Doing it Later

As we all know, the mind is going, going, going. The big ball of energy (or whichever metaphor you prefer) never stops. As spiritual seekers, the mind is always trying to "help." It might do so by trying to explain things that we may find beyond thought. It might try to explain reality using philosophy. It might try to help comfort us, telling us things will be better later.

What about spiritual procrastination? Things like:

• Tomorrow I am going to meditate for several hours
• This weekend I am going to have a day long silent retreat
• I had some realization, I need to sit and let it soak in
• Tonight, I am not going to watch TV - I will meditate and do yoga until bedtime

There are countless ways this can manifest. Ultimately, it boils down to thinking. Planning for some future that may or may not even remotely resemble our plans. So how do we combat this - with more thinking?

Among the many definitions of Zen attributed to Zen Master Seung Sahn, one is "Zen is how you keep your mind, moment to moment." This moment. Not a future moment. The practice is here and now. In all situations, we return to this moment. If we are listening to the thoughts, giving them weight and importance, we cut them off and return to the present. That is the practice. It is not there and then. It is not limited to some cushion by candlelight. It is right where you are.

If Enlightenment isn't in this very moment, where is it?

Practice in Action

In some of these posts and in the book, I try to give examples of meditation practice in action. How do we practice in real life?

We start by paying attention to this present moment. We practice not attaching to our thoughts. Suppose the mind is very active. Maybe the thoughts are about past grievances, things that didn't go our way. Maybe we are unhappy with our loved ones, or our money situation, or politics. Could be things we wish we said or did, or didn't say or do. Maybe there are some thoughts about enlightenment and how great it will be when we finally get it. The list really is endless.

At first, we may try to think our way out of the thoughts. Maybe we try whatever coping mechanisms we have developed over the years. E.g. This too shall pass. In an hour or two I will have forgotten all about this. Time goes so fast, will these thoughts even matter? I made my own choices. Etc. Some of these thoughts may be even be helpful, after all, we have all developed our own ways of cheering ourselves up.

As Zen students, we might want to take different route. We put down those helpful thoughts as well. Enlightenment is not what you think. After all, even seemingly helpful thoughts are still from the conditioned mind. So what do we do?

We return to the breath, we return to the present moment. What are you doing in this moment? We put down all judgments, like, dislike, good, bad. Put down all opposites, hot, cold, life, death, old, young. We simply pay attention to what is. If we have a hard time doing that, we can continue to return to the breath. If we have a mantra, we can return to that. Maybe we use a string of beads to help keep our focus on the here and now. Whatever it is, we return to this moment.

After all, it is the only moment there is.

The Clear Button

How long does it take to clear the mind? As talked about in previous posts, meditation really is a practice. We have these minds that are constantly active. Getting our minds to settle down doesn't just happen, it requires work. Meditation is a very effective way to see how the mind functions and to become free of the attachment to our thoughts as well as the web of Karma.

Here is something to try. Pay attention to your mind. How long does it take from the time you physically leave work to mentally leave work? Ask this question for other areas in your life as well. What keeps you from being where you are?

Meditation is a great place to find answers to these questions. Much of the day we can't practice fully. At work, we need to focus on our jobs. When with the family, we need to focus on our loved ones. When we get some time to meditate, it becomes evident what is on the mind, what needs to be processed.

Throughout the years, I have noticed the amount of time it takes to process the events of the day has really decreased. Or course, there are still times when it takes the whole meditation session, or more, before the mind clears up. In any case, don't judge any of this as good or bad. It is practice. The mind never stops throwing thoughts at us. Fortunately, as the Buddha found: With practice we find relief.

Living life in the moment requires this sort of practice. Letting go of the past and future to live in the present moment doesn't seem to come naturally. One of the tools that may be helpful is the idea of "So, this is how it is." No matter what the situation, we see how it is. It is like hitting the clear button to drop whatever was going on in the mind so that we can be present right now.

What's So Great About Silence?

