Thursday, January 28, 2010

Vipassana Meditation

Each of us strives for peace and harmony, this is exactly what we lack in life. From time to time we all experience anxiety, irritation, disharmony, suffering, and when a person suffers from anxiety, his suffering, he does not hold in itself. He distributes them as well to others. The atmosphere around the unfortunate man is filled with anxiety. Anyone who enters into contact with him, becomes irritated, agitated. Of course, this is not the right way of life. 

Must live in peace with itself and at peace with all men. In the end, man is a social being. He must live in a society - to live and work with other people. How to live in peace? How to keep harmony in themselves and maintain peace and harmony around you, so that others could also live peacefully and harmoniously? You have a problem. Then, to get out of this state, you need to know the root cause of anxiety, the cause of suffering. If we investigate this problem soon becomes clear that we must be concerned whenever a start to create any negativity or contamination in mind. Negativity in the mind, mental contamination or impurity can not exist together in peace and harmony. 

As we begin to create negativity? Again, examine it, and we will be clear. I become very unhappy when I notice that someone is not behaving the way I like it when there is something that I do not like. There is something objectionable - and I make in a voltage. There is something desirable, there are some obstacles in the way - and again, I am establishing a voltage; start to tie itself in knots. In life, always at times of unwanted things, and necessary things are happening or not, and this process of reaction, of tying knots - Gordian knot "- makes the entire mental and physical structure so tense, so full of negative. Life becomes miserable. 

So, one way to solve the problem is to agree that nothing inappropriate ever happened in my life, and that all happened exactly as I want. I have to develop [in itself] a force or someone else should have the power to help me when I ask him, that nothing inappropriate ever happened in my life, and everything that I want to continue to happen. But this is impossible. No one in the world whose desires are always fulfilled, in whose life everything happens according to his wishes, without anything unwanted. From time to time there are things that are contrary to our desires and aspirations. Then, in spite of these things that I do not like how not to react blindly? How not to create tension, how to remain peaceful and harmonious? 

In India, as well as in other countries, the sages of the past studied this problem - the problem of human suffering - and they have found a solution: if it's something undesirable, and the man begins to react, generating anger, fear or any negative emotion, then one must as soon as possible to switch attention to something else. For example, stand up, take a glass of water, start drinking - your anger will not multiply, and you'll stay out of anger. Or start counting: one, two, three, four. Or start repeating a word or phrase, perhaps, some sort of a mantra - it's easy if you use the name of a deity or holy man, in whom you believe, the mind distracted and to some extent you'll be out the negativity, out of anger. 

This decision was useful, it worked. It still works. In the practice the mind is released from the excitation. In fact, however, this solution works only at the level of the mind. Indeed, by diverting attention, we pushed deep into the negativity of the unconscious, and at this level continue to create and multiply the same pollution. At a superficial level there is a layer of peace and harmony, but in the depths of the mind - a sleeping volcano of suppressed negativity, which from time to time continues to explode, the monster with tremendous force. 

Other researchers inner truth went further in his search; experiencing within themselves the reality of mind and matter, they realized that distract means to run away from problems. Care is not a solution, to meet the issue face to face. Whenever negativity arises in the mind, just watch it, see it. As soon as we begin to observe any pollution of the mind, it begins to lose all its force. Slowly it withers and eradicated. 

Good decision to avoid two extremes: the suppression and [too] free expression. Keep the negativity in the unconscious - not to get rid of it, if allowed to manifest itself in physical or verbal action, it will create more problems. If we just observe, then the pollution goes, and we will eradicate negativity, freed from contamination. 

It sounds great, but what about in practice? When there is anger, it captures us so quickly that we hardly notice it. Then, overwhelmed by anger, we do some physical or verbal actions that harm us and others. Later, when the anger passes, we start crying and repenting, praying for forgiveness of a man or God: "Oh, I made a mistake, please forgive me!". And next time again in such a situation, react the same way. All this remorse does not help. The difficulty lies in the fact that I do not know where pollution begins to appear. It starts so quickly overwhelms me that I can not watch it. 

So, I need to create a personal secretary that whenever anger starts, he said: "Sir, look, the anger begins!". Since I do not know when will this anger, I need to have three secretaries [working] in three shifts around the clock, even perhaps four to take turns to give them vacation! 

For example, I can arrange this, and now the anger begins to appear. Immediately secretary tells me: "Oh, sir, look - the anger has started!". Then the first thing I do is beat him with the words: "You fool! Do you think you are paid to teach me? ". I was so overwhelmed by anger that no council would not help. 

Let wisdom still prevails, and I did not hit him. Instead, I say: "Thank you very much, now I must sit down and watch the anger." Is this possible? As soon as I close my eyes and try to observe the anger, immediately comes to mind is the object of anger - a person or incident because of which I became angry. I do not watch the anger. Instead, I watch the external stimulus of the emotion. It only multiply the anger is not the solution. It is very difficult to observe any abstract negativity, an abstract emotion, divorced from the external object that caused it. 

