prana
10-03-2001, 07:51 AM
TjD
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>i'm just waiting for the day when i finally figure out how to concentrate perfectly[/quote]
Please allow me to lend a hand.
Please note the texts in "quotes" are mine :)
Here are some quotes from the Dharmakaya discourses.
While practicing meditation, thoughts will continue to arise from time to time. Simply ecognize the arising of a thought in your mind, nd pay very little attention to the content of that thought. All you need to recognize is that the thought has arisen. Whether you consider it a bad thought or a good thought is irrelevant in his context. If a thought arises that is hockingly bad, do not entertain any guilt about it, and if it is a magnificent, virtuous, heroic hought, do not become excited about it. If one can rest undistractedly in an awareness of the present moment,then the vipashyana instructions contained in this issue of Shenpen Ösel, when accompanied by the appropriate direct transmission, will not only be of great interest nd great benefit but can become the one ufficient path that will lead the practitioner to the understanding, direct experience, and full ealization of selflessness, the emptiness of henomena, and the emptiness of consciousness. If one is still having difficulty resting ndistractedly in an awareness of the present moment, one needs to practice shamatha until one an. If one has difficulty practicing shamatha in the rather formless way of not following after
thoughts of the past or inviting thoughts about the future, then one should practice shamatha with a support. The most common support, as
Rinpoche mentions, is to follow the breath. There are five additional supports for the practice of hamatha contained in this issue.
If one is still having difficulty achieving the xperience of shamatha, then one needs to practice ngöndro to remove karmic obstacles to
meditation; to create openness, surrender to the eachings, and proper motivation; to accumulate irtue and positive spiritual energy; and to
induce the merging of one’s own mind with the nlightened aspect of the guru’s mind, thereby rawing into one’s mental continuum the
blessings of the enlightened state transmitted by he root and lineage gurus.
... for vipashyana to be stable, it is necessary hat we initially calm our minds through the practice of shamatha. If you have received the pointing-out of vipashyana, then the subsequent practice of shamatha will only increase and tabilize the lucidity of your recognition.
When one is practicing shamatha in these ways, for some people it happens relatively quickly that their minds come to rest, for other people it takes a long time and seems to be very difficult. If the latter is the case, do not become discouraged at how long it takes to develop a state of stable shamatha.
"The mind initially for a layperson is in fact, incredibly noisy. As the meditator begins to enter shamata, it is not that the thoughts have become more, it is merely that the mind is beginning to understand and become aware of the noisiness of the mind.
The state of Shamata, many good and bad feelings, sensations and thoughts may arise. Becoming attached, via paying special attention and adding more thoughts to these thoughts, will cause the mind to return to samsara. If one watches as a doctor watches a patient, the thought evetually has runs out of fuel and dies away.
Much bliss is sometimes encountered during Shamata. Attachment to this bliss will also affect future benefits of shamata. If one enters a meditation session in search for such bliss, the mind becomes gross and aggrovated in the thoughts of craving and attachement."
"Sitting in meditation posture -
I know this is against what some of us on this forum in the past believed. I have never mentioned it before because I felt there was no need to cause more arguments, but for the sake of meditation, I add..."
1. One should try to sit in the lotus position, whereby the feet are on the thighs, if this is not possible, then a half lotus or cross legged posture is acceptable.
2. The hands should form a mudra. The right palm over the left and the thumbs come together to connect the two psychic nerves.
3. The back to be straight as an arrow. here Lama writes - The reason why it's necessary to sit up straight when you're meditating is that your body and your mind are very con-nected. Specifically, your mind rides portant, but when you're actually
mind will be on, or is founded in, the winds or energies, which depend upon the channels which are present within your body."
I have had this experience in my meditation, that the mind does indeed settle itslef on your winds in your psychic nerves, please do indeed pay attention to this fact, of which I have been ignorant for over 23 years.
