“One day’s exposure to mountains is better than cartloads of books.”
~ John Muir
What a beautiful morning … Skies clearing and a nice cool breeze. A perfect start to another week!
So yesterday, something shifted for me. Oddly, it started during my waking state yesterday … I had this feeling of discontent. The beauty of vipassana mindfulness meditation is that we become accustomed to watching the ebb and flow of our thoughts and feelings without judgment or attachment. Afterwards, we may ask … What is going on here?
Where am I going on this spiritual path? Why do I need a teacher? Are the words, contained in books written by the great masters not enough? What is the difference between Patanjoli’s yoga union with the divine (or samadhi) and that of awakening, enlightenment and nirvana expressed by the Buddha? What is it I actually think life will be like after enlightenment? I have experienced what I believe to be samadhi on one occasion. Is this quest making me lose sight of the beauty in now? Temporary bliss versus eternal bliss? How can I rest and be happy in the now, if I am constantly seeking?? My experience with samadhi did not come through seeking, through the mind, but by complete surprise, through an opened heart.
What I see for myself in these questions is the first noble truth. Dukkha. Suffering. Wanting things to be other than they are. As well, I see doubt, one of the hinderances to awakening. Not doubt in the teachings, nor doubt in the divine, but doubt in myself.
Am I continually tripping myself up? Patanjoli promises that samadhi is something that can be experienced time and time again,with practice. He lists three factors to samadhi … fiery aspiration, spiritual reading and devotion to the divine. The aim of these three is to bring about soul vision and to eliminate obstructions.
Patanjoli lists five obstructions obstacles to Samadhi … avidya (ignorance), the sense of personality, desire, hate and the sense of attachment.
- Avidya, or the condition of confusing the permanent, pure, blissful Self with that which is impermanent, impure, painful and the not-self.
- The sense of personality is due to the identification of the knower with the instruments of knowledge (mind and thought).
- Desire is attachment to objects of pleasure.
- Hate is aversion for any object of the senses.
- Intense desire for sentient existence is attachment. This is inherent in every form, is self-perpetuating, and known even to the very wise.
These five hindrances, when subtly known, can be overcome by an opposing mental attitude. Their activities are to be done away with, through the meditation process.
I watched a beautiful DVD about Glacier National Park last evening. John Muir was quoted as saying this about Glacier:
“Wander here a whole summer, if you can. Thousands of God’s wild blessings will search you and soak you as if you were a sponge, and the big days will go by uncounted. You will find yourself in the midst of what you are sure to say is the best care-killing scenery on the continent. If you are business-tangled, and so burdened by duty that only weeks can be got out of the heavy-laden year … Give a month at least to this precious reserve. The time will not be taken from the sum of your life. Instead of shortening, it will indefinitely lengthen it and make you truly immortal. Nevermore will time seem short or long, and cares will never again fall heavily on you, but gently and kindly as gifts from heaven.”
Osho was also quoted ….
“Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars… and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers – for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are.”
“It is only when the correct practice is followed for a long time, without interruptions and with a quality of positive attitude and eagerness, that it can succeed.” ~Patanjali
May I find my teacher in a flower, and in the mountains, and in the sea and sunrise. May I set aside the time for true meditation practice. I think this is all that is required …. <3
