Tuesday, October 19, 2010

An Introductory Lecture to Buddhism (Meditation Practice)



This is the 21st entry from my fieldwork diary. The original date is 25.09.2010.

***

Drupon Sangyas:

"Meditation is about bringing order to your mind and increasing bodhicitta - a loving and compassionate mind. It benefits us in this life and the next lives.

Do we have a bodhicitta mind? Yes, but we hardly ever practice it. We try to find happiness from other things and people. We have preferences (such as 'I don't like these clothes' and 'I don't like this type of food' etc). Thus the mind has too much freedom.

Tibetan yogis have meditation techniques to make the mind calm and peaceful. Meditation helps the mind remain stable and balanced. Meditation is the best cure.

If we think of someone in a negative way, we receive negative energy which in turn affects the channels of the body and these channels become blocked as a result. We can always change our unhappiness and become joyful.



Don't say harsh/bad words to other people, don't argue and try not to become upset because it destroys your mind and body. You need to meditate and not respond to people who try to harm you with their speech. Just imagine that their speech is music and remain calm, do not become angry. We must exercise self-control.

The mind constantly travels everywhere. It is uncontrolled. We need to switch from daily activities to peaceful meditation for at least a few minutes.

When monks study texts they are not allowed to listen to music or do any other activity at the same time (multi-tasking). They need to have full concentration, it is very important. The best method is to just listen and focus, and not allow yourself to become distract by anything.

So just relax your mind and don't expect any miracles when you meditate. Recite or visualize the syllable OM so that the mind won't run anywhere. Buddhists visualize OM in the heart or as a rainbow-coloured syllable on the forehead.

To become enlightened you need to have a pure mind. A bodhisattva (an enlightened being) is not affected by someone's harsh speech. A bodhisattva does not suffer due to such things.

Read the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva if you wish to know how to become a bodhisattva. You don't need to leave your homeland and travel to different countries to learn meditation. You can do it on your own."

***

*Important side note: These diary entries do not reflect every word the teacher said, and there may be some mistakes or misunderstandings, for which I am sorry and accept responsibility. In a few instances, I have interjected my own interpretation or explanation.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...