Issue 54 - Tse Qigong Centre

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The most deep seated wish that all of us have is to be happy. From thissimple wish arise the many ways in which we try to gain that happiness, fromthe simple to the downright bizarre and/or dangerous.The most deep seated wish that all of us have is to behappy. From this simple wish arise the many ways inwhich we try to gain that happiness, from the simple(cake, a nice walk in the country or visiting friends) tothe downright bizarre and/or dangerous (bungeejumping or drug taking). If we look closely at our lives we willsee that most of our time is spent trying to attain a happy stateof mind by doing things - and this is where the problem lies!Buddha taught that happiness comes from our mind,not from external activities. At first this may sound a littlestrange, but if we think about it then actually it makes completesense. For example, if happiness was something which camefrom chocolate cake, then everybody who ate some would behappy. Obviously this is not true, many people cannot eat suchthings due to health problems and so on, and so eating cakewould make them sick, not happy! Also, if happiness wassomething which was in chocolate cake, the more that waseaten the greater the degree of happiness which would arise.Maybe for some luckypeople this is true, but myown experience of this isthat eating lots of cakemakes me feel a bithappy to beginwith, then totallysick!This example can beapplied to every other area ofour life. Two people watch afilm, one enjoys it, the otherhates it. Where is thehappiness coming fromhere? The film itself or theperson’s reaction to it - ifwe look closely we can seethat it is our mind’sreaction to events orsituations which makes us happy orunhappy, and not the external situationsin themselves.So what does all this have to do with meditation? Well,meditation is the only method we can use to bring about achange in our reactions to events. No other method works withthe mind like meditation, and no other method can bring suchgreat and wonderful results. Meditation is a special state ofmind in which we can change our way of thinking and behavingso that our reactions to problems or situations become positive,and therefore reduce our negativity and unhappiness.Normally we spend our lives distracting ourselves andespecially today with so many things to do and see we forgetto just spend some time in peace and quiet. Almost everymoment we are assailed by images, sounds, other people,things to do; even when we are “relaxing” we are usually justfilling up time with TV or similar things. All of this makes themind fast, rushing around flitting from one thing to the nextwith no real time to just stop and really let go of everything.The result: stress, anxiety and all of the other negative statesof mind which so many people seem to suffer from today.To attain a peaceful mind, one which is naturally happyand calm, we don’t actually need all of these distractions whichserve only to disturb the mind. We need to learn the art ofbeing quiet - we need to meditate.Meditation itself is not simply a switching off ofeverything going on in the mind. Some schools of thought teachthat meditation is emptying the mind and then just sitting inthe resultant stillness. However, this, according to Buddha, isnot correct meditation. Buddha’s teachings explain methodswe can use to bring about a profound change in our dailylives, one which leads to a more stable and deep rootedhappiness, and which lets go of negativity and unhappiness.To achieve this he taught that the correct way to meditate isactually an active cognitive process, one in which we use ourmind to actively changeour states of mind for thebetter.“To attain a peacefulmind, we don’t actuallyneed all of thesedistractions whichserve only to disturbthe mind.”Buddha said thatthere are threestages to correctmeditation: firstlypreparing the mind;secondly, the actualmeditation; and thirdlyconcluding the meditation.Each of these stages is anessential part of correctmeditation, without themwe are not actuallymeditating properly.The preparation formeditation is simplyreducing and stopping theturbulence in the mind. When I firststarted meditation I suddenly becameaware of how busy the mind actually is.The instruction for preparing the mind is to watch the breath.This means to just sit and concentrate on the point at the endof the nose watching as the breath comes and goes in a naturalrhythm. At first I was amazed how easily my mind forgot to dothis! It constantly wondered off and I would find myself 10minutes later suddenly realising that I had already plannedmy day, done the shopping and organised my entertainmentfor the evening and had completely forgotten the object -watching my breathing pattern. It is quite common for thosenew to meditation to say that it is meditation that is causingthis busy distracted mind, but what they fail to realise is thatthis is the natural state of the mind and it is only throughmeditation that we become aware of it! However, with practiceand effort it is possible to quieten the mind down and reach anQi Magazine 19
