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Sixth Awakening - Practice is Enlightnment

2/28/2014

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Meditation is Enlightenment

In my recent “Zen’s Eye View” columns I have presented the first five of eight practices of awakening that Buddha taught on his deathbed: 1) have few desires; 2) know how much is enough; 3) enjoy serenity; 4) make diligent effort and 5) remember to be mindful.  I repeat these practices to help with the fifth practice of awakening, “Don’t forget to be mindful.”  In order be mindful of the practices of awakening, we have to memorize them.

            The sixth practice of awakening is to practice meditation so we can live our lives without confusion. We say “practice” meditation but we must remember that meditation is not a sport like hockey or a skill with a musical instrument. Once the mind has become stable, meditation is the root of a life style that is based in clarity, wisdom and compassion.

The Buddha said, “Monks, if you gather your mind, it will abide in stability. Then you will understand the birth and death of all things in the world. You will continue to endeavor in practicing various aspects of meditation. When you have stability, your mind will not be scattered. It is like a well-roofed house or a well-built embankment, which will help you to maintain the water of understanding and keep you from being drowned. This is called ‘stability in meditation.”

These days I often hear people confusing meditation with mindfulness. This is a mistake. Even though the two have some similarities, they are not the same. To say they are the same is to say that preparing the soil is identical to eating garden produce. Without soil there are no tomatoes. Without meditation, there is no mindfulness.

Ancient texts from China and Japan make it clear that meditation itself is awakening. It’s not something we do to acquire something else. Lowered blood pressure, clarity of mind and increased awareness are simply side benefits of meditation. But they are not reasons we meditate. When we sit in silent meditation, the old texts say, we are living the life of a buddha because we are doing what Buddha did and realizing what Buddha realized.

To meditate is to hear the voice of wisdom within ourselves. Body and mind become clear and we realize the unity of all things. The Buddha sat in meditation for six years, not because he was trying to attain enlightenment, but because he was living in enlightenment. The practice of meditation is not a method for the attainment of realization—it is realization itself because to maintain meditation is to be constantly alive, awake, and aware.

Suggested Practice: Set aside half an hour a day for sitting meditation. Sit with an erect spine either on a meditation cushion, a bench or a chair and allow all thoughts and feelings to arise and pass through your mind like clouds passing through an empty sky.

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Fifth Awakening   Don’t Forget to Remember

2/2/2014

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            In my recent “Zen’s Eye View” posts I have presented the first four of the eight practices of awakening beings that Buddha taught on his deathbed: 1) have few desires; 2) know how much is enough, 3) enjoy serenity and 4) Make diligent effort.  I repeat these practices each week in order to help with the fifth practice of awakening, “Don’t forget to remember to be mindful.”  In order be mindful of the practices of awakening, we have to memorize them.

“Mindfulness” has been a catchword in medicine, psychology and, and even in golf.  Everybody and their dog, regardless of their qualifications, are teaching what they call mindfulness. It is usually described in a vague sort of way as “being in the present moment.”  Every health practitioner knows that mindfulness practices will lower blood pressure, help with overeating, assist with pain management, enhance recovery from addiction and even make you into a nicer person. These are good and reliable results of mindfulness training, but because of them mindfulness has become just another feel-better fad.

But true mindfulness is about more than feeling better. Mindfulness is a deep spiritual practice that is rooted in ancient Buddhist teachings. The Buddha said, “Monks, for living a fulfilling life and finding good help, there is nothing like remembering not to forget to be mindful. If you practice mindfulness, robbers of desire cannot enter you. Therefore, you should always maintain mindfulness in yourself. When your mindfulness is solid, you will not be harmed even if you go into the midst of the robbers of the five sense desires. It is like wearing armor and going into a battlefield, so there is nothing to be afraid of. It is called ‘not to forget mindfulness.”

Buddha knew the human mind well. He knew that when faced with a strong desire for something that brings temporary pleasure but that harms us, we forget to remember that in the long term going after these temporary pleasures will cause anguish. We get caught up in strong desire for salty/fatty foods or mood changing drugs, for example and lose mindfulness of the first two practices of awakening beings, “Have few desires.” and “Know how much is enough.” Giving into those desires rob us of physical, mental and spiritual well being.

Mindfulness is much more than “being in the present moment.”  With true mindfulness we bring the spiritual practices of generosity, kindness, patience, calmness, wisdom and joyful effort into every one of our daily encounters. When we can do this, we fulfill the highest principle of Buddhist teachings, to work for the happiness of others. This is true mindfulness.

Suggested practice: Insert a mindfulness prompt into your day by setting a timer at 40-minute intervals. When the timer goes off, pause and be mindful of one of the first five practices of great awakening. Remember to have few desires, to know how much is enough, to enjoy serenity and to make diligent effort to realize your highest spiritual values. 

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    Kuya Minogue

    Kuya Minogue is resident Priest at the Creston Zen Centre. She has been training in Zen since 1986.

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