Meditation - The gates of perception.

Buddhists, like Western science, recognize the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. In Buddhism, the five sensory abilities are called the gates of perception - the etymology of this metaphor is related to the entrance of the house.

Most of our feelings and perceptions are our experience through one or more of these doors. But as the five faculties of feelings - or sense of consciousness as they are called in the Buddhist texts - can detect only sense perceptions, the Buddhist science adds a sixth sense - the mental consciousness. In this sixth consciousness is nothing mystical or occult. It has nothing to do with extrasensory perception or the ability to communicate with spirits. This is simply the ability to distinguish between the mind and evaluate what we see, hear, we taste, smell and palpable.

Meditation - Without an object.

My Teacher first explained to me, as allowing the mind to rest in a natural way "Naked Awareness, I had no idea what he was saying. How could my mind should "rest" if there is nothing on which it rests?
Fortunately, my teacher has traveled the world, met many people and was able to talk with them about their lives, challenges and successes. In fact, when you walk in Buddhist robes, surrounded by aides who are dressed the same way and take care of your basic needs, such as registering a hotel room or a cook, you have a great advantage. People tend to think that you are a wise and important man, and willingly opened to you from telling details of his life.

The first step - Meditation

The Buddha realized that there are no two absolutely identical people - everyone is born with a unique combination of skills, qualities and traits. Precisely because of its insight and compassion was so great, he was able to develop a rich variety of methods by which any person can achieve direct experience of their true nature and completely free from suffering.

Most of their teachings Buddha gave spontaneously, according to the needs of people who found themselves next to him at that moment. Ability to spontaneously give a completely correct answer - it is one of the characteristics of an enlightened master, which works well until the teacher is alive. But when the Buddha left this world, his first disciples had to work hard to organize these spontaneous exercise for the benefit of future generations. Fortunately, the first followers of Buddha are very well how to create classifications and categories, and found a way to organize a variety of meditation practices taught by the Buddha, dividing them into two main categories: analytical and non-analytic methods.

The mind for meditation. - Meditation

The same principles that underlie the finding relaxed and vigorous physical postures are also applicable to finding the same balance in mind. When your mind dwells in the natural equilibrium between restlessness and wakefulness, it spontaneously manifest his innate qualities. This is one of the things that I learned during those three days, when he sat alone in his cell, determined to watch his mind. Sitting there, I always remembered how my teacher told me that when the water becomes still, mud, dirt and other impurities gradually settle to the bottom, so you can very clearly see the water and everything that swims in it. Likewise, if you stay in a state of relaxation of mind, "mental impurities" thoughts, emotions, sensations and perceptions naturally settle, revealing its natural clarity.

Meditation - The body stays great wisdom

The Buddha taught that the body is the physical backbone of the mind. Relations between them are similar to the relationship between the glass and it contained water. If you put the glass on the edge of a table or on an uneven surface, the water, and possibly shed. But if you put the glass on a flat surface, the water in it will remain completely motionless.

Similarly, the best way to allow the mind to calm down is to take a stable pose. Wise Buddha gave instructions on how to align the body in a balanced way so that the mind was both relaxed and cheerful. Over the years, a balanced position became known as the Seven-Limb posture Vairochana - one of the manifestations of the Buddha, who represents the enlightened form.

Wisdom and method - Meditation

Those instructions, that the teacher gave an old swimmer Were in fact part of a larger lesson on finding the balance between the wisdom or philosophical understanding, and the method - the practical application of philosophy. Wisdom is useless if there is no practical means for its application. It was here in the case enters the method: using the mind to awareness of the mind. Incidentally, this is a good working definition of meditation.

Meditation - it does not dive into the bliss, or lack of clarity as to how many people have told me, whom I met during my travels around the world. In fact, meditation - it's quite a simple exercise to stay in their current natural state of mind, or mind the present moment in which we allow ourselves to simply and clearly present in any emerging thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Yoga - Find your happy medium.

In Buddhism, the application of theoretical concepts into practice is called the Way.

I want to start a discussion with the practice long ago I heard stories about the man who in his youth was an outstanding swimmer and in old age began to look for themselves the same exciting experience, how in his youth he had to swim. He decided to become a monk, thinking that subdue the wave of his mind as a young man conquered the ocean waves. He found a teacher, which have respect, took the vows and began to practice what it taught him a spiritual mentor. As often happens, meditation was not given to him easily, and he went for advice to the teacher. Wanting to watch him practice, the teacher invited the student to sit and meditate. Few watch, he noticed that an elderly swimmer tries too hard and asked him to relax. But it turned out that the swimmer was difficult to perform even this simple instruction. When he tried to relax his mind and body are inactive settled. If he tried to concentrate his mind and body were too tense.