Judge Not and ...

“The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.”
― J. Krishnamurti

 

“People talk about entering nirvana, but we are already there.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh

I don't think there is any greater freedom than being Present in the moment to life as it is.  

 

In the expansive vision of an open heart and clear mind, the barriers and boundaries that appear to separate us from ourselves, from one another, and from Sacred Oneness become increasingly permeable, translucent, transparent.   

 

Being Present, we feel the Presence of something vast and boundless. 

 

I believe most of us, if not all, have experienced such moments -- at least as children.  Unfortunately, accessing these moments and making them a regular part of our life is easier said than done.

Growing up immersed in a society that is highly judgmental, most of us have been deeply conditioned to experience our lives in terms of good/bad, right/wrong, should be/shouldn't be.  In fact, our ego sense, with its perceived separation and isolation from "the other" is created and maintained by the thoughts, opinions, and various mind states that emerge from this conditioning.  Even in its mild form of liking/disliking, Judgment Mind can generate thoughts and feelings that serve to separate us from the peaceful, calm, and caring Presence we have access to in every moment.  

 

If we are overly self-absorbed, distracted, stressed, moving too fast, it's easy to get lost in our conditioned reactions to Life.  Adrift in Judgment Mind, we loose Presence.  We get lost in the alternative reality we have created -- and forget that the world is really not as it appears to us at that moment.  This deeply ingrained process of evaluating what we experience as bad, wrong, condemnable, is part of our social conditioning.  It appears as discontent, diatribe, enmity, blame, and self-blame.  If we aren't paying attention, it can and will dominate our lives, moment to moment.

 

Seeing For Yourself

 

One of the fruits of meditation is that we can see how that process works directly.  We can see for ourselves that Judgment Mind isn't only the thoughts going through our heads at the moment.  It's deeper than that.  It is embedded in the emotions we are experiencing.  It's embodied in the tightnesses and discomforts of our body.  It directly effects the quality of our consciousness, our state of mind.  

 

It is actually quite fun to see for yourself how that plays out on the meditation cushion.  

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Day by Day: Sustaining a Daily Practice

 “The gift of learning to meditate is the 

greatest gift you can give yourself in this lifetime.” 

-- Sogyal Rinpoche

“When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment,
our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be
filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love.”
― Thich Nhat Hạnh

I would say that ninety percent of the folks who have wandered into one of the Mindfulness Circles I host have already tried meditation.  

Comparing notes on Practice, most of those folks said that there was an obvious improvement in the quality of their consciousness --and in their lives -- during the times that they practiced.  Yet they had been unable to maintain a regular daily practice.

Sound familiar?

The inability to maintain a daily practice is quite widespread.  It's fun to see a newcomer to the Circle mention, often somewhat sheepishly, that they hadn't been able to sustain a daily practice, only to discover when I ask for a show of hands, that everyone in the Circle has had -- or continues to have -- that same problem.

It only stands to reason. 

In today's world we are individually and collectively awash in noise, stimulation, and activity.  Creatures of habit, the entire thrust of our social conditioning operates against sitting still in silence.  Often feeling stressed and fatigued, we scurry ahead,  sometimes aware of a subtle (or not so subtle) discontent with ourselves and our lives.  Taking the time to notice to stop, relax, and get in touch with what is actually going on inside of us isn't widely supported. 

The Good News is that it can be.

More than anything, the establishment of a regular daily meditation practice may be the key to making the difference.  At this stage of the journey, I've learned that there are some things that  have helped me and others to bring this about.  Perhaps, they can help you as well.
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IMHO*

"All ego really is, is our opinions, which we take to be solid, real, and the absolute truth about how things are.  To have even a few seconds of doubt about the solidity and absolute truth of our own opinions, just to begin to see that we do have opinions, 

introduces us to the possibility of egolessness." 

-- Pema Chodron

“Do not seek the truth, only cease to cherish your opinions.”
-- Seng-ts’an, Third Zen Patriarch

I love when the Universe is kind enough to deal the cards to me in a way that makes a specific lesson inescapable.  This happened to me in spades on a brilliant May morning several years back.

Luckily, hearts were trump.

 

Following the lead of one the irregular regulars in our Monday Morning Mindfulness  Circle, I had been re-reading Pema Chodron's When Things Fall Apart, one chapter a day. 