However, the one who reached the ultimate truth in full enlightenment, find a real solution. He discovered that whenever any contamination occurs in the mind, both on a physical level, two things begin to happen. The first - the breath loses its normal rhythm. I begin to breathe heavily whenever negativity is in the mind. This is - a truth that everyone can experience, although all very clearly and obviously. Also, on a more subtle level, the body begins a particular biochemical reaction - a feeling. Any contamination will produce within a given sensation. Unaware of the inner reality, I never realized that the cause of suffering is inside, in my own blind reactions. 

It is difficult to observe an abstract negativity when it arises, but the train, I can see the other side of the coin, I can understand the breath and at the same time what happens inside. Whatever it was, breath, or any sense, I learn only to observe, without losing the balance of the mind. I continue to respond to cease to multiply their suffering. Instead, I allow pollution to appear and go. 

The more we practice this technique, the more we notice how quickly we can free themselves from negativity. Gradually the mind freed from impurities, it becomes pure. A pure mind is always full of love - selfless love for all beings, full of compassion for the misfortunes and sufferings of others, full of joy at their success and good luck, full of equanimity in the face of any situation. 

When we reach this stage, the whole picture of life begins to change. More than a word or physically impossible act to disturb the peace and happiness of others. Instead, well-balanced mind not only becomes peaceful himself, but it helps others also to become peaceful. The atmosphere surrounding such a man, filled with peace and harmony, and it also begins to act on others. 

That is how the Buddha taught the art of living. He never created a religion and not teach any religion, any "isms". He never taught his followers to the rites and rituals, blind and empty formality. Instead, he taught just to observe nature as it is, observing reality inside. Due to lack of knowledge, we continue to react that bad for us and for others. When there is wisdom - the wisdom of observing reality as it is - we are moving away from the habit of responding. When we stop blindly react, we become capable of real action - action stemming from a balanced, imperturbable mind, the mind, which sees and understands the truth. Such action can only be a positive, creative, useful to themselves and others. 

What is needed is to know yourself - Board, which gave all the sages. To know yourself is necessary not only at the intellectual level, the level of ideas and theories. This does not mean that it is necessary to know the level of faith or emotion, blindly accepting what we have heard or read. Such knowledge is not enough. 

On the contrary, we must learn reality as it really is. We need to test directly the reality of the mental and physical phenomena. Only this will help us avoid contamination from suffering. 

This is a direct experience of our own reality, this technique of self-observation and is what is called Vipassana meditation. In the language of India, the Buddha's time, "Passau" means to look, to see with eyes open, as usual, but "Vipassana" means to observe things as they really are, not what they seem. It should be observed to comprehend the truth, until we reach the ultimate truth [understand] the whole mental and physical structure. When we understand this truth, we learn how to stop blindly react, to stop creating pollution - and of course, the old pollution also will be gradually eliminated. We get rid of all the troubles and feel happiness. 

There are three steps of training, which is given in the course of meditation. First, you need to refrain from any action, physical or speech that violates the peace and harmony of others. Unable to work, freeing themselves from mental impurities, and at the same time continue to perform at the level of the body or speech acts, which only multiply those pollution. Therefore, a code of ethics is necessary as a first step of practice. We commit ourselves not to kill, not to steal, to refrain from sexual misconduct, do not lie, do not use intoxicants. While refraining from such actions, we also allow the mind to calm down enough so that he could proceed to the task at hand. 

The next step - develop some skills [management] this wild mind, teaching him to concentrate on one object - the breath. We try as much as possible to keep attention on the breath. This is not a breathing exercise, and we do not control the breathing. On the contrary, we observe the natural breath as it is: as it is, how it goes. Thus, we are more balanced mind, so it was no longer suppressed by a strong negative. At the same time, we are concentrating the mind, making it sharp and penetrating, capable of being shrewd. 

The first two steps - to live a moral life and to control the mind - are very important and useful in themselves, but they will only lead to self-suppression, if not the third step: the purification of the mind from pollution, development of an intuitive understanding of our own nature. This is Vipassana: experiencing reality in itself, regularly and impartially observing every change [in] the mind-matter, manifesting as their own feelings. In this - the culmination of the teachings of the Buddha: self-purification through self-observation. 

To practice this may be everything and everyone. Illness does not belong to any sect, and therefore the medicine can not be sectarian, it must be universal. All face the problem of suffering. When we suffer from anger, it is not a Buddhist, Hindu or Christian anger. Anger - is anger. If we are angry because of the concern, it is not Christian, Hindu or Buddhist concern. The disease is universal. The drug also must be universal.

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