SAMADHI - Part 1

Thursday, November 27, 2008

“Which having obtained, he thinketh there is no greater gain beyond it, wherein,
established, he is not shaken even by heavy sorrow.”—Bhagavad-Gita: Ch. VI-22
The fruit of meditation is Samadhi. Samadhi is super conscious state, wherein the Yogi gets
superintuitional or supersensual knowledge and Supersensual bliss. He gets the vision of the Lord. He is in a state of communion with the Lord. He is in full enjoyment of the Divine Ecstasy or Divine cThrill. He has seen the Light of lights now.
The five afflictions, reference to which was made in Lesson I, have now come to an end. All sorts of imperfections have disappeared. Just as the river has joined the sea, the individual soul has joined the Supreme Soul. All limitations have dropped now. This state cannot be described in words: It has to he felt by actual practice. There are neither wants nor desires here. All doubts and delusions, all sorrows and tribulations, all fears, differences, distinctions and dualities have vanished entirely. This is the ultimate goal of all spiritual practices. This is the goal of life. Samadhi is the eighth step of the Yogic ladder. Intuition, revelation, inspiration and ecstasy are all synonymous terms. The meditator and the meditated, the thinker and the thought, the worshipper and the worshipped, the subject and the object have now become identical. The meditator has merged himself in the Soul or the all-pervading Spirit. All watertight compartments have disappeared. The Yogi feels oneness and unity everywhere. He feels: “I have nothing more to learn. I have nothing more to do. I have nothing more to obtain.” That which is night of all beings is the time of waking for the illumined Yogi; when other
beings are waking, then it is night for him. Yajnavalkya, the greatest Yogi says: “By Pranayama
impurities of the body are destroyed; by Dharana or concentration impurities of the mind. By
Pratyahara the impurities of attachment and by Samadhi everything that hides the Soul is removed.” Samadhi is of two kinds viz., Savikalpa Samadhi and Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Savikalpa is a lower Samadhi. In the Savikalpa Samadhi the Samskaras or latent impressions are not fried in toto. There is support for the mind. There is still the triad of subtle type viz., the seer, sight and seen, or the knower, knowledge and knowable. So Savikalpa Samadhi cannot give full satisfaction, full freedom, full bliss and knowledge.
From - SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA

Light Meditation

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

(Buddhist value: The children learn about the importance of offering
lights to the Buddha and its significance in the Buddhist context) Imagine that you are a lotus candle. Someone
walks toward you and lights your wick. You are
now giving out a small glow of orange light.
Slowly, your whole body becomes an orange colour.
Feel yourself giving out warm orange light. Someone
lifts you up and places you on the shrine table.
Your warm orange light is like the brightness of
wisdom. You are now shining brightly, as bright as
you can be, to drive away the darkness of ignorance.Your light symbolizes the Buddha’steaching. His teachings help and guide us when we arein darkness. When we behave badly and get angry, it is as if we are in darkness. We need the light of the Buddha’s teaching to help us.Your light helps to remind people not to remain in darkness but to brighten themselves with the Buddha’s teaching.You are the bright orange light. Feel yourself expanding, your light going out further and further, until it shines through the whole temple, then further until it shines through the whole country, and still further until it covers the whole world. You are as big as the whole world and your light breaks through all the darkness and your light shines out in every direction. Your
light of wisdom is touching all of space. Continue giving out orange light in every direction.

From - Guided Meditation for Primary Students

Incense Meditation

Friday, November 14, 2008

(Buddhist value: Incense symbolises the fragrance of pure moral conduct and reminds us to cultivate good conduct) Imagine that you are a stick of incense. Someone comes along and lights up a matchstick. The person puts the little flame to the tip of the incense. Immediately, you are burning away. As you are burning, your body gives off a lovely fragrant smell. This fragrance spreads through the air and brings joy and happiness to people’s heart. The person then offers you to the Buddha. You are being put into an incense pot. You stand happily in the incense pot because you know that you have an important role to play. Your fragrance symbolises the fragrance of pure moral conduct. And this reminds people to cultivate good conduct. This fragrance spreads in all directions throughout the world. As you are burning away, you also remind people to try and burn away their bad, unkind or selfish 13 thoughts. They should try to be like you, burning away their selfish acts and bringing fragrance and happiness to the world. Let every breath, that everyone breathes out into the world be full of sweetness and love. Continue to spread your fragrance in all directions.