In that morning's chapter, entitled "Opinions," Pema suggested that noticing and labeling our opinions as "opinion" --  just like noting our thoughts as "thinking"--  can be an extremely helpful practice.

Although, I had read that chapter several times before over the years, this time something clicked.  

It made what could have been a heated argument later in the day an interesting and constructive engagement.

Taking Note: Some Thoughts about "Thinking"

 

I had been meditating on and off for over twenty years before I was introduced to "noting practice" by a teacher in my first retreat at Insight Meditation Society  Before then, after being introduced to meditation through the lens of Yoga, I had gravitated toward Zen Buddhism.  I read extensively, practiced regularly at a local Zen center, dialogued with several Zen teachers, and attended Sesshin. 

 
To be honest,  that first introduction of the noting practice didn't take.  The instruction to make a mental note -- "thinking" --  whenever I noticed that thoughts were dominating my attention seemed clunky and intrusive.  I hadn't yet come across that in Zen teachings I had heard or read to that point.  I just shrugged it off.  After all wasn't Zazen just zazen?  Who needs such"techniques!?" 

 

I spent the remainder of the nine day retreat at Insight Meditation Society practicing Shikantaza, the Soto Zen practice of Just Sitting.  I took the formal posture, watched my breathing for awhile to settle into a more concentrated state, and then just sat still for hours and hours trying to stay in the present moment's experience beyond just being wrapped up in my thoughts-- for days and days.  

 

As had happened before in intensive retreat,  I was able to access a quality of consciousness that was extremely tranquil yet crystal clear and highly energized.  Being Present in the moment to moment experience of life, I felt a Presence.  Mission accomplished.  

 

Or so I thought.
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Body of Wisdom

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“In Islam, and especially among the Sufi Orders, siyahat or 'errance' - the action or rhythm of walking - was used as a technique for dissolving the attachments of the world and allowing men to lose themselves in God. ”

-- Meister Eckhart

Reverend Gyomay Kubose (1905 - 2000)

When I observed my first Zen teacher dry mopping the wooden floor of the Zendo at the Buddhist Temple of Chicago years ago, I was awestruck.  

 

I hadn't seen anything like it before. 

There was a simple grace in his bearing, a Presence in his slow mindful steps that was astonishing. 

It was obvious to me that Reverend Gyomay Kubose, in his 70's at the time, was connected to his body, to the smooth wooden floors of the Buddhist Temple of Chicago -- and to Life itself -- in an entirely different way than I'd seen before.

 

Later that day, I was introduced to formal walking meditation practice on the opening evening of my first zen sesshin.  That weekend, I got a taste of a different way of being.

Embodied Practice

 

The first of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Mindfulness of Body is a practice that stretches back to the earliest texts of Buddhism. The Anapanasati and Maha Satipathana Suttas spell out the details of this and other meditative techniques. They’ve been taught and practiced for about 2,500 years. 

 

Beginning with focusing the attention on the process of breathing, Mindfulness of Body can be practiced in a number of ways to more fully experience the play of sensations dancing through our bodies.  

 

This can change everything.

 

As Mindfulness Practice deepens, we become more fully present.  We can connect with ourselves, with others -- and with Life itself -- on deeper and subtler levels.  

 

There, we may find that Reality asserts itself.
 

Getting From There to Here

Conditioned as we are, most of us are "in our heads" most of the time.  Although we are always breathing, and our bodies and our sensory apparatus are operating to generate a whole array of experiences, most of this occurs without our full presence of mind.  Generally, conditioned as we are in the modern capitalism of Western civilization, the focus of our attention is primarily on the thoughts running through our head.

Fueled by emotional energies, subconscious beliefs, and conditioned filters that we are largely unaware of, these thoughts dominate our awareness in a way that sweeps us along the stream of our own conditioned ego patterns most the time.  Mindfulness Practice, both on and off the meditation cushion, offers us a means to  expand our range of attention to include a universe of experience that we generally aren't aware of.  Without Practice we are liable to "sleepwalk,"only half-awake, through our lives. 

Reverend Kubose, most definitely, was not sleepwalking as he dry mopped the floor of the Zendo.  I could feel his Presence. He was awake to the present moment, connected with something very special, doing what needed to be done to prepare for Sesshin.  

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