The Pure Mountain Path

The more you are interested in something, the more you pay attention. When you are paying attention, then the more simple, clear, and free the mind is to absorb what is going on at the present. The chattering of the mind ceases. It is the chattering that interferes with us paying attention. So, the mind that is chattering, that is verbalizing, fantasizing, cannot understand the truth that stands before it. It cannot be mindful of the moment.

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We have two eyes to see two sides of things, but there must be a third eye which will see everything at the same time and yet not see anything. That is to understand Zen.
–D. T. Suzuki

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Many people sit in meditation in the hope of becoming enlightened. My thought is that it does not matter so much if you become enlightened or not as long as you are making the effort to sit. Truly enlightened beings are few and far between. Those that regularly meditate may not be enlightened, but are not lost in the darkness either.

Just as a gem taken from a mine will not have full luster if it is not polished on the grindstone, so the real devotee of the Way which one is doing, will not shine well if it is not provided with trials and tribulations on its way.

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The quieter you become, the more you can hear- unknown

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It is normal to have doubt in your practice of meditation. This is true of beginners or advanced students. At the beginning, we may be skeptical of whether meditation really works and if we do not feel a change overnight, we may feel like we are wasting our time, which we are not. After we have practiced for a while, we may feel we have reached a plateau and are not advancing any further, which is not true either.

The many adversities that we encounter which occur with the severity of lightning bolts in the life of those who follow the path, are only to establish and teach pure mind more and more firmly and not to make them question the path they are on.

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The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.
–Dogen

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Chanting is something that is used by some and not at all by others. Some people chant before meditation or afterwards. You may wish to try chanting to see if this is of use to you. I have tried chanting but did not find that it suited me, however many do like it so please give it a chance and see if it can be beneficial to your practice.

Illusion rejoices with victory in completely deluding even the most intelligent people in such a way that they feel that that which is in truth unreal; the ego, the world, etc is the only reality.

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The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.
–Yasutani Roshi

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Some people like to focus attention on the breath when meditating. Some count their breaths, some focus on the air coming in and out of the nostrils, some pay attention to the chest rising and falling. Any of these methods may work for you. Personally, I find counting breaths dreadfully dull and it seems the mind can get preoccupied with counting. I occasionally focus on the rising and falling on the chest. For me, if I am going to center my attention on the breath, this is the best way for me. Try the different methods and see if one works for you.

The human certainly enjoys thinking how brilliant he is. He is quick to give credit to himself for the latest progress he has made. We send a spaceship millions of miles away, yet people on earth are starving while others eat heartily. We brag on how insightful we are, yet cannot see far enough to cease human suffering. We are quick to offer opinions, but slow to realize the truth.

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The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.
–Robert M. Pirsig

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What kind of attitude should you have towards meditation? One with the idea of no gain. Of course we will gain something or there would be no point to doing it, however we should not set expectations, try to measure progress, or wonder where we are on the path to enlightenment. Such thinking only throws roadblocks in our path.

We have the moment before us and then we have intellect. It is the intellect that spoils the truth of the moment. We see a gorgeous sunset and immediately the mind begins to verbalize and chatter about how many other ones we have seen, or if we have seen a better one, or what color orange is it. Whenever we start calculating, reasoning, or judging, we have lost the truth of the moment.

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It is better to practice a little than talk a lot.
–Muso Kokushi

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If you do not pray, ask yourself why not? Why keep yourself from the healing and the cultivation of compassion for others? Remember, that as part of our path, we are not praying to anyone. We are sending out metta to others. So if you feel praying means only praying to a deity, that is not correct.

Deriving pleasure from other things than being a devotee of the path is mere delusion, meaning that the pleasure we believe we are deriving from other things is illusory, false. Therefore, can there be real happiness in the imaginary sense-objects? Ignorant people who do not know that happiness comes only from within themselves, seek and collect material goods and follow sensual desire, thinking that happiness comes from them.

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When you are deluded and full of doubt, even a thousand books of scripture are not enough. When you have realized understanding, even one word is too much.
- Fen-Yang

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Meditation should not end when we reach the end of our meditation period. Before getting up from a meditation session, it is important to make a determination not to lose the tranquil experience of serenity. With time, this experience will fade. Even the most seasoned meditators can have trouble keeping their peace with them when they return home from a retreat or even a stay in a temple. It is very easy to fall back into bad habits. However, if from time to time you actively recall the feelings you cultivated, gradually your mind will become more familiar with it and the experience will remain longer. Eventually it will remain in your mind day and night, growing stronger with each meditation.

There is a saying that with age comes wisdom, but is this true? In some cases yes. Often, the man who ages learns from his mistakes and makes fewer of them as he has acquired wisdom. In other cases however, nothing is learned, suffering is not vanquished as the same sensual desires that plagued the young man now make ill the old man. The angry young man soon turns into the angry old man. The man who chased his desires as a youngster falls into the same trap at an advanced age. The avant-garde soon becomes the old guard. Everything changes, and as we age we too should change. Change from being chained to samsara and enter into a mind of spiritual serenity.

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And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
-T.S. Eliot

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In the same way, when we first start to meditate, the mind quickly drops its object and thinks of something else instead. The key to successful meditation is to be aware whenever this happens and bring the object of meditation back to mind. Another option is choiceless awareness which does not require focusing on any one object and instead allowing to pass whatever shall pass.

For someone with a ravenous hunger, even a sandwich with stale bread and old cheese will seem to be the most delicious food. Thus, we must realize that in this world, the cause of pleasure lies not in the nature of the sense-objects, but only in the intensity of desire for it.

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If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?
-Dogen

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If you become drowsy during meditation, try keeping your eyes open if you are meditating with closed eyes. If your eyes are already open and you still are fighting drowsiness, feel free to take a ten minute nap. This brief refresher can re-energize you and carry you through your meditation session. Perhaps you can practice one of the thirteen dhutanga practices, one of which is the austerity of not sleeping stretched out. Usually the bhikkhu sleeps propped against a wall or even in the meditation posture. Make sure you are sitting back in a chair or against a wall so you do not fall over while you are resting!

If one believes ‘I, am an individual, I am existing’, then it is proper to accept the theory that on account of egoism, the attachment to the body, one certainly has to do the two kinds of karma [good and bad] and to experience their fruits.

It is only the results of one’s good and bad actions done in the past that result in one’s present life as one’s pleasures and pains, and also as one’s friends and mighty foes, who are the instrumental cause for them.

Do not perform any good action through a bad means, with the thought that ‘It is sufficient if it bears good fruit’. Remember that if the means are bad, even a good action will turn out to be a bad one. Therefore, even the means of doing good actions should be pure.

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Pay no attention to the faults of others,
things done or left undone by others.
Consider only what by oneself is done or left undone

-The Dhammapada

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