From - Guided Meditation for Primary Students

You can be aware of one thing or many

Monday, November 10, 2008

You can be aware of one thing or many, if you see how one thing behaves you can see how all of them behave. When you know one you know them all.Watch bodily and mental sensation arising and passing away.You can stay with one object only if you like. at can be the rising and falling for example. You can stay with it as long as you like.Listening mindfully, is not just concentrating on the talk, and trying not to miss anything but being aware of that too.Reading and writing is pretty much the same. ‘Keep the finger on the big one.’‘Keep the finger on the big one’ means: Know where your mind is and what it is doing.When you are retreating, you must try not to make enemies and arguments with people and not to take sides with people who have arguments or fights. If you keep mindful, you’ll be able to go through without trouble.Starting out small: Observe obvious objects and continuously. If an emotion appears watch that emotion then go on.If it is hard to observe one object start observing more. If observing many objects is hard, observe just one stable object. Be always mindful of something.
Mindfulness
Keep the mind only on what you are doing. (No externals, staring, thinking, listening, planning etc.) But don’t focus too hard because that will only tire you more.When you feel tired, don’t worry about it. at’s all!Happy! It is important that you are happy, feeling content and not wanting when you practise. Happiness and contentment are very supportive factors to concentration.Note the wanting mind, check the mind’s attitude when you practise.See clearly what’s happening in the mind, don’t look only at the object.

from - Contemplation of the Mind

Dhyana - Part 2

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

It will have been understood that Dharana, Meditation(Dhyana), and Samadhi form a continuous process, and exactly when the climax comes does not matter. It is of this climax that we must speak, for this is a matter of "experience," and a very striking one. In the course of our concentration we noticed that the contents of the mind at any moment consisted of two things, and no more: the Object, variable, and the Subject, invariable, or apparently so. By success in Dharana the object has been made as invariable as the subject. Now the result of this is that the two become one. This phenomenon usually comes as a tremendous shock. It is indescribable even by the masters of language; and it is therefore not surprising that semi-educated stutterers wallow in oceans of gush. All the poetic faculties and all the emotional faculties are thrown into a sort of ecstasy by an occurrence which overthrows the mind, and makes the rest of life seem absolutely worthless in comparison. Good literature is principally a matter of clear observation and good judgment expressed in the simplest way. For this reason none of the great events of history (such as earthquakes and battles) have been well described by eye-witnesses, unless those eye-witnesses were out of danger. But even when one has become accustomed to Dhyana(Meditation) by constant repetition, no words seem adequate. One of the simplest forms of Dhyana may be called "the Sun." The sun is seen (as it were) by itself, not by an observer; and although the physical eye cannot behold the sun, one is compelled to make the statement that this "Sun" is far more brilliant than the sun of nature. The whole thing takes place on a higher level. Also the conditions of thought, time, and space are abolished. It is impossible to explain what this really means: only experience can furnish you with apprehension. (This, too, has its analogies in ordinary life; the conceptions of higher mathematics cannot be grasped by the beginner, cannot be explained to the layman.) A further development is the appearance of the Form which has been universally described as human; although the persons describing it proceed to add a great number of details which are not human at all. This particular appearance is usually assumed to be "God." But, whatever it may be, the result on the mind of the student is tremendous; all his thoughts are pushed to their greatest development. He sincerely believes that they have the divine sanction; perhaps he even supposes that they emanate from this "God." He goes back into the world armed with this intense conviction {32} and authority. He proclaims his ideas without the restraint which is imposed upon most persons by doubt, modesty, and diffidence;<> while further there is, one may suppose, a real clarification. In any case, the mass of mankind is always ready to be swayed by anything thus authoritative and distinct. History is full of stories of officers who have walked unarmed up to a mutinous regiment, and disarmed them by the mere force of confidence. The power of the orator over the mob is well known. It is, probably, for this reason that the prophet has been able to constrain mankind to obey his law. I never occurs to him that any one can do otherwise. In practical life one can walk past any guardian, such as a sentry or ticket-collector, if one can really act so that the man is somehow persuaded that you have a right to pass unchallenged.

