So often meditation is thought of as the goal. We make the usual mistake of missing the process by focusing on the destination. The classic, I’m desperate so I’ll sit for 20 and expect the ‘cash and prizes.’ So today ran into this… Calming and concentration are not ends in themselves, but are indispensable for the path leading to awakening and liberation…. Not the liberation of deliverance from the pain. A leaning in and transcending it. Always a trick to be whole-hearted rather than engaging in avoidant behaviors disguised as spirituality. Gautama clearly concluded Service was the logical next step. Not, “Thank God that’s over. Next!” Perfect for this time. If the nature of reality is that life is impermanent and suffering is unavoidable, what makes sense? Just hedonistic, the hell with everyone?! Trying to get out of the trap of denial…? Or a treasuring of this moment, mindful response to every encounter…? I choose to practice the latter. So this morning the phrase is, “There is only this breath. No breath before, no breath after. There is only this breath.” But no mistake here, I’m being told the false success of of ‘completing’ a meditation session, is not the goal. The practice of mindfulness is the process to get to that far marker. Non-attainment. There is only this breath! One of the analogies I was taught was the difference between dropping a rock in a calm surface of a lake versus the opposite. The rock produces ripples in both the stormy and calm surface. It’s just that I can’t see it. The surface craziness obscures the passing of the rock. Without calm practice, I can’t sense the flow of life, right purpose or true nature. I have to practice. Or not….. As an old karate Sensei used to ask, “Whose foot is that?” Responsibility is the beginning of deliverance. I’ll end with this…
“You don’t have to know a lot of philosophy. Just practice the following three things: Remember the most important time in your life is now, the most important person in your life is the one you are with now and the most important way to create the future is to act with awareness now.
Anonymous