It often seems there is this idea that meditation is something special. Setting up some candles, lighting some incense, putting on a robe and sitting in a dimly lit room sounds pretty warm and inviting. Maybe the room is at the perfect temperature and there is no sound to disturb us. How very peaceful.

Of course, once we are there, sitting in that nice place, the reality is different than the thought, or concept. When new to meditation, sitting thirty or forty minutes at a time can be tough. There is physical discomfort, like aching knees, backs, and necks. Sometimes the legs get numb - be careful when you stand up!

There is also a flurry of mental activity. Some thoughts that come are troubling. Some are enthralling. Sometimes we are anxious, and the thoughts are telling us what a waste of time this meditation is. There is a lot of discussion on meditation in the book.

To the point of the post - what is so great about silence? Zen is about waking up to this present moment and cutting through delusion. How do we do that? We practice. Mediation is the practice of being aware in this very moment. In our daily lives there is always a lot going on. People, relationships, television, radio, advertisements, traffic, so many distractions. When we take time to create a time and place where we can practice awareness with the least number of distractions, we are paying attention to this very moment. We are practicing for when we return to the turmoil that is life.

Here is a simple exercise. Pick something that is annoying to you. Maybe it is traffic. Suppose you find yourself reacting to traffic conditions as though you have no choice. It could be calling people names, in your mind or out loud. Maybe you even honk the horn or make gestures. Try turning the radio off and not using the phone to talk or text while you drive. Simply pay attention. Watch the thoughts as they come and go. What the thoughts of annoyance or even anger come and go. Awareness of them is often enough to stop buying into them. When distracted, the thoughts are almost unnoticed as we simply act on them. It is though we have no choice. Until we realize that we have a choice.

Does this mean I can't listen to the radio when I drive? No. It simply means pay attention. Practice. If you practice with silence, you will get better at practice. Then you bring the practice into the world of distraction. Then driving is driving. Driving while listening to music is just driving while listening to music.

Here is a little poem on meditation and settling down the mind.

Very active
 The mind
  Thoughts are
   Fast and Furious

Questions
 Judgments
  Concerns
   Accusations

Some thoughts go further
 Getting into details of
   other choices
   other possibilities

Breathe in
 Return to this moment
Breathe out
 Clear mind

Breathe in
 What am I?
Breathe out
 Don't know

Incense fills the room
Candles flicker
A car drives by
Fingers move the mala
  one bead at a time
 On the out breath

Meditating on a Saturday Morning

About That Thought

In The Mirror of Zen, Zen Master So Sahn quotes a gem that goes like this: “If you know the arising thought is itself unreal delusion, you are already free.”

If you haven’t been introduced to this before it may seem difficult to believe. Many of us love our thoughts. Even if we don't love all of our thoughts, we may still believe we are our thoughts. Maybe we should investigate this a little further.

One way to do that is by the practice of meditation. Specifically, watching the thoughts without buying into them. This type of practice generally uses the breath or a mantra as the mechanism to return to the present moment. By doing this, awareness of the ceaseless nature of thought grows. So grows insight into our own minds. (As an aside, meditation is really a grand subject and it is covered in much more detail in many places including Mind Makes Everything.)

As we pay attention, we will see a whole plethora of thoughts spanning many subjects. We may become aware of many things, including thoughts that aren’t in our best interest or even thoughts that are simply lies. We will see which thoughts grab us, excite us, and stress us out. Some thoughts will have us as the hero, some as the victim. It really is fascinating to watch.

We take it a bit further, along with watching the thoughts we work to not attach to them. Continuing to return to the breath or the mantra, we may begin to see the delusional nature of the ever-present thoughts. Instead of buying into them, we simply return to the truth of the present moment - without judgment. That is pretty neat stuff. It is also practical in the sense that it helps us in our everyday lives. So I ask you, are you your thoughts? Are your thoughts the truth?

(Note that Zen Master So Sahn took it even further - he mentioned freedom. Please find that freedom!)