meditation
“Meditation: is a mind that concentrates on a virtuous object, and is a mental action that is the main cause of mental peace.”
“Happiness and suffering are states of mind, and so their main causes cannot be found outside the mind. The real source of happiness is inner peace.”
i have the good karma of being allowed to “teach” meditation to young adults here at my Buddhist center in Tucson. one of the things i have noticed is that as humans we have this nature to be incredibly lazy! not the physical laziness you think when dealing with youth but on a whole it pertains to ALL ages…i speak of laziness of the mind. when we know from experience, when we feel the inner peace and benefit, why do we struggle with sitting down to meditate daily? we place so much importance on “doing” in this world and society with little emphasis on “being” in the moment within. we go to school for some countless years to become “successful” and yet how many years do we spend within on a journey of spiritual progress? perhaps minutes in a day or for most just passing moments like a tourist!
i for one am guilty of laziness! i had to investigate within to find my own answers as to why? what i came away with was a mini realization into my mind. it all falls on my belief, my faith of the truth. the more effort i place in meditation and in my spiritual practice the more my faith grows! the more i believe it works the more effort i place within my mind to practice Buddha’s teachings. it sounds so simple yet we all know how delusional our minds are, how hard it is to control…especially when we sit down to meditate! noticing how many times our mind wanders like clouds in a sky passing by sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly and other times it feels like it’s stuck in the clouds! this is another piece of meditation i struggled with until i finally relaxed and allowed myself to just take notice….to gently notice but not allow my mind to stop and visit…it is a skill one must practice like any sport, instruction, any knowledge one gains must be practiced or else all you are doing is collecting intellectual knowledge, not the deep wisdom gained from application to make a change within your mind.
ATISHA: “Since you cannot tame the minds of others until you have tamed your own, begin by taming your own mind.”
here is an excellent source of wisdom…if you have time please read from all three contributors… http://luminousheart.com/2010/when-stories-hurt/