4. The upper arms are to be spread like the wings of the vulture.
5. The chin should be tucked in, that is the neck is slightly bent forward
6. The sixth aspect of this posture is to keep your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
7. Your gaze. Initially, it is okay to vclose your eyes fully until the mind has settled, however, eyes should be left half open, and the gaze forward about 3 meters in front. The eyes should not be focussed on any particular object. Don't direct attention to what you see.
The great Tilopa speaks...
The body is without meaning, empty like a bamboo stalk. The mind is like the midst
of space. It is inconceivable. Rest relaxed within that, without letting it go or placing it. Rest relaxed in that state without sending it out, or placing it in, letting it go or attempting to place it. . . . [If mind has no direction, it is mahamudra.] . . . with this you will attain unsurpassable awakening.
The conceptualized maintenance of vows actually causes you to impair the
meaning of samaya. Without mental directedness or mental activity, be free of
all intentionality. Thoughts are self-arisen and self-pacified like designs on the
surface of water. If you do not pass beyond the meaning which is not abiding
and not conceptualizing or focusing, then through not passing beyond that, you
do not pass beyond or transgress samaya. This is the torch which dispels all
obscurity or darkness.
If, free of all intention, you do not abide in extremes, you will see without exception the meaning of all the Buddha’s teachings or of all the takas, the sections of the Buddha’s teachings. If you rest in this you will be liberated from the prison of samsara.
If you rest evenly within this, all of your wrongdoing and obscurations will be burned.
This is called for those reasons the torch of the doctrine.
elsewhere on discourse, Lama writes
people who could be, strictly speak-ing, extraordinarily intelligent, are in the long, term or in effect foolish, in that they have no interest in something that is exactly what they need.
TjD, I hope by reading these tects, you will find much wisdom duriong your meditation.
I know the ideas expressed in this page (thread) are totally against what many of you believe here in this forum. Please understand that I have previously respected your ideas and arguments, by not aggrovating the discussion, and here, as well, I am trying my best NOT to aggrovate anyone's ideas. This is merely for the progress of a fellow meditator. I appreciate your understanding.
http://dharmatours.com/hbmc/Prwhbl1.gif
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>i'm just waiting for the day when i finally figure out how to concentrate perfectly[/quote]
Please allow me to lend a hand.
Please note the texts in "quotes" are mine :)
Here are some quotes from the Dharmakaya discourses.
While practicing meditation, thoughts will continue to arise from time to time. Simply ecognize the arising of a thought in your mind, nd pay very little attention to the content of that thought. All you need to recognize is that the thought has arisen. Whether you consider it a bad thought or a good thought is irrelevant in his context. If a thought arises that is hockingly bad, do not entertain any guilt about it, and if it is a magnificent, virtuous, heroic hought, do not become excited about it. If one can rest undistractedly in an awareness of the present moment,then the vipashyana instructions contained in this issue of Shenpen Ösel, when accompanied by the appropriate direct transmission, will not only be of great interest nd great benefit but can become the one ufficient path that will lead the practitioner to the understanding, direct experience, and full ealization of selflessness, the emptiness of henomena, and the emptiness of consciousness. If one is still having difficulty resting ndistractedly in an awareness of the present moment, one needs to practice shamatha until one an. If one has difficulty practicing shamatha in the rather formless way of not following after
thoughts of the past or inviting thoughts about the future, then one should practice shamatha with a support. The most common support, as
Rinpoche mentions, is to follow the breath. There are five additional supports for the practice of hamatha contained in this issue.
If one is still having difficulty achieving the xperience of shamatha, then one needs to practice ngöndro to remove karmic obstacles to
meditation; to create openness, surrender to the eachings, and proper motivation; to accumulate irtue and positive spiritual energy; and to
induce the merging of one’s own mind with the nlightened aspect of the guru’s mind, thereby rawing into one’s mental continuum the
blessings of the enlightened state transmitted by he root and lineage gurus.
... for vipashyana to be stable, it is necessary hat we initially calm our minds through the practice of shamatha. If you have received the pointing-out of vipashyana, then the subsequent practice of shamatha will only increase and tabilize the lucidity of your recognition.
