The-Tibetan-Book-of-Living-and-Dying

BRINGING THE MIND HOME 81will come to the infinitely generous "wisdom that realizes ego-lelessness." When you live in that wisdom home, you'll nolonger find a barrier between "I" and "you," "this" and "that,""inside" and "outside"; you'll have come, finally, to your truehome, the state of nonduality. 8TAKING BREAKSOften people ask: "How long should I meditate? Andwhen? Should I practice twenty minutes in the morning andin the evening, or is it better to do several short practices duringthe day?" Yes, it is good to meditate for twenty minutes,though that is not to say that twenty minutes is the limit. Ihave not found that it says twenty minutes anywhere in thescriptures; I think it is a notion that has been contrived in theWest, and I call it "Meditation Western Standard Time." Thepoint is not how long you meditate; the point is whether thepractice actually brings you to a certain state of mindfulnessand presence, where you are a little open and able to connectwith your heart essence. And five minutes of wakeful sittingpractice is of far greater value than twenty minutes of dozing!Dudjom Rinpoche used to say that a beginner should practicein short sessions. Practice for four or five minutes, andthen take a short break of just one minute. During the breaklet go of the method, but do not let go of your mindfulnessaltogether. Sometimes when you have been struggling to practice,curiously, the very moment when you take a break fromthe method—if you are still mindful and present—is themoment when meditation actually happens. That is why thebreak is just as important a part of meditation as the sittingitself. Sometimes I tell students who are having problems withtheir practice to practice during the break and take a breakduring their meditation!Sit for a short time; then take a break, a very short break ofabout thirty seconds or a minute. But be mindful of whateveryou do, and do not lose your presence and its natural ease.Then alert yourself and sit again. If you do many short sessionslike this, your breaks will often make your meditationmore real and more inspiring; they will take the clumsy, irksomerigidity and solemnity and unnaturalness out of yourpractice and bring you more and more focus and ease. Gradually,through this interplay of breaks and sitting, the barrierbetween meditation and everyday life will crumble, the contrastbetween them will dissolve, and you will find yourself