Tonight was our 99th group meditation event

Dear Friends,

Tonight was our 99th group meditation practice session. What a blessing it is to have friends to practice with! Buddha said to have such friends is the highest blessing and it's so true. We mutually inspire each other to not only continue the practice but to deepen it, to make it really bear fruit. What better friends can one have than this? This is what is meant by "sangha", the community or fellowship of Buddhist practitioners that produces the whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

The focus of these first sessions in the new year is establishing a practice or reinvigorating our already established daily practice. Toward this end we are exploring the samatha practice of full awareness of breathing and how this form of meditation provides a foundation for the practice of Vipassana meditation and the Chan or Zen practice of Silent Illumination.

Last week, we used a the technique of being mindful of the beginning, middle and end of each inhalation and each exhalation. As the breathing begins to refine, we also become aware of the gap between the inhalation and exhalation, which can trigger much deeper levels of experience. In the Theravada tradition, these levels are referred to as Jhanas. As a practitioner settles into the first Jhana, there can be an experience of light. Shifting the focus of meditation to this light of pure awareness can lead to a rapturous experience as the mind becomes absorbed in the pure awareness. After a time, the rapturous quality fades and one is left with a pervasive feeling of joy, happiness and contentment. Again, after a time this experience fades and one is left with the a deep sense of serenity or equanimity.

This week as we practiced following the breath, we used another technique that can improve the ability to stay with the method. On each inhalation, we recognize that this breath is life giving and we swell with gratitude for this gift of life. On each exhalation, as if breathing a sigh of relief, we let go of all our tension, worries, burdens, pains, and troubles. We let go of everything. This alteration of breathing in life and breathing out letting go of everything has a very soothing effect on the mind and can help one settle very quickly into quieter, more contented levels of meditation.

Chan Master Sheng-yen taught this practice of following the breath to almost all of his beginner students because it is so foundational. It helps people greatly improve the ability to focus attention, which is instrumental in the unfolding of insight that leads to awakening. In the book Hoofprint of the Ox, and often in his lectures and retreats, Master Sheng-yen described the levels of following the breath meditation in terms of the refinement of breathing and the corresponding experience of fewer and fewer thoughts until the mind is completely unified with the breath and there is no further inclination for the mind to attach to any thoughts or sensations that arise. Thoughts become fewer and far between and those that do arise have no power over the mind. Master Sheng-yen called this level of meditation "Unified Mind" and said that it is the foundation from which one can begin the practice of Silent Illumination.

As the group becomes more settled, we may shift the focus of meditation from following the breath to an overall, bright, clear awareness of the entire body "just sitting", our transition and entry into the profound practice of Silent Illumination.

Tonight we also focused on "transitions". As we ended the first session of sitting meditation, we used that same bright, sharp, clear awareness to be aware of folding the towels we cover our legs with in a neat square to place on top of the cushion and stand up for walking meditation. We practiced the Theravada slow walking meditation practice that makes use of "noting" or "labeling" the movements of the feet, as I was taught by Ven. Master Chanmyay Sayadaw. This form of meditation can be practiced in a place of limited space and is very beneficial as an entry into the practice of Vipassana (Insight) meditation or Silent Illumination. Traditionally, the phases of taking a single step are labeled "lifting, raising, pushing, dropping, touching, pressing". But, to simplify when we are first starting, we label "lifting, pushing, dropping" as in lifting the heel and the foot, pushing it forward through space, and dropping or lowering it down. This is done very slowly until the mind becomes unified with the movement. To help this, we focus on the movement itself and let bright, clear, open awareness rest on the finest increments of movement until these minute increments become suffused with silence. At that point, the mind becomes completely at ease and content with staying with the movement and we no longer need to "label". The mind and movement are one -- unified mind in walking meditation.

We also focused on the transition from walking meditation back to sitting by taking a few seconds to collect ourselves, to be fully present before beginning to walk back to our cushions. Taking this few seconds before we take up a new task can make tremendous difference in the quality of life. Yet how often do we take this few seconds? We constantly dart from one activity to another as one impulse after another fires. We typically have no awareness of the impulses and move through our day as mere puppets of these unnoticed impulses. The first step is to become aware of transitions -- we were sitting and now we are going to stand, for example. Having become aware of such transitions, the next step is to take a couple seconds to rest right where we are and be present, then acknowledge what we are going to do. Then, we do it. In just taking this couple seconds, we have gone from being slaves to our own impulses to being fully present and therefore in a position to really choose what we do, perhaps for the first time in our lives. This is the beginning of cultivating mindfulness practice and mindfulness practice is one of the things that separates human existence from the lower realms. For example, Buddha called the animal realm one of the "woeful" realms precisely because animals are driven by their impulses and do not have the ability to practice mindfulness. In learning to cultivate mindfulness, we become fully human and begin to be on the path to experiencing our full potential as sentient beings. According to Buddhist cosmology, even heavenly beings are destined to return to human existence because it is only here that we can practice. To have a human life is a rare and precious gift and in practicing mindfulness we become fully human and most able to make use of this gift.

As we sat the second time, when we realized the mind was moving with a thought, we gently bring the mind back to the method, but this time with the specific intention of coming back to the method with our brightest, clearest, most settled awareness. Sometimes, just having the intention to come back to the method in this way actually makes it a reality and we very quickly become one with the method.

As homework for this week, for those that have not yet established a regular practice, we agreed to sit for 5 minutes each morning following the breath before beginning to engage the mind in thoughts and plans for the day. For example, being mindful of each movement, we get up, shower, dress, brush our teeth, and then sit for 5 minutes before thinking of anything else.

