Setting the Stage: Desire, Mindset, and the Mind of a Newbie. Part 1 of 2.
Meditation is unparalleled as a method for retraining the mind and widening the heart. However, meditation is never practised in isolation. Always coupled with it is a focus on desire and mindset. Instead of keeping everything for yourself, some meditation masters may advise you to make a promise to dedicate your meditation to the welfare of others. Others may urge that you reflect on your innermost desires, intents, or attitudes, or what you may refer to as your innermost request. Whatever name is given to it, you must delve deep into your mind and heart to understand why you meditate. Then, when the practice becomes monotonous, mundane, and uninteresting, which it invariably does, you may refer back to this drive.
You may be motivated to meditate by pain, suffering, or some other form of desperation. You may do it because you're unhappy with how your life is going—with how stressful, enjoyable, fast-paced, and intense it is. Whatever your motivation, if you're ever going to make an effort to alter your daily routine, slow down, and focus inward for at least 15 or 20 minutes each day, you need to be adequately motivated. You have the chance to confront your particular brand of unhappiness in this post and develop the drive that keeps you meditating every week.
The optimal mindset when engaging in meditation, according to great meditation instructors, is an open mind that is free from any expectations or prejudices. Zen master Shunryu Suzuki refers to this mindset as beginner's mind and advises that the purpose of meditation is to simply retain this clear-eyed viewpoint rather than to amass information, learn anything new, or reach a certain state of mind. "If your mind is empty, it is constantly ready for everything; it is open to everything," Suzuki says in his book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. "There are many possibilities in the mind of the novice, but few in the expert's mind." Suzuki asserts that the Zen mind—the alert, clear, unhindered mind of the enlightened Zen master—and the beginner's mind are fundamentally the same. Or, to use the words of another instructor, "The looker is what he or she is seeking for; the seeker is the sought" It goes without saying that maintaining or even recognising a beginner's mind is easier said than done. However, it is exactly the purpose.
The beginner's "don't-know mind" cannot comprehend or recognise the beginner's mind. Whatever meditation method you select, make an effort to practise it in a childlike, unknowing, "don't-know" mindset. A beginner's mind can be considered the non-attitude that underlies all attitudes and the non-technique that lies at the core of all effective methods. The qualities of a beginner's mind are as follows:
• Availability to whatever arises. You unite yourself with being itself, which includes everything — light and dark, good and terrible, life and death — without preference when you accept your meditation experience without trying to modify it.
• Absence of expectations. You experience each moment with new eyes and ears as you engage in beginner's mind practice. You sit with the certainty that the open, ready consciousness you bring to it eventually includes all the characteristics you desire, such as love, peace, happiness, compassion, knowledge, and serenity, rather than practising meditation to reach some distant objective.
• Your beginning is also your end. It's one of the great mysteries of meditation that you ultimately wind up where you began. You finally discover that the treasure was always concealed under your hearth and that the road you take just serves to bring you back home. "The conclusion of all our exploring/Will be to come where we started/And know the place for the first time," T. S. Eliot.
The Tibetans distinguish between the ground, the road, and the fruition to shed light on this riddle. They claim that the serenity, love, and pleasure you seek are within the confused, busy, suffering mind and serve as the foundation or base for waking. However, the negative clouds, doubt, judgement, fear, wrath, attachment, that block this ground, which is who you truly are in your heart of hearts, have grown so thick and impenetrable that you must begin the road of meditation to cut through the clouds and bring you nearer to the truth. When you finally identify yourself, the moment of completion is closer to you than your own heart and more immediate than your breath. It has always been right here, where and who you already are. This fundamental being is the same as Zen practitioners call a beginner's mind.
Think of the fabled Zen master that a scholar visited to learn Zen's meaning. The student kept asking questions, but he was so full of his ideas that he rarely allowed the master a chance to respond. The teacher asked the scholar if he would like a cup of tea after approximately an hour of this one-sided conversation. The master filled the student's cup when he held it out, but he kept pouring. The scholar said, "Enough! "The glass is filled. It will no longer support. Yes, the instructor acknowledged, "and so is your mind. Zen cannot be learned until the cup is empty.
