Apr 2006

HIYA!
I spent about 25 days at a temple in southern Thailand. The abbot invited me to go and really concentrate on meditation so I took him up on the offer. Glad I did too. I feel it was a good foundation for my continued practice. More importantly, I feel that it's a good way to practice. But I can't say, about two weeks after having left the temple that I've gotten much benefit from it. Persevere. Just keep doing it. If I feel that it's worthwhile then keep doing it until or unless I no longer feel that it's worthwhile.

It's called Vipassana. But there are so many styles of Vipassana that the name has not much meaning for me. Sort of like the word "natural food" because so many things qualify in various people's mind's as "natural food". I have learned I think four styles of Vipassana meditation! Three are sitting meditation and one is meditation with open eyes, or, specifically, the Santi Asoke way of meditation. Which is really just the same as many many Buddhists do just without the sitting or walking part!

You start off with some walking meditation for a while then do sitting meditation for the same period of time. Increasing the time of each walking and each sitting as the pain becomes more and more bearable!

I started off with 30 minutes and had no pain so right away the abbot had me do 40 minute sessions. The abbot said that my concentration must be fabulous. Meaning that he thoughtI wasn't daydreaming a lot! So he had me increase to 50 minutes after only a few days. This was painful. I had my right foot on my left thigh and the last 10 or so minutes were really hard to put up with.

But the thing to do is notice, observe everything that happens. So, you notice the pain. Just notice it. Know it as well as possible. In all it's aspects. Notice that it comes and eventually goes. It goes if you sit long enough! Or, the pain will go away once you move. Either way the pain goes away. This is one way to see that everything is impermanent.

And because everything is impermanent, why cling and grasp to anything? Why cling and grasp to anything that won't last? So you just sit there and watch the pain. When the pain gets intense enough, so the theory goes, you can't focus on anything else. The pain so has your attention that all you can do is notice the pain. And if you can be mindful and concentrated then you can observe and can see what it's all about. You can learn pain to a deeper degree, in ways that you never knew before.

But you don't focus only on the pain. You start off with the movement of the belly going out and in with the inhale and exhale. Then whatever interrupts your concentration, you put your attention there. If you hear a sound, you put your attention there. An itch, or an ant biting, a mosquito buzzing, a memory, the birds chirping. Whatever. When you notice it, make a mental note of the action "hearing, hearing, hearing", "thinking" or whatever it is, until you no longer hear it, think of it, or until something else interrupts this and is more prominent. Then you put your attention there.

It's all about learning the truth of existence. With a calm, stable mind, you can really peer into things. So you do what it takes to become calm and quiet. And do this regularly, day in, day out, time and time again until you get sick of the practice or until you no longer need it because you're fully enlightened. Of course, few people get any stage of permanent enlightenment in a month but I suppose there are a few. I didn't.

I really liked it in some ways but have to admit that I was really glad to end each sit. The pain gets so unbearable. So does putting up with the pain. This is aside from the pain. When you notice yourself feeling sick of sitting there patiently observing pain, and your reactions and responses to the pain, you say to yourself "sick of this, sick of this, sick of this" and push on until the merciful alarm rings and you can relieve the pain.

I still practice this and intend to continue practicing it.

After this I went to BKK to attend a course called the Art of Living. It's a breathing course which I also practice every day. I'm glad to do both. I do them in conjunction. I'll write about the Art of Living in the next entry. I'm out of time now.

Love, Troy.

P.S. An Asoke monk recently asked me if I were interested in walking northern Viet Nam. I'll call him tonight to tell him yes. We'll leave sometime later this month.