In the next few sessions, we will be focused on the 4 Noble Truths, Buddha's first sermon. The first noble truth is the truth of "dukkha", which is commonly translated as "suffering". But, the word has a much broader meaning than suffering in Pali. It means the full range of dissatisfaction from discontent to suffering. So, the second homework assignment is to try to note each time we become aware of dissatisfaction and what causes it. We are going to do this for an entire week and then report back to the group what we found.

The last homework assignment is to be aware of transitions. When we are sitting and are going to stand, take a couple seconds to acknowledge the transition, be present in the moment, and then consciously transition from sitting to standing. Get up, but be aware you are getting up. If you are going to sit, take a breath, be aware you are going to sit, then sit.

These are the three homework assignments. For those of you that couldn't make it to the last couple meetings, please try these homework assignments out and join us next week! Hope you enjoy them!

Enjoy your week and see you next Sunday.

With Metta,

Barry
http://ChanCenter-Sacramento.org

A Welcome to New Chan Center Members

This evening, we had a Chan (Chinese Zen) practice session with several new members participating. So great to see such interest in making meditation a part of your life. I began practicing TM when I was 19 and Chan when I was 28 while living in Taiwan. Since that time, meditation has become so much a part of my life that life itself has become the meditation. The practice has added tremendous richness to even the most mundane activities and has helped me in so many ways through all that life brings. It has helped me see the true value of human existence, which is so precious. We have the ability to experience the unanswered questions that are so fundamental to our very existence but that have eluded us for so long. When we learn how to be fully present, we find that all we have ever been seeking has always been there if we could have just been awake to it in the present moment. This adds inexpressible depth to life. So naturally, it gives me very great joy when I see others take up the practice!

Please remember that it is not about quantity but quality. Spending 5 minutes on the cushion with bright, clear, open awareness attentive to the method is by far better than spending 30 minutes on the cushion spacing out. When you sit, make a vow to sit for a modest length of time at first but to sit with full awareness. The beginning meditation method we use is called "full awareness of breathing". So, use your full awareness to be aware of every increment of your breath. If you are focusing on the breath coming into and out of the nostrils, let go of all other thoughts until there is just this sensation of air flowing in and out of the nostrils. If thoughts arise, don't gravitate toward them and don't push them away. Just be aware of the fleeting nature of thoughts and gently go back to the full awareness of breathing. The more you rest your most bright, clear awareness on the breath, the more relaxed you will become. The metabolic rate will drop as your entire system begins functioning more efficiently. The breath will naturally refine and with the refinement of the breath, your awareness will become supple, fluid, open, clear, settled and bright.

With this bright awareness, you may begin to feel a very pleasant sensation through the entire body and the mind will experience a deep sense of well-being. As meditation continues, this rapturous feeling will give way to an expansive happiness and experience of deep contentment. This in turn will give way to a pervasive equanimity that has left behind everything but the deepest tranquility. During this progression, thoughts may arise, but they are no longer of any consequence. The power of thoughts to entice the mind to attach to them or avert them has lost its grip on the mind. The mind becomes like a calm lake from which warm vapor arises. The lake takes no notice of the rising vapor and is unaffected by it. In that same way, the mind remains at peace even when thoughts arise. It is completely unobstructed by the sound of the airplane overhead or the tingling sensation in the foot or a sudden memory of a dear friend. The mind simply reflects whatever arises.

At this point, we are in an ideal state to begin the practice of Silent Illumination. We shift the awareness from the breath to the sensation of the entire body just sitting. We aren't scanning the body or trying to feel anything in particular, but just maintain the simple, clear awareness of the body just sitting. We rest this same open, bright, clear awareness on the entire body. But, this pure awareness cannot be contained for long within the boundaries of the body. The more one lets go and just rests bright, open awareness on the body, the less distinct the boundaries of the body become. Soon, there is only awareness of the entire room just sitting, then the building, then the yard and environs. As one continues this practice, awareness cannot be contained and one may have the experience of the earth "just sitting", or the solar system, the galaxies, or the entire universe "just sitting". There is no way to force this. Forcing will move the mind into a more agitated state. The method is to retain bright, sharp, clear awareness of the body but to continually let go of all else. The rest happens automatically.

The effect of practicing in this way on one's daily activity is incredibly enriching and can lead to the most profound insights into the mental and physical world. These insights help liberate of from suffering and evaporate any sense of dissatisfaction in life. Each moment becomes wonderfully rich. Each movement experienced as fluid succession of change permeated by the deepest and most wonderful silence. We suddenly feel as though we are truly alive for the first time and by comparison, like we have awakened from a dream that stretches back through beginningless time.

With this experience comes an overwhelming compassion for others that are caught in patterns of thinking and action that keep them bound and remove the possibility of seeing with sufficient clarity to awaken from the dream. Though we may not be fully awakened ourselves, the taste of this lucid state builds our faith in the Dharma as the solution to life's suffering and we cannot help but share the Path with others as they become receptive to it.

This is a good life. You will never regret the time that you spend practicing Chan. It will enrich all aspects of life. Even starting out with just 5 to 15 minutes a day to establish the habit of cultivation is enough. Soon, you will think nothing of sitting for 30 minutes, an hour or even longer and the effect of this increased practice on your life will be priceless.

However, we need to always remember that Chan isn't practiced on the cushion, it is practiced in daily activity. What we do on the cushion is just preparation for Chan practice.

Best wishes for your practice in 2012 and beyond! Keep coming to group sessions as they provide invaluable support for your daily practice. You can RSVP for the next practice at:

http://www.meetup.com/bodhisattvapath/events/46864322/

With Metta,
Barry