Some instructors compare a novice's mentality to the sky: The limitless expanse of the sky is never diminished or harmed by the passing clouds. You spontaneously react to things because you are free from expectations and open to whatever emerges. primal, original awareness. What was your original appearance before your parents were born? is a well-known Zen koan , a provocative question. The unfathomable, primal essence of thought that exists before your personality and even your physical body is highlighted by this koan.
Most people only discuss motivation when it is lacking or absent and has to be boosted somehow. You can be the type of person who only does what comes easy to them or performs things because they are enjoyable in your own life ,or exciting, educational, or merely interesting. Or maybe you're the kind of person who lives a life full of duties and spends their time fulfilling them. The motivation or attitude you bring to an activity may significantly influence how the activity affects you, regardless of your motivational style. Consider sex, for instance. If you engage in sexual activity out of lust, boredom, or fear, the taste of the emotion that drove you will contaminate your sexual enjoyment. Although you may move, touch, and utilise the same techniques when having sex as a passionate show of love for your spouse, your experience will be vastly different.
Meditation is similar to sex because you get what you put into it. In reality, according to the traditions of meditation, your motivation affects the results of your practice just as much as the method or duration of your practice. In other words, people who meditate in a Christian or Buddhist tradition are more likely to encounter God or Christ. In contrast, those who seek healing, mental tranquilly, or peak performance are more likely to find what they are looking for. Spiritual traditions frequently categorise attitudes and motives as greater or lower. They all concur that the highest motivation is the desire to serve others before oneself. However, you must start from where you are, and it is more crucial, to be honest with yourself than to act as though you are motivated in a way that you are not. The more you meditate, the more you let your heart expand and show your innate, natural concern for other people's well-being.
Great spiritual teachers and meditation masters have emphasised the fleeting nature of life to their pupils throughout history. A skull was kept on the desks of Christian mystics during the Middle Ages as a constant reminder of their death. Additionally, Buddhist nuns and monks still meditate in graves in various Asian nations to heighten their awareness of impermanence. You and I shall pass away at some point today, tomorrow, next year, or many years from now. This is something that you need periodically be reminded of to keep your priorities straight and to keep in mind why you meditate. Of course, you are free to avoid this activity if you find it too sad to consider dying. But if you give it a shot, you could find that when you let your heart open to the value of life, your initial reluctance diminishes.
Do this guided meditation for at least 10 minutes, taken from A Path with Heart by Jack Kornfield (Track 13):
1. Relax your body by sitting still, closing your eyes, and taking a few deep breaths.
2. Visualise yourself nearing the end of your life, and that death is drawing near. Be mindful of the brevity of life; you might pass away at any time.
3. Think about your life as you watch it play back like a video.
4. As you think back, pick two actions you took that you are proud of. They could not be major or life-altering; rather, they might be straightforward, apparently unimportant occurrences.
5. Take a close look at what makes these occasions unforgettable; consider the traits of heart and mind you brought to them.
6. Pay attention to how these memories make you feel; investigate the emotions and other memories they bring to mind.
7. Think about how you may live differently if you had the chance to live your life over again in light of these recollections. Which pursuits would you devote more time to than you now do? What characteristics of being would you prefer to emphasise? Which individuals would you prioritise more (or less)?
8. After finishing this practice and moving on with your day, assess whether your perspective on life has altered.
Take a few deep breaths, relax, and set aside time to ponder these topics in your heart and mind. What motivates me to do meditation? Why do I practise meditation? What do I want to accomplish? What can I anticipate learning? Put aside your initial impressions and take a closer look. Then, ask yourself, "What is the discontent or pain that drives me?" Do I want to soothe my mind and lessen my stress? Do I desire more happiness and self-acceptance? Do I look for solutions to more existential concerns like "Who am I?" and "What is the purpose of life?" You could even be sensitive to the pain of others and want to alleviate their suffering before attending to your own. Or perhaps all you want is to somehow make your life better. Whatever replies you receive, just put them in writing without passing judgement, use them as a motivator when necessary, and let them develop over time.
The five primary motivating styles are covered in tomorrow’s post. Examine them to determine your position. Be aware that the distinctions between these styles are, at best, hazy and that most people prefer to combine some or even all five.
Be well.
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