Speaking Mindfully - Part 2

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Do Your Best that’s EnoughSitting is not the highest level of practice; to be able to live in the world mindfully is No need to sit for hours on end. Sit as long as you can, do your best. at’s enough.Vedana, is not only pleasant or unpleasant feeling. When you smell something and you feel like you want to eat, when you see a pretty girl and you feel like you want to have it, that is also Vedana.When greed arises look particularly for the specific characteristics (form, taste), that make you want it so much, look at it carefully. Do you really want it so much? Just how much? For how long?Viriya is the effort you make to be constantly observing the noting mind.When the mind is tired and not strong enough change to an easier object (in sitting). Now and then look in the mind and body, check for tension.Use the noting mind as your reference point-anchor and the other minds as objects. In this practice the noting mind is the anchor.Do not do a word of contemplation as you are sitting.It weakens the mind, it weakens sati and samadhi. Even a ‘why’ or ‘what’ is bad enough. the mind gets tired in a way that it loses energy and needs rebuilding.When it comes to knowing for yourself, you do not need to use words because you already know what it is. In fact when you start knowing really subtle sensations and mind states, no words can describe them because words are mostly for all the gross realities we know. So words are really not helpful, they can even get in the way.ought is immaterial, it happens in the mind. the mind is immaterial. (Immaterial here means: not of matter).Don’t negotiate with hindrances and unprofitable things. Look at them straight in the eye, look straight into that mind.Whatever it is it will disappear and won’t come back. Do not put it aside.

From - THE WAY OF ATTAINMENT OF GENIUS

Speaking Mindfully - Part 1

Speaking MindfullyIn the speaking process there is nobody involved!When you speak bring happiness to everybody. Others will respect you for it and take you seriously.When you are mindful you are above all things and people will respect you and pay attention to what you have to say.No talking is for beginners, the Buddha said, be mindful when you are speaking or when you are silent. So learn to speak mindfully.Speak with awareness, listen with awareness.As soon as you are approached by people alert yourself to be mindful with talking, without getting emotionally involved.Watch out when the other person stops talking and its your turn to speak.Don’t rush into it out of control, like we usually do and lose our mindfulness.Speak slowly and short so that the other person slows down too.Speak mindfully and to the point. Don’t over speak and get carried away. In life you have to be able to do both or spend all your life in a silent meditation centre.In order to keep mindful when you speak, don’t follow your emotions.e moment you start liking this or disliking that, the mind gets carried away. Every phrase you say look at the mind over and over again and check for right speech and mindfulness. e mind has to try to be aware of itself.Try to be aware all the time of the mind watching the mind.Keep the finger on the big one!Keep the finger on the big one means: Are you in control now or not? Is the mind collected or scattered? Maintain that distance between object and knowing mind. Stay with the ‘one step up mind’. Apply this to all practices.When your mind has a lot to do, has to do more work, it progresses better.Watch the mind all the time. en you will understand how it works. en you will be able to do everything and be watching the mind: reading, writing, speaking, going out in the city, and so on. You will be an observer, watching a show!When you feel discomfort, pain, agitation, that is the moment to look into your mind! (With all practices).No noting! is is true Vipassana!

From - THE WAY OF ATTAINMENT OF GENIUS