Meditation and it's reward

What is meditation and why is it that so much emphasis is being placed on meditation, now in this present time and also back in those days of the Buddha. What role does does meditation play in our strive for liberation. Simple as it may sound though, (stilling the mind) yet it is not, then again, it is not insurmountable as millions had practice it and reaped it's benefits. It is so important, so much so, that two thousand five years ago, the Buddha himself told to the people of the Kuru country in a town called Kammasadhamma (a town said to be in the vicinity of the present day New Delhi) that this is the one and only way to achieve liberation.

Here the Buddha addressed the people and the Bhikkus saying;
(MN10)

"Bhikkus, this is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the surmounting of sorrow, lamentation, pain and grief. This is the way to attaining Nibbana (to the realisation of Nibbana)........................... and what is this direct path that the Buddha was talking about.

How is it that by stilling the mind one could achieve such great benefit. What magic lies behind and how do we go about it. Magic............... there is none but much effort is needed to tame this wild mind that has been leading us astray for so long. That has misled us into believing that there is an 'I', that there is a perfect entity residing within when in reality there is only mind and matter. In order to be able to see and understand this mentality and materiality (nama-rupa) the mind must be calmed down before it can see. The mind has had it's way for far too long to be tamed so easily. However, we must tame it and the wise knows it. With what the uninitiated might ask, are we going to tame this beast within us. With mindfullness of course.

By developing mindfullness we will be able to dispell the mistaken notion of 'I'. We will be able to see for ourselves the true nature of things, as it is, minus all the frills. What is this path, this "DIRECT PATH" that the Buddha was talking about? MN10 footnote 137.

It is none other than the FOUR FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULLNESS.

For the beginer it would suffice to just understand the basics of meditation. To be fully aware of our own breathing in and breathing out. What better object is there besides our own breathing. This is why meditation teachers (Archan) all over always use the time tested way of using the breath as the object of mindfullness. When breathing in you know it as breathing in. When breathing out you know it as breathing out. Follow it all the way in and follow it all the way out, as precisely as you possibilly can.

Every moment of it must be noted in it's minutest detail. There must be no let up at all. If your breathing is long you must be aware of it as being long. If your breathing is short you must be aware of it as being short. If something much stronger took over the noting mind, for example, wondering thoughts, then as a meditator you must quickly note the wandering mind, stop it on it's track and come back to your breathing excercise after noting it as "wandering, wandering wandering" 3 times.

No debating what the wandering is all about, no discussive thinking, no nothing. Just bare awareness and back to your breathing no matter how much you would love to dwell on it. Slowly in this manner you will calm the mind down, paving the way for something deeper and more profound to sprout. However, for the beginner it is enough to just understand this. Like the saying goes, a journey of a thousand steps still has to start with the first step and only one step at a time.

For now this will suffice. Of course there is much much more to it than just this bare awareness. There are other things to tie in like for example upholding your morality( sila), the practice of giving (dana) and of course bhavana. All these and much more go hand in hand to make one's practice a success.

Like a mirror, in it's pristine state it reflects everything clearly and sharp. However, as time goes by dust begin to settle down on it and render it blurr. A time will surely come when it can no longer reflect and this is how our mind is at the present moment. It is so clouded and deluded that we can no longer see things as they really are. We are confused and lost and no longer able to think straight.

So with meditation we slowly calm the mind down. Just as one would, with a piece of damp cloth slowly wipe the mirror, day in and day out, removing the dust bit by bit until one fine day with all the dust gone the mirror will once again reflect as it should. So the same goes with our mind. As we slowly calm the mind down by tying it to the pole of mindfullness (the breath) we too will one day make it pristine again and when that happens we then will be able to see things as it is.
Until then may you be happy and well

Sadhu sadhu sadhu