The mis-understanding of meditation: "The moment the word 'meditation' is mentioned, one thinks of an escape from the daily activities of life; assuming a particular posture, like a statue in some cave or cell in a monastery, in some remote place cut off from society; and musing on, or being absorbed in, some kind of mystic or mysterious thought or trance." - What the Buddha Thought, p. 67 -
Meditation is anything but an escape for me. Because, my mind has a habit - it has to feel like it's doing something, anything. In silence, my mind is like a three year old curious about the world, not being able to stay still for a moment's breath. In short, it's hard sitting in silence - every moment is spent watching something arise in my mind and gradually nudging it back to my breath. As for the thoughts and emotions that arise, they are not necessarily ones I would like to sit with alone in silence. Yet, for now, I am simply bringing it back to my breath. This is the stage of practice I am at - the beginning.
meditation in my view is what you make of it. if u believe it will give you a sense of sight into what needs to be done in your life then it will. in truth it isnt the meditation that is doing that .. its you yourself.
ReplyDeleteif you are skeptical about it all .. then no matter how much u meditate .. nothing will happen.
don't know if i make sense .. but i'm jus talking like i always do :)
I do not know if I follow you - but I think what you are trying to say that it is ultimately the person her/himself that makes that realization, and that meditation is only the means by which the person can do that; if the person is not able to acknowledge that, then meditation no matter how much s/he does it will not be helpful... [please let me know if I understood that]
ReplyDeleteI believe that is a certain self-selection that occurs with meditation - the type of person that chooses to actively pursue this practice (but then again, I am also a believer that sometimes a person needs only to be introduced and once made available, they can gain from whatever tool is provided to them - for example, someone who only has a hammer will see everything as a nail. once that person is provided with a screwdriver and shown what screws are... I guess, yes, it is up to that person to choose to give up the hammer when it comes to screws) ...