Newsletter January 2009 from Sonia
Throughout 2008 I have introduced the contemplation of short texts to support
the teaching I was giving and to provide a constant source of inquiring from
the part of the students. Some are quotes taken from teachings I came across
either in the course of attending a retreat or through reading, some other
quotes are my own writing again based on teachings received.
I would like to share the following quote and elaborate a bit on it. You can
read it aloud for yourself and you can also replace the word ‘meditation‘ with
the word ‘life’.
“we are not looking for good experiences in meditation, wonderful
or strange experiences. Maybe we will have them too, but it does not matter.
What we are looking for is being able to relax, being able to let thoughts
and emotions come and then let them go without them taking over.
The real meditation is to be able to learn that whatever experiences
arise, it doesn’t matter; it is just an experience and you can
relax in that. If it is a good experience, you learn to relax in that;
if it is a bad experience, you learn to relax in that; if it is neither
a good nor a bad experience, you learn to relax in that.
If you learn how to do that in all these three cases, then you have
learned how to meditate”.
What does it mean that “it does not matter?” and “to
relax in the experience?”.
This text is pointing to the skilful means of letting go of our attachment
to result, to wanting what we do not get and to avoiding what we do
not want, because all of these are subtle and not so subtle ways of living
in the idea of
a past or a future.
This is the greatest obstacle to happiness and to wisdom, being divorced
from what is happening right now at a cellular level in each instant. Further
more this divorce leads us into repetitive cycles of suffering.
And yet if for one moment we can stop this futile preoccupation with choosing and avoiding then we become instantaneously the here and now, unconditioned, fresh and imbued with an abundance of joy. A joy that simply is, not because of something we are pleased about or praised for, no, a joy that just is with no strings attached. That is why it does not matter if the experience is “a good, bad or neutral one” . The state of mind that is totally letting go is not hooked on hope and fear, the two great whips that propel us into action.
To relax in the experience is simply to soften our grip on hope and fear, it is not easy but it is a necessity. Instead we stay only with the sensations of the experience and not the idea of the experience, we surrender to the-not-knowing, how scary! But after awhile it is like slipping softly, gently in a hot pool and letting oneself float and float. This in turns becomes just another experience to let go of!
To illustrate what I just wrote I would like to share with you a conversation that took place between the HH. Karmapa* and a friend of mine who took along a photo of myself and the question of whether I would overcome the degenerative condition I am experiencing at this point in my life. His answer was: “It doesn’t make any difference because of the practice of meditation”. My friend went on to stay that I was a great meditator to which he nodded.
So I think the message is clear, when we can cultivate a state of mind that
is free from choosing and avoiding we are then in Instant Presence,
a state of infinite love and wisdom, regardless of our circumstances.
It makes sense to endeavour to cultivate this unconditioned state of Instant
Presence rather than spending great time and effort controlling our circumstances,
which by their very nature of being transient, is a never ending task!
So the teaching I am offering this year will be focusing on the ways to
come to a total letting go of hope and fear and ways to come to the state
of mind of Instant Presence, the two being inseparable.
May you be able to join us at the Orchard in 2009 and together we can strengthen
our practice for the benefit of all living beings.
