Petit essai sur la méditation/Short essay on meditation

[English version follow]

Bien sûr, le pratiquant doit s'habituer d'abord à se confronter à son flux de pensées et ses motivations variables et insistantes, ses envies d'arriver quelque part avec la méditation.

Traditionnellement ca se fait en installant une pratique quotidienne rigoureuse. Ca sonne fort, mais la méditation peut être juste un temps où on ne fait rien où on se détend.

Cela peut demander une attitude qui peut être conçu comme stupide ou têtue ou loyale etc. Un certain enthousiasme peut aider, mais en général elle devient vite pourri. Avec la méditation, l'égo n'arrive à rien.

Mais ce qui fait que la méditation fonctionne ou ne fonctionne pas est quelque chose simple: de bien voir dès le début que le but de cette action, de 'méditer' est de devenir plus en paix avec son monde, soi-même et tout ce qui existe et de devenir parti de cela, sans frontière. Ce n'est pas obligatoirement quelque chose de difficile, car la réalité est comme ça. 

Ce n'est pas quelque chose à comprendre intellectuellement, c'est simplement se rendre compte, voir comme c'est et devenir loyal à cela.

En général, avec le conditionnement opportuniste, peureuse et consommateur dont la personne moderne est munie, ce n'est pas toujours facile, mais c'est heureusement faisable grâce au fait que rien n'est solide et tout change sans cesse. Le seul endroit où on peut arriver est nu dans le présent.

Guido Bastiaensen

The paramita of wisdom

Faults and virtues

It is the highest knowledge, a sharp discernment that allow us to see the true nature of things.

It is the main way to liberate us.  Our main problem is the ignorance of not seeing things as they really are.  Without wisdom nothing can help us.  The other paramitas without wisdom cannot transcend, reach perfection.  Wisdom is compared to the eyes, without the other paramitas are blind:

How could even a trillion blind persons ever reach the city without a guide and not knowing the way? Without wisdom to show them the way, the five eyeless paramitas are without a guide and unable to lead to enlightenment.

In the other hand, wisdom cannot liberate us alone, it needs the skilful means of the other paramitas.  Usually the set of paramitas is compared to the two wings of a bird, one is wisdom and the other is the skilful means.

Absolute truth: comprehension of interdependence, of the lack of inherent existence of the phenomena.  When we analyse the reality, we cannot find any substance.  However, we must be careful to not misinterpret this reality as if nothing exists, as it would be a very serious mistake.  In the other hand, if we simply do positive actions with no understanding of the true nature of reality we cannot get free and enlighten.  Therefore, we must develop simultaneously compassion and wisdom.

Classical way: study, contemplation, and meditation.  Additionally, apply daily the first five paramitas.

Definition

Prajnaparamita is the supreme knowledge.  Gampopa says that its essential characteristic is to discern correctly the phenomena.  It is also called discriminant awareness, because it separates true from false.  More often it is called wisdom.

Classification

1. Mundane wisdom: is the relative knowledge as science, logics, medicine, linguistics, etc.
2. Inferior supramundane wisdom: is the study, reflection, and meditation of impermanence, interdependence, samara defaults, the compounded nature of phenomena, and their lack of inherent existence.  Is there a single substance permanent and independent?  For example, if we consider a book, it is made of pages, and the pages are made of fibres, printed letters, etc.  And to create the paper we need trees a factory people, so is depending of all this causes and conditions to exist, it cannot exists independently. The same way, all the phenomena are interdependent, they appear like magic display, as a miracle, or like in a dream.  It is their true nature, not a Buddhist theory, a dogma.  Take what is compounded as an individual separate entity is confusion and ignorance.  And so it is take as permanent and independent what is impermanent and interdependent.  But we react through our habits that way, trapped in an eternal race between attachment and aversion.
3. Superior supramundane wisdom: is the perfect realisation, the enlightened comprehension of the unborn nature of phenomena.  We must train continuously, to first get an intellectual understanding until attain the experiential understanding.  This will decrease the force of our attachment and we will become less anxious, more free.  Although we are the result of our own past, we are not the same anymore.  Past is in us, but is not us, because we change all the time.  It is futile to grasp our past and suffer for it, we can drop the weight of our past to become free.  Is there a me?  In any case, it is not a permanent entity, it change all the time.  Accept this make us less egocentric, more relaxed.  We can think on someone who insult us "you are a dog".  Although the words don't change us we feel irritated.  On the contrary, if we think "This 'you' to who the insult refer does not exist", the insult will not affect us.  More calm, with this understanding we can act differently.  But we are used to consider that we are a permanent entity.  Develop the understanding that we are an aggregate constantly evolving do not suppress us, but our view would have changed.  We can experience the thoughts and emotions without attachment, without put everything in closed categories.   Often we identify ourselves with our social role or our job, but we are more than that.  Then, who is this me?  Following this path we discover that there is nothing we can tell 'me'.  And this does not deny our existence, or in any case deny only a unique, independent, and permanent existence.  Although it appears and looks so real it is only an illusion, a dream.