inner calm - quite like an oasis - and this state of mind is veryrelaxing and energising but it is not the goal, now we haveonly just started.The second stage of meditation is contemplation andconcentration. This is where the actual work is done intransforming our mind. Buddha explained exactly what statesof mind were negative and would lead to suffering and whatstates of mind were positive and would lead to happiness. All“When we arisefrom meditation wethen can go out in amore positive andhappy frame ofmind”of his teachings lead us away fromthe negative and show ushow to develop thepositive. During thesecond stage ofmeditation we thencontemplate aparticular positivestate of mind,called an object,such as love forothers, compassionand wishing them tobe free from sufferingor developing an equalunbiased attitudetowards everyone. At firstthis may be difficult. WhenI started meditation I hadmany negative states of mindsuch as anger, hatred and jealousy. All these minds caused menothing but mental pain and suffering, and I’m sure thateverybody else has the same experience. Of course I still getthese minds, but now through meditation practice I am muchmore aware of them when they arise and have a toolkit totackle them so they do not cause as much damage or pain asthey used to. Negative minds lead to nothing but unhappinessand pain for us and others. It is only by changing our ownminds can we begin to find a peaceful and happy mind, and todo this it is necessary to become familiar with positive mindswhich, as Buddha taught, are love, compassion and manyothers. So, the second stage of meditation is the process offamiliarising ourselves with a positive mind. This is essential -how many times a day do we actively develop a positive mindtowards others. If we count them they are likely to be very few.However if we count how many negative minds we developduring a day then I’m sure that many examples will immediatelyspring to mind. The point is that without some form of dailymental exercise in positivity, it is likely that our mind willnaturally develop negativity and this can only lead to suffering.During the actual meditation we contemplate reasonswhy we should love others and not hate them - for exampleremembering the kindness of our parents, friends and family -and when a feeling of love or wishing others to be happy arisesthen we concentrate upon this single pointedly. It is thisconcentration on the feeling of love (or any other positive mind)which will help us change our daily life for the better. Byfamiliarising ourselves thoroughly, by immersing ourselves ina feeling of love, our whole day will be changed. As I mentionedearlier meditation is a special state of mind, below the normaleveryday level of awareness, which can affect how we relateto situations and others. By accessing this level of mind anddeveloping such a positive state we are actually changing thewhole of the rest of our ordinary awareness, leading to aprofound and wonderful result: happiness for ourselves andothers.The third stage of meditation is conclusion. At this stageBuddhists would dedicate their good karma created frommeditation to the attainment of enlightenment; however, ifwe are not a practising Buddhist, then we can make astrong determination to maintain throughout the daythe positive mind we generated, and to try toavoid slipping into negative states of mind.Making a determination like this will alsodefinitely change our actions andreactions, and it will bring goodresults.When we arise frommeditation we then can go out intothe world in a more positive andhappy frame of mind, and it is thiswhich will help us when difficultiesarise. If we encounter problems witha happy mind things do not seem asbad - they are mere molehills; but if weencounter small problems with anegative or unhappy mind then theycan seem like mountains. I knowthis from my own experience,and I’m sure most people canremember such situations. It isthe state of mind which isimportant in determining how we react- and only correct meditation can bring about a deep and lastingchange within us which can alter our reactions for the better.Meditation is truly the only way we can start to bringour minds under control and start to develop positivity andhappiness. However, it is not a “quick fix” solution which seemsto be so prevalent in today’s world. I think of it like a mentalversion of physical training - just as we cannot run a marathonwithout months or years of steady and constant training andpreparation, so we cannot instantly achieve a totally positiveand calm state of mind. Meditation is a process which we needto recognise the value of and incorporate into our daily livesso it becomes as necessary to us as washing and eating. If wefail to recognise this need to develop the mind then we will bestuck with the distracted busy mind which seeks happinessexternally by bungee jumping or eating cake, but which willnever be fulfilledby Kelsang DargyayKelsang Dargyay is a Buddhist monk who has been practising meditation for over twoyears, and now teaches meditation at the Buddhist <strong>Centre</strong> where he livesQi Magazine 20
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Issue 54 - Tse Qigong Centre

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