Awareness in Buddhist Meditation

More documents

Recommendations

Info

10 futility of an ‘I’ searching for the truth of ‘non-I’, of the stripping of all the paraphernalia used in dressing up a void. That understanding, that meditation of insight (vipassanā) is the truth which has no objective ideal, which is no subjective achievement, but which is an actual experiencing without comparing, classifying, or retaining, which has no memory of the past, no ideal for the future, and no ‘self’ in the present. When silence of the mind comes as quiet as the morning mist over the fields, as gentle as distant rain comes over the hills, as natural as the falling of the night—then there is no effort in being open to a blessing. It is only concentration which requires effort and desire to become virtuous. But in silence there is no denial or acceptance, for in contemplation there is no concentration. Then there is no purpose, no memory, no continuity of an ideal. There is awareness of the environment, but in this silent attention there is no influence and no response which is reaction. There is no thought in the silence of the mind, but a wonderful peace of independence and freedom of being alone and yet not in opposition. In such awareness, every act of experiencing is a new creation, which has not been brought about, which is not a picture brought up from the past, or projected for continuation in the future. Just because the mind is silent without thought, it is open to see and receive and understand without prejudice or conditioning. And because there is no ‘self’ in that unconditional awareness, there is the intelligence to understand what is, without opposition, without searching, without conflict. Without purpose, without object, without thought, there is the need to let go, not in abandon which has gratification of the senses as its goal, but the need of tired eye-lids to close over tired eyes (Tagore). When the mind is tired of its chattering thoughts, of its rushing for security, of its clinging to possessions of the body and of the heart, it becomes silent in its non-exertion. This silence does
11 not come through exertion, does not arise from failure, is not the outcome of exhaustion, but is the complete understanding of insight which comes through awareness. The mind, therefore, must give up its searching for an answer. This, of course, cannot be done by the mind itself, by a ‘tour de force’, turning against itself. But when it is seen that the mind is the memory which searches and distracts from the challenge, then the thought-process will become silent and watchful. Not knowing how to deal with the challenge, but only knowing that the past cannot deal with the present, there is an acute alertness watching the challenge which is now not a disturbance of the mind which is quiet. Struggling to be aware is just another form of trying to become reformed, which is the main cause of confusion and conflict in which the ‘l’ projects itself in continuance of existence. But, when the ‘I’ cannot become aware, the mind can watch itself yielding to stupid conventions, keeping up pretensions, putting up a brave show, and so on. Then, without trying to become different, this mere watching the activities of the body has made the mind alert. Seeing the implications of these concessions to society, their meaninglessness and harmfulness, I cannot in all sincerity continue with them. Thus I simply drop them, or I am a hypocrite in my own eyes. Awareness of hypocrisy is not a thing anyone can live with; and so, awareness of my unguarded actions gives that mental alertness which was missing a few moments earlier. When I am aware of my actions being only reactions, I stop doing many obviously stupid things. And there is no problem. But the moment this awareness eases off, I am again at it, not only with nervous reactions, but also yielding to the many commands of society and tradition which form the background of the ‘I’, which I am so keenly watching at times, and want to get rid of. When an angry throughout arises, it is not merely that anger which should be attended to, for that can be done by either sup-
Page 3: Copyright Notice This work is licen
Page 6 and 7: 4 Awareness of Perceptions . . . .
Page 9: From the publisher Henry Van Zeyst,
Page 12 and 13: 10 the ‘ego’, for the maintenan
Page 14 and 15: 12 insubstantiality (anatta). The l
Page 17 and 18: Awareness, the Beginning of Enlight
Page 19 and 20: 3 more important than the understan
Page 21 and 22: 5 continuance in impermanence, conf
Page 23 and 24: 7 Awareness is not Consciousness Aw
Page 25: 9 When there is no Awareness We are
Page 29 and 30: Mindfulness as Recollection However
Page 31 and 32: 15 the Buddha is seen as the perfec
Page 33 and 34: 17 with good conduct, for they are
Page 35 and 36: 19 understanding of the degree of d
Page 37 and 38: 21 as change in evolution. And to s
Page 39 and 40: 23 our craving for continuity, this
Page 41 and 42: 25 observation leads to a feeling o
Page 43 and 44: 27 of the eye, the flexibility of t
Page 45 and 46: 29 awareness. When consciousness ce
Page 47 and 48: 31 thing to be talked about as an a
Page 49 and 50: 33 an escape is only more conflict.
Page 51 and 52: Applications of Awareness Awareness
Page 53 and 54: 37 Here is a sensation which is con
Page 55 and 56: 39 as a soul to carry and to carry-
Page 57 and 58: 41 (saññā) ideations or mental f
Page 59 and 60: 43 an entity, free from the opposit
Page 61 and 62: 45 Attachment to rules and rites (s
Page 63 and 64: 47 is thus made an object for striv
Page 65 and 66: 49 mind, such as the five hindrance
Page 67 and 68: 51 cur, a revelation not through di
Page 69 and 70: 53 of achieving, but just melts awa
Page 71 and 72: 55 which prevent the mind to be at
Page 73 and 74: 57 bare attention, not with the int
Page 75 and 76: 59 of a search for happiness contai
Page 77 and 78:
61 ery experience is fresh, in whic
Page 79:
that craves for continuance, of all
Page 82 and 83:
66 Originally, in the early suttas,
Page 84 and 85:
68 the conflict, and conflict is mi
Page 86 and 87:
70 mind again. ‘What is felt is p
Page 88 and 89:
72 counter-balance to delusion (moh
Page 90 and 91:
74 be able to get rid of the deprav
Page 93 and 94:
Awareness in Reaction Methods How c
Page 95 and 96:
79 of, will be there. But that is n
Page 97 and 98:
81 past. Clinging to the past has f
Page 99 and 100:
83 denial or to a spiritual ideal,
Page 101 and 102:
85 When the mind is totally open an
Page 103 and 104:
87 happens to a watcher who is foun
Page 105 and 106:
89 now projected into the future as
Page 107 and 108:
91 property, who set fire to my hou
Page 109 and 110:
93 experience. When no answer is so
Page 111 and 112:
95 there is freedom to see, to unde
Page 113 and 114:
97 what it is, and not where it com
Page 115 and 116:
Awareness in Meditation Stillness o
Page 117 and 118:
101 future, based on a dead memory.
Page 119 and 120:
103 neither the ‘self’, nor the
Page 121 and 122:
105 truth; becoming as ‘self’,
Page 123:
107 to become perfect. Awareness do
Page 126 and 127:
110 is the wide vista for all to se
Page 128 and 129:
112 truth in spheres where sense-pl
Page 130 and 131:
114 has no entity, no conflict can
Page 132 and 133:
116 all know what is right; and yet
Page 134 and 135:
118 true relationship, as all conta
Page 136 and 137:
120 is in loving, the thought of lo
Page 138 and 139:
122 loving; and that moment is alwa
Page 140 and 141:
124 Compassion is frequently seen a
Page 142 and 143:
126 should not be a barrier of dist
Page 144 and 145:
128 is the food on which the ‘I
Page 146 and 147:
130 Sympathy Sympathetic joy (mudit
Page 148 and 149:
132 no preoccupation, no pettiness,
Page 150 and 151:
134 not ‘mine’, but which is al
Page 152 and 153:
136 through mind-control or substit
Page 154 and 155:
138 am that projection, that ideal,
Page 157:
About the Author Henri van Zeyst wa
show all

Awareness in Buddhist Meditation

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?