Soberpotamus

Zero, these are all great questions. Keep asking them

Carpathia

Meditation is a discipline; addiction is a lack of discipline.

Nirvana - the state of perfect peace when suffering is eliminated.

My opinion about nirvana (and I'm no expert on it by any stretch) is this: as we breathe, states come and pass. we are human. If we seek nirvana, we won't know it when it happens.

I believe I've experienced nirvana. Haven't many of us?

I experienced it as a complete absence of suffering. This state did not last long. I didn't expect it to last, nor did I say to myself "this is nirvana." It was only after the experience I realized what I'd achieved. And then life goes on.

Meditating daily is a wonderful discipline, like brushing teeth. One day I'd like to acquire that discipline (of meditating....I brush teeth every day:-)

zerothehero

Excellent point. I suffer most when I lack the discipline to practice meditation regularly.

Since you brush daily, why not make that your time to remember to meditate, or at least brush mindfully. One thing I've found with meditation in action is it tends to amplify my perception. Because I'm more aware colors are brighter, noises more distinct, all the senses, and body awareness... I do this when I walk to work. It's almost like being high; mildly psychedelic but completely natural.

I read about a walking meditation that directs one to imagine that all that you see while you walk is not as it appears. Imagine, for example, that the air (or space between and around solid objects) is solid and the objects are space. It's an interesting medation because I perceive my body as a gas moving like a bubble through a solid, the trees and the ground are the space...indeed, the earth is a bubble of gas in a solid universe. It's like walking through a photographic negative reality.

If you are right-handed, try eating with your left. The added concentration brings you to the food so you're less in your head and more aware of the process of eating. This can be a meditation exercise. Taste the food like it's the first time you've eaten.

I too know those moments without suffering. The interesting thing for me is it is not about not feeling pain in the body, but more about not having language in the mind. When the self-talk, when the running monologue, when the chatter falls away and the mind goes silent, THAT is when the suffering ends if for only a few seconds at a time.

The paradox is that we practice meditation to reduce suffering, but if it is want (which is thought) that causes the suffering, is it possibly counter-productive to have the goal of freedom from suffering? Is the meditator better off if there are no expectations? No purpose for the practice?

So, how do we become content if it is always something for which we strive? Is wanting to be content guaranteeing I remain a malcontent? The concept of radical acceptance seems to parallel this idea of eliminating suffering by eliminating want.

Many happy people might say my problem is that I ask these questions in the first place. Why even think about it? Isn't it the thinking that is causing the suffering, anyway?

Redmayne

As a suggestion,perhaps the answer, in whole or part is to be found in the chapter of the same name, 'Die While Alive' in Soko Morinaga's book,'Novice to Master - AN ONGOING LESSON in The Extent of My Own Stupidity' the latter of which provides an apt description of myself, by Shido Bunan Zenji to,

'Die while alive,

Thoroughly die.

Then just do as you will,

and all will be well.'

Just a thought...whatever you choose, I shouldn't be to hard on yourself...

Carpathia

to think is human, to die, divine. Thanks for the title, RM. If I remember, I'll check it out.

I am interested in experimenting with the walking meditation. It seems a rather difficult way of meditating, very active. (As if focusing on one's breath wasn't difficult enough!) But, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Redmayne

As I understand it, walking meditation is best undertaken at a measured pace, in order that breathing can also be done in the same manner to allow the coordination of both, to enhance meditation, as opposed to the brisk pace recommended for personal fitness...

zerothehero

Yes, I'm fortunate to live in a rural area where I can find unpopulated paths where I can walk safely without having to be too concerned about getting run down. This helps with the meditation aspect.

Boleo

Thats called ZaZen (Beginners Mind) in Zen practices.

"Sought after virtue is not true virtue"
(Laozi)

But that does not mean we don't start out seeking it. But rather that seeking is only part of the equation. The final phase is a complete surrender of seeking.

Like a baseball player going up to home plate gets no credit for touching the plate - Till after rounding all the bases first. It is by completing the journey full-circle and then returning to home plate that the mission is accomplished.

Judgement and expectations can not be detached from by wanting it. They must be gradually reduced by a series of struggle/surrender cycles. Like peeling an onion, it must be done in layers.

Zen is not a non-intellectual activity. It is highly intellectual for the learning phase of the process. Then a complete turn-around must be done to complete the unlearning process. Ignorance is not the starting point - but rather the ending point.

BackToSquareOne

There's that old saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks". There is kind of a quandary to a lot of the teachings because even though they require some learning of new things they also require a lot of unlearning of old things. I've heard some teachers say awakening was like a flame going through you, burning away everything that is not true.

When I watched my thoughts I saw that a lot of them would pop up all on their own, if I believed all the nonsense my mind came up with I'd be in a world of trouble. The problem was that for a long time I did fall for a lot of the crazy thoughts, in a sense I believed them into existence.

I could fire the workers of my mind production factory but they still kept showing up for work! My thought production workers were so good at their jobs they could take a beautiful day and quickly fill it with anxiety, depression, worry, fear and all the other negative stuff they could come up with.

I saw the whole process of getting rid of a lot of the negative thoughts as one where I had to see thru them in a big enough way so that I'd quit falling into the same old traps. I know it sounds odd that a person can believe a lot of bad mental states into existence but I did find a certain amount of truth in that.

zerothehero

There's definately truth in that. It's the foundation of cognitive-behavioral and other forms of therapy. Lao Tzu ssaid we are not disturbed by things but by our view of things.