Meditation Dharma Talk

September 9th, 2007 · No Comments

“Body impermanent like incense rising;
mind enlightened in the empty sky;
thoughts un-attached like the falling breath.”
- Bhante Kassapa

Our thoughts are never ceasing. Some of them are connected to other thoughts or ideas, some are connected to feelings and all are a barrier to a good meditational practice. For us the goal of non-thought is not realistic. Thoughts continue without prompting. Our goal is non-attachment to the thought. What do we mean by that? Allowing the thought the freedom to exist and enter our thinking is very natural. What we must do is begin to train our minds not to associate an additional thought or idea to the original thought. What do we mean by this? As an idea enters our mind during meditation we simply observe the rising and falling of the breath. The thought will rise and will also fall away leaving a quiet emptiness, if we do not seek to cultivate the thought into an extended conversation with ourselves.

Meditation is not thinking. We are using the quiet time of meditation as a tool to observe. Observation is the natural state of letting thoughts rise and then fall away, as a parallel to our breathing. Rising and falling of the breath is a natural rhythm, which we do not need to maintain. We do not try to change, strengthen, shorten, force or deepen our breath. We only observe the natural rising and falling. You work to develop awareness of the universe inside you.

Doing this you deepen the awareness of the universe outside the self. Be mindful of the energy of the mind. Be patient with yourself. It is natural for the mind to grasp. Our entire lives have been categorized by the experiences we have lived through. The identification process and putting feelings into words is how our memories are formed. In the context of meditation, when something enters the mind that is pleasing, we wish to pursue it. When something displeasing enters, we wish to escape from the thought. This activity is chasing phenomena, and not the mind. It is an action of the mind.

Meditation seeks to develop an understanding of what is mind and what are phenomena. Once we have separated them and learned to recognize what grasping at phenomenon is and what the mind is we can be more at ease. Mindfulness is like a mirror. It reflects only what is presently happening. True mindfulness is not judging, conceptualizing, or attaching any bias. It is purely a nonjudgmental observational activity. It is an activity to just sit and look. Take the time observe your inner world without attaching a single concept to the moment of observation.

Think about this for a moment. You are able to look at any object or situation and declare it neither positive nor negative. Neither is it right or wrong. You can look and not be surprised by anything. You are simply observing. No changes, no protracted reflections, just observing things in their natural state. This is the state of the person practicing Vipassana Meditation. The meditator is able to sit and observe. Very much like a scientist in the lab watching, with no preconceived ideas or suggested outcomes, the cultures growing in a Petri dish, or observing the happenings on a slide under a microscope, we are to sit and simply observe. Observation, pure observation, is a skill which must be developed.

The first step of this developmental process is acceptance of our natural states. This is especially true when dealing with the mind’s more unpleasant states. What do we mean by this? If we are hungry but on a diet do we lie to ourselves and say, “No. No I am not hungry.” Of course not, we must accept the idea that we are hungry. What about fearfulness? If we are afraid of something and that is the state of our mind, then accept that we are afraid. There is no way to observe our fear if we do not accept that we are fearful. It is the same for most conditions of the mind. Before we can observe and work on irritation, agitation and frustrations we must first accept them.

We can never examine our own depression without fully accepting it. Acceptance is an important step to mindfulness and self awareness. Whatever experience we are having, it is just another of life’s experiences, nothing more, nothing less. We have had countless experiences and will have countless more. Each observation is another chance to be aware. Each mind condition is an opportunity to gain more self knowledge and grow closer to the authentic self. What we are attempting to do is to reach the original mind. The unconditioned mind is the mind that exists before understanding sense experience. The pure mind is able to observe the incidents of life without attaching a value to them. This action is what we call pure observation.

The original mind is able to observe the feelings that arise. When a baby cries out of hunger, he does not know or attach a reason for the hunger. He does not have the symbols or letters stamped on his mind. He only feels hunger. That is the original mind. We already have this mind within us. Our meditation and mindfulness are tools that help us to cultivate a pure mind, one that is able to observe without attachment. A mind unattached to excitement by sense objects, liberates us to observe our ever changing mental states without the need to react to them. The pure mind is by its own nature perfectly peaceful. The pure observational mind is tranquil; and it is already within us.

“Body impermanent like incense rising;
mind enlightened in the empty sky;
thoughts un-attached like the falling breath.”
- Bhante Kassapa

I Wish You Peace,

Bhante Kassapa

Bhante n. Kassapa Bhikkhu
bhante_kassapa@yahoo.com
Buu Mon Temple
Port Arthur, Texas, 77640
409.982.9319