Realise the absolute view

Thinking that there is a real existence or not, that things are compounded or not, that things are permanent or not, are still thinking, mind games.  Actually, what is real or unreal?  It is our mind that imputes these to phenomena.  Therefore, we must turn to the nature of mind itself.

For example, if we look to one thought, is it different of ourselves? is there a mind outside, independent of the thought?  It is useless to say that is a projection of the mind because the Buddha or the teacher said so.  It needs a personal research.  Is the experience that take us in the true path.

For example, if I see an object I think 'I see' and 'there is an object seen'.  But when we look carefully we cannot find an 'I'.  Moreover, the object is made of parts, but we impute to it and independent existence as we do for 'I'.  All the conflicts come from this conception, what is called the fundamental ignorance or the co-emergent ignorance.  Gampopa said

"In fact what is referred to as a person is actually an unbroken continuum of self-reproducing aggregates accompanied by intelligence, a mischievous and cunning thing, always thinking and scheming, moving and scattering about.”

and quoting the texts:

“The term individual applied to a continuum is in fact constant movement and scattering. When I exists, other will be known. Through the I and other pair comes clinging and aversion. Through the complex interaction of these will arise all harm.”

 Four obstacles to see the true enlightened nature of mind

• Too simple: everything is here now, under our nose, it is so simple that we cannot see it.
• Too close: we think that we need years, many lifetimes to succeed. Actually it is available in our mind in this very moment.  It is compared to look our own eyelashes.
• Too good: we cannot believe that it could be possible a total freedom, without any problem, because we are so attached to them.
• Too deep: we cannot see the whole, only the pieces, without having a thorough perspective.  We cannot catch the present moment.   "Don't get attached to the past, do not anticipate the future, just look at the present moment, now"

We create things from their components (for example, a city form the houses, a wood from the tress).  We do the same with 'me'.  We must realise that is not such solid 'I' directing our existence.  It is like a rainbow.  To realise the phenomena are not solid decreases our anxiety, we became less reactive, with less attachment and aversion, more balanced. “To believe in reality is to be (stupid) like cattle, but to believe in unreality is even more stupid!”

Middle way: the phenomena exists, but their existence is not real.  If they really existed, there would not be room for change, neither to interaction.  Also time and space are relative, without a solid and real existence. (Path to Buddhahood pp.124-125 Rechungpa story)

Interdependence is synonym of emptiness  (shunyata).  We solidify concepts like table, wood, but these concepts are empty of an independent existence.  Everything exists only relatively because everything is interdependent.  Therefore the problem is not the way the things really are, but the way we see the things.  And we must overcome the intellectual understanding.  It is the direct experience that will allow us change.

Developing wisdom

For example, if a car makes noise and he hear it while meditating we may feel bothered, but if we just let the noise be, the problem is over.  The same way, looking at things as they are we can get liberated.  There are only the concepts that block us.  Gampopa illustrated this:

"Now, since all phenomena are voidness itself, one may wonder whether or not it is necessary to cultivate this awareness. Indeed it is necessary. For instance, even though silver ore has the very nature of silver, the silver itself will not be apparent until the ore has been smelted and worked on."

The preliminary practices help to bring the mind to its natural state.  The first thing to do is to relax.  Doing it is like learning to ride a bike, we finally find the balance, but it is hard to describe how we do it.  We learn to meditate to get enlightened (Path to Buddhahood pp.127 Milarepa story).

