Beyond religion - 11. Meditation as mental cultivation

• Develop awareness to deal with emotions
• Cultivate inner values is to develop the paramitas.  Mental discipline needs familiarisation with the mind itself, in Tibetan gom.

Transformation

• There are three levels of understanding: hearing, reflection, and contemplative experience.  The last is when the understanding is fully integrated (e.g. learning to drive a car)
• Hearing: convincement
• Reflecting: deep conviction that makes the knowledge part of our view
• It applies also to compassion, not limited to intellect faculties.

Forms of mental cultivation

• This is not only buddhist but also other traditions
• Mental discipline don't requires faith commitment, only recognises that a clearer and calmer mind is beneficial for ourselves and others.
• There are two types:
• Analytical meditation
• Absortive meditation
• There are two types of objectives, both need effort
• Cultivating the mind, e.g equality of all the beings
• Cultivating the heart: compassion
• Procrastination
• Story of the lama promising a picnic to the students
• Until we make the same, not commiting, we will find excuses with other things more urgent to do.
• Planning and practice
• Early morning is usually the best time (since YMR is not for the case everybody)
• At the beginning, do ten/fifteen minutes per session (YMR short time/many times)
• Find the place: for most of us sound can be disturbing, do better in a quiet place.
• Position: cross legs, or in a chair with both feet in the ground.  Preference for less distractions
• Relax body and mind: use breath.
• Reflect on the benefits
• Respite(?) from obsessive worrying, calculations, and fantasising
• Path to highest wisdom although it takes long time
• Reflect also in the shortcomings of not practice
• Focused attention
• Chose an object, after some time you can use mental image
• The image must be bright and clear.  Also heavy.
• After stabilizing using breath [may take months] inspect the mind, not too tight, not too relaxed.  When distracted, bring back the mind
• End with a deep breath.
• Present moment awareness
• You may sit in front of low colored plain wall
• Relax your mind breathing
• Rest in the natural state of awareness
• Try to not follow your thoughts, see them as clouds in the sky
• Slowly you will have glimpses of the mere luminosity, realizing that your mind is like a mirror
• When distracted bring back your attention to the mere awareness
• End with some deep breaths
• Loving kindness and compassion
• Relax and settle the mind
• Think on someone that you have difficult with, and consider that is like you. The person wants happiness and do not want suffering
• Cultivate the wish that this person achieve happiness.
• Equanimity
•   Analytical: level our interactions to avoid categorize as friends, foes, and strangers
• Experiential: develop strong feeling that all humans are equal to aspire hapinessm and wish to avoid suffering.  Wonder what justifies discrimination between me and others.
• Rejoicing
• Roles that inspire us (doctors, teachers,...) identifying what motivates people to devote to others
• dealing with afflictive emotions
• Five emotions
• Relax mind, and choose one emotion
• Reflect on the effect of the emotion on you
• Develop awareness about how it feels , in particular when the emotion arises
• Apply relevant antidotes
• Forbearance for anger
• Loving kindness for hatred
• Imperfection of objects for desire and greed
• Obstacles
• Agitation causing distraction: visualize a dark sphere
• Dullness or space out  causing laxity: visualize a bright sphere
• Practice need time
• Joy of mental training
• Never force, remain patient and do not discourage
• Needs discipline, not punishment
• Impact on daily life
• Modest goal of achieving groundlessness, characterized by natural humility and robust peace of mind
• Moderate effort over long period is the key to succeed
• Emphasis in quality rather than quantity.  The purpose is to become compassionate