover at a later date.
It was only when I quit trying to meditate that I actually began to do it. Now, several times per day, I easily quit thinking. Sometimes it only lasts a few scant seconds, but at other times it lasts for quite awhile.
I do it in all sorts of situations. I do it often when I drive. It's not uncommon to happen in the shower. It frequently takes place when I sit or walk in the nearby forest or on my back deck. In other words, I meditate while engaging in the routine activities of my daily life.
This post is part of a "miniseries". For an introduction, go here.
If the truth be known, unlike many of my Taoist colleagues, I don't meditate as it is commonly understood. I don't find a quiet space to sit cross-legged on floor and chant mantras or say "Ommmm." I'm certainly NOT disparaging anyone who engages in such practice. I'm simply stating that it's not for me.
A few years ago I tried to institute this sort of practice into my daily routine. I would find a quiet place on the floor to sit. I then tried fervently to clear my mind. Unfortunately, the process of trying to accomplish this always failed. Stray thoughts kept entering my consciousness and I would spend all my energy telling these thoughts to leave. In fact, at times, I would sit and repeat to myself, "think of nothing" which, of course, is a thought itself! I would realize that I was thwarting my attempts at clarity and would then proceed to give myself a lecture. ; (
After several attempts, I gave up. I decided that the practice of meditation either wasn't for me or was something I would discover at a later date.
It was only when I quit trying to meditate that I actually began to do it. Now, several times per day, I easily quit thinking. Sometimes it only lasts a few scant seconds, but at other times it lasts for quite awhile.
I do it in all sorts of situations. I do it often when I drive. It's not uncommon to happen in the shower. It frequently takes place when I sit or walk in the nearby forest or on my back deck. In other words, I meditate while engaging in the routine activities of my daily life.
This post is part of a "miniseries". For an introduction, go here.
That's quite interesting. I used to go to a meditation group where we would sit silently with our eyes closed for twenty minutes. I still go to a Buddhist group which usually ends its sessions with a shorter but otherwise similar meditation. I always found these incredibly frustrating, but I figured I just wasn't doing it right.
ReplyDeleteDo Aspergerites have unusually active minds? I know that in general INTPs have quite active minds, and hence would find it more difficult to do the standard kind of meditation. Perhaps I'll try--or rather not try--to follow your example.
Meditation isn't about thinking of nothing. It's about noting what you are thinking, becoming aware of it, and not allowing yourself to immediately moving to react to it like we usually do. The point is to sit in stillness until you overcome the desire to immediately respond to whatever you happen to be thinking of.
ReplyDeleteOnce you do that, you can go on to what I call "moving meditation, or constantly being aware of your thoughts, your surroundings, and other things within those surroundings. The point of meditation is merely to raise your awareness level so you're not constantly just automatically reacting to things and thoughts.
It's like shavasana in yoga. The point is not just to lie there after doing yoga, but to allow your body those minutes to recover while learning to not instantly just jump up and run off to the next activity. These moments of stillness need to be built into the day to let us be in touch with ourselves.
ReplyDeletei find meditation quite hard, but also useful. (especially in martial arts!) did you know the human brain is capable of thinking of two things at once?? i never knew this until i started meditating. (no wonder i'm so scattered!) the meditations i do are more shamanistic than buddhist, i focus more on my breathing and my heartbeat and sometimes see "visions." mostly, though, i just relax and attain focus. i feel that it is a good tool, but it is definitely not the focus of my life. i do not analyze the value of my life based on my ability to meditate. (and there is absolutely no way i would ever be able to think of "nothing"!)
ReplyDeleteWhen I came back from one of my retreats, which involved some very serious lengthy meditation, I was telling a neighbor about it, a nice military man who had a born-again quality about him, and his response was:
ReplyDelete"I think we are called to be in this world, not out of it." I've been pondering that a lot.
At the same time, a Buddhist monk who was with us on our Taoist retreat, would frequently zone out for a couple of minutes at a time with his malas.
Each meditation session (and technique) seems to be different. There were times when I just wanted to get up and walk out of the hall and never come back, others that I felt at one with the locusts and rain, others when at the end of the session it seemed like only a few minutes, not an hour and a half. And then there were a few sessions I woke myself up snoring!
Well, I think your comments underscore the difficulty with language. It seems that we each have different definitions of what meditation means or entails.
ReplyDeleteThat's cool though and it represents one of the key concepts in Taoism -- each person must ply their own path.
Dasein36,
I don't know if other aspies have active minds -- though I'm fairly sure this is a common trait -- but I certainly know that I do!
"Why not simply honor your parents, love your children, help your brothers and sisters, be faithful to your friends, care for your mate with devotion, complete your work cooperatively and joyfully, assume responsibility for problems, practice virtue without first demanding it of others, understand the highest truths yet retain an ordinary manner? That would be true clarity, true simplicity, true mastery."
ReplyDeleteI like to meditate in the traditional sense, it is very relaxing for me and with how much a typical western mind races throughout the day, I think it is good to allow your mind to be quiet for a little while. The quote I just posted from this though is awesome. That is really awesome, especially the part about not demanding it from others. Sometimes it is easy for me to be like "Right is right, wrong is wrong, so why the hell are you acting like this?" Haha I will definitely keep this quote on retainer in my mind for when I have this recurring bit of wrong perception.