Meditation Practice Clarification - nothing to get

[Guest guest]

Some Suggestions on Practice

by Joko Beck

 

 

 

Joko Beck has written the following suggestions to help her students

with their practice:

 

Don't begin a sitting period without considering why you sit. Know

your intention. Know that there is " nowhere to go, nothing to

achieve. " Be aware of ambitious thoughts.

Check your posture. No matter how you sit, the body should be erect

(but not stiff), balanced, and at ease. The sitting place should be

neat and pleasant. (But we can sit anywhere and in any position--even

lying down if ill or exhausted).

Sit every day. Try not to miss more than one day in a week. If

resistance arises (it is a normal part of practice), be aware that it

consists of thinking; like all thought, it need not dominate you.

Just observe it. Feel it in the body. And do not bully yourself,

ever.

Once a week, sit 10-15 minutes longer than you want to sit.

Don't become obsessed by sitting. In no case should one's work or

family responsibilities be neglected in order to sit.

When upset, don't avoid sitting. Hard as it may be, it is crucial to

sit when difficulties arise.

Know that sitting is simply maintaining awareness of body and mind.

Be aware of any desire to turn sitting into an escape from life by

entering peaceful, trance-like states; such states can be seductive

but they are of no use.

Be aware that the honeymoon period for new sitters is often followed

by resistance, possible turbulence, and emotional uprisings. Just

continue practice with particular emphasis on feeling your bodily

sensations.

Be aware that " achieving something " in sitting (such as special

clarity, insight, calmness of mind) is not the point. These may occur-

-but the point is your awareness of whatever is happening, including

confusion, discouragement, or anxiety.

Keep your practice to yourself. Don't attempt to teach others; do not

proselytize. Leave your friends and family alone. There is an old

saying, " let them ask three times... " What you can give others is how

you live.

Don't spend your sitting time in planning. Nothing is wrong with

planning per se, but set up another time for it. If you hear planning

thoughts when you sit, label them.

In daily life, be acutely aware of the desire to gossip or complain,

to judge others or yourself, to feel superior or inferior.

All practice can be summed up as

 

(1) observation of the mental process, and

 

(2) the experiencing of present bodily sensations. No more and no

less.

 

And finally, remember that real practice is not about the techniques

or koans or anything else as ends in themselves, but about the

transformation of your life and mine. There are no " quick fixes. " Our

practice is about our life, and we practice forever.

 

Copyright ©, 1996 by Charlotte Joko Beck

[Guest guest]

Nisargadatta , " bondzai " <bondzai> wrote:

> Some Suggestions on Practice

> by Joko Beck

>

>

>

> Joko Beck has written the following suggestions to help her

students

> with their practice:

>

> Don't begin a sitting period without considering why you sit. Know

> your intention. Know that there is " nowhere to go, nothing to

> achieve. " Be aware of ambitious thoughts.

> Check your posture. No matter how you sit, the body should be erect

> (but not stiff), balanced, and at ease. The sitting place should be

> neat and pleasant. (But we can sit anywhere and in any position--

even

> lying down if ill or exhausted).

> Sit every day. Try not to miss more than one day in a week. If

> resistance arises (it is a normal part of practice), be aware that

it

> consists of thinking; like all thought, it need not dominate you.

> Just observe it. Feel it in the body. And do not bully yourself,

> ever.

> Once a week, sit 10-15 minutes longer than you want to sit.

> Don't become obsessed by sitting. In no case should one's work or

> family responsibilities be neglected in order to sit.

> When upset, don't avoid sitting. Hard as it may be, it is crucial

to

> sit when difficulties arise.

> Know that sitting is simply maintaining awareness of body and mind.

> Be aware of any desire to turn sitting into an escape from life by

> entering peaceful, trance-like states; such states can be seductive

> but they are of no use.

> Be aware that the honeymoon period for new sitters is often

followed

> by resistance, possible turbulence, and emotional uprisings. Just

> continue practice with particular emphasis on feeling your bodily

> sensations.

> Be aware that " achieving something " in sitting (such as special

> clarity, insight, calmness of mind) is not the point. These may

occur-

> -but the point is your awareness of whatever is happening,

including

> confusion, discouragement, or anxiety.

> Keep your practice to yourself. Don't attempt to teach others; do

not

> proselytize. Leave your friends and family alone. There is an old

> saying, " let them ask three times... " What you can give others is

how

> you live.

> Don't spend your sitting time in planning. Nothing is wrong with

> planning per se, but set up another time for it. If you hear

planning

> thoughts when you sit, label them.

> In daily life, be acutely aware of the desire to gossip or

complain,

> to judge others or yourself, to feel superior or inferior.

> All practice can be summed up as

>

> (1) observation of the mental process, and

>

> (2) the experiencing of present bodily sensations. No more and no

> less.

>

> And finally, remember that real practice is not about the

techniques

> or koans or anything else as ends in themselves, but about the

> transformation of your life and mine. There are no " quick fixes. "

Our

> practice is about our life, and we practice forever.

>

> Copyright ©, 1996 by Charlotte Joko Beck

 

Frankly, the assumption that this practice leads to some kind

of special transformation is quite suspect to me.

 

Also, the assumption that something needs to be transformed

is also quite suspect to me.

 

What I see this practice as leading to is an enhanced ability

to sit still in a set position, the sense of discipline

and patience that inculcates, and whatever observational

processes occur while sitting, particularly 1 and 2 that

she mentioned.

 

I don't find any way to wrap totality awareness into

a bundle to be handed to someone because they persevere

with a constrained and sometimes painful practice, although

there certainly can be benefits from that practice.

 

In other words, there is a mythology to sitting, just as there

are mythologies in other sects regarding reading of texts,

prayer, chanting, and a devotional relationship with a teacher

or icon.

 

Religion, the religious life, spiritual awareness -- all of

these things have limits, they all have a positive and

negative aspect, just as every other manifested phenomenon.

 

Peace,

Dan