When one is practicing shamatha in these ways, for some people it happens relatively quickly that their minds come to rest, for other people it takes a long time and seems to be very difficult. If the latter is the case, do not become discouraged at how long it takes to develop a state of stable shamatha.
"The mind initially for a layperson is in fact, incredibly noisy. As the meditator begins to enter shamata, it is not that the thoughts have become more, it is merely that the mind is beginning to understand and become aware of the noisiness of the mind.
The state of Shamata, many good and bad feelings, sensations and thoughts may arise. Becoming attached, via paying special attention and adding more thoughts to these thoughts, will cause the mind to return to samsara. If one watches as a doctor watches a patient, the thought evetually has runs out of fuel and dies away.
Much bliss is sometimes encountered during Shamata. Attachment to this bliss will also affect future benefits of shamata. If one enters a meditation session in search for such bliss, the mind becomes gross and aggrovated in the thoughts of craving and attachement."
"Sitting in meditation posture -
I know this is against what some of us on this forum in the past believed. I have never mentioned it before because I felt there was no need to cause more arguments, but for the sake of meditation, I add..."
1. One should try to sit in the lotus position, whereby the feet are on the thighs, if this is not possible, then a half lotus or cross legged posture is acceptable.
2. The hands should form a mudra. The right palm over the left and the thumbs come together to connect the two psychic nerves.
3. The back to be straight as an arrow. here Lama writes - The reason why it's necessary to sit up straight when you're meditating is that your body and your mind are very con-nected. Specifically, your mind rides portant, but when you're actually
mind will be on, or is founded in, the winds or energies, which depend upon the channels which are present within your body."
I have had this experience in my meditation, that the mind does indeed settle itslef on your winds in your psychic nerves, please do indeed pay attention to this fact, of which I have been ignorant for over 23 years.
4. The upper arms are to be spread like the wings of the vulture.
5. The chin should be tucked in, that is the neck is slightly bent forward
6. The sixth aspect of this posture is to keep your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
7. Your gaze. Initially, it is okay to vclose your eyes fully until the mind has settled, however, eyes should be left half open, and the gaze forward about 3 meters in front. The eyes should not be focussed on any particular object. Don't direct attention to what you see.
The great Tilopa speaks...
The body is without meaning, empty like a bamboo stalk. The mind is like the midst
of space. It is inconceivable. Rest relaxed within that, without letting it go or placing it. Rest relaxed in that state without sending it out, or placing it in, letting it go or attempting to place it. . . . [If mind has no direction, it is mahamudra.] . . . with this you will attain unsurpassable awakening.
The conceptualized maintenance of vows actually causes you to impair the
meaning of samaya. Without mental directedness or mental activity, be free of
all intentionality. Thoughts are self-arisen and self-pacified like designs on the
surface of water. If you do not pass beyond the meaning which is not abiding
and not conceptualizing or focusing, then through not passing beyond that, you
do not pass beyond or transgress samaya. This is the torch which dispels all
obscurity or darkness.
If, free of all intention, you do not abide in extremes, you will see without exception the meaning of all the Buddha’s teachings or of all the takas, the sections of the Buddha’s teachings. If you rest in this you will be liberated from the prison of samsara.
If you rest evenly within this, all of your wrongdoing and obscurations will be burned.
This is called for those reasons the torch of the doctrine.
elsewhere on discourse, Lama writes
people who could be, strictly speak-ing, extraordinarily intelligent, are in the long, term or in effect foolish, in that they have no interest in something that is exactly what they need.
TjD, I hope by reading these tects, you will find much wisdom duriong your meditation.
I know the ideas expressed in this page (thread) are totally against what many of you believe here in this forum. Please understand that I have previously respected your ideas and arguments, by not aggrovating the discussion, and here, as well, I am trying my best NOT to aggrovate anyone's ideas. This is merely for the progress of a fellow meditator. I appreciate your understanding.
http://dharmatours.com/hbmc/Prwhbl1.gif