Mahamudra instructions: “One lets the mind settle free from even the slightest mental effort to posit, negate, adopt, or reject.''

To rest the mind completely is the essence.  Without judgement, without follow the thoughts, in a way that there is no mental effort.  It is the union of the inner calm (shamata) and the insight (vipashyana) that allow us to see all the depth of the mind.

As Tilopa taught Naropa: “Do not ponder, do not think, do not be aware, do not meditate, do not analyze—leave mind to itself.”

• Do not ponder: don't follow your memories
• Do not think: do not plan, anticipate future
• Do not be aware: rest detached of present
• Do not meditate: rest naturally, without fabrication or effort
• Do not analyse: let your mind free, without judgement or scrutiny
• Leave the mind to itself: completely natural, without any contrivance, without adding or suppressing anything

The result is the ordinary mind or the spontaneous wisdom.

The conventional view imprisons us, but there is nothing outside, it is our own mind that does it.  Not having any meditation object do not mean being inactive and/or indifferent.  We must practice again and again resting the natural estate.   (Path to Buddhahood pp.131 Milarepa last teaching to Gampopa story).

Integration of wisdom in daily life

Gampopa says: “While viewing everything that occurs in between (meditation sessions) as illusory, one should establish every wholesome merit one can, through the practice of generosity and so forth.”

When we meditate we may experience the true nature of the mind, but the experience is unstable and fluctuates.  From that, some people may believe that nothing exists, that everything is empty.  These short experiences may lead us to do serious mistakes.  In the relative level things will continue the same.  Positive actions will produce positive results and negative actions, negative results.

Therefore, we must invite the mind to join its natural estate between sessions, and reduce our attachment and aversion on people and things.  In our daily action, most of us we bring a lot of anxiety doing anything.   But it’s not the work in itself that generates stress but our approach to what we have to do.  Sometimes we push back the things we must do, although made them immediately does not take much time, but because we think it is difficult or unpleasant, so our to-do list grow and it becomes a burden.

Meditation teach us to take things as they come, without generating expectations of the result. A peaceful mind will help us to distinguish what is right from what is not. It’s said that the whole of the Buddhist path is included in the .understanding of the true nature of mind and phenomena. Be it refuge, bodhichitta, the six paramitas, offerings, virtuous deeds, prostrations, purification; the observance of commitments, precepts, and vows; study, contemplation and meditation, everything is included in it,

Some meditation techniques use also yoga practices that work out the mind through the body.  We know that some body unbalances may unbalance mind.  There is a connection, however, we cannot say that mind creates matter or that matter creates mind.  Mind can also unbalance body.

From the Buddhist point of view the emphasis is in the mind because our experiences of happiness and unhappiness depend on the mind.  It is realising the true nature of the mind that we can liberate from suffering.

Is it enlightenment sudden or gradual? From one side, it is always sudden, but our comprehension is progressive, we develop trust step by step.  This is why we must never stop our practice, we need to be perseverant.

Results and benefits 

“The signs of prajna’s development are increased attention to virtue, a diminution of defilement, the arising of compassion for sentient beings, earnest application to practice, rejection o f all distraction, and no more attachment to or craving for the things of this life.”

• The first sign is the decrease of our negative emotions.  The time we spend meditating, the number of teachings we attend with the masters, the books we read are irrelevant.
• The second sign is to experiment more compassion.  The reduction of negative emotions must reflect on a bigger kindness and les egocentrism.
• All the other signs may be summarized in these two.  Realising our true nature is a source of joy.  We cannot be upset and joyful at the same time.

The bodhisattva ideal is to work for the benefit of all beings, however the most important ones are the closest ones.  Be kind avec all the beings is incompatible with being angry avec my family, my friends, with not get along with my neighbour.

The ultimate result is to attain the full enlightenment. Temporarily we feel free, happy, joyful in the samsara. 

Meditations

1. Impermanence
2. What is me? + Patrul Rinpoche story
• My thumb is me? If it is the case, where exactly in the finger? The sking, the nail, the bone?  If not, is the hand me?  If not, the brain?  But also the brain is compounded...
3. Interdependence (Thich Nath Hanh)  + Patrul Rinpoche story
4. Emptiness (Thich Nath Hanh)