About "Quickies" and "Non-Meditation"
Important concepts to learn, but not over and over and...
I sometimes refer to myself as a Jewish Buddhist Contrarian — Jewish by ethnicity, Buddhist by chosen religion, and Contrarian by temperament. As I share these two critical teachings about Vajrayana Buddhist meditation, I’ll also grouse about them because that’s what contrarians do.
One of the best aspects of Tibetan Buddhism is that it encompasses many other schools and meditation methods. Eventually, though, we emphasize resting naturally in awareness — relaxing and not focusing on one object or entering an altered state — simply being continuously aware of our body and mind. As we meditate, we are practicing how we aim to be all the time. So, it’s not what many in the West consider meditation. We sometimes call it “natural meditation” or, half in jest, “non-meditation.”
Here’s how Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche expresses it:
The ultimate meditation is the state of non-meditation, in which there is no attempt to concentrate, no attempt to be calm, no attempt to be in any particular state of mind.
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche:
When you realize the nature of mind, you will discover that there is no such thing as meditation. Meditation is only a concept, a label. When you are fully aware, there is no need for meditation.
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche:
Meditation and non-meditation are merely concepts. True meditation transcends both. It is the realization of the natural state, which is beyond concepts.
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche:
In the highest meditation, there is no meditation and no meditator. Meditation is a concept; you cannot find it anywhere.
Let’s move on to the idea of “shorties,” brief and frequent meditations throughout the day, as opposed to “longies,” which by nature will be less frequent:
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche:
Many short moments of practice are more beneficial than a few long sessions. This is because we have the opportunity to cultivate mindfulness more frequently.
Tulku Thondup:
It is better to do many short meditations than few long ones. If you force it too much, you may end up getting tired and losing enthusiasm.
Pema Chodron:
Short moments, many times. Initially more important than the length of time that you meditate is the frequency with which you do it.
Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche:
It is better to meditate for short periods many times, training yourself to meditate in all kinds of situations, than to do long meditations infrequently.
I could go on and on with additional quotes, but as I said in a previous post, billions of words have been spoken and written to help us reach enlightenment, a state that can’t be put into words. You get the idea: Short meditations throughout the day are better than one or two long ones, especially for beginners, and meditation can be a relaxed and natural state we eventually live in all the time.
So what’s my gripe?
Both of these insights on meditation have been overused into becoming chichés that may mislead newbies. We’ll start with “non-meditation.”
I and many other Vajrayana practitioners sometimes engage in object-oriented or image-driven meditations, but those are not what the “non-meditation” label refers to, which I prefer to call “resting in awareness.” Whether it’s called meditation, non-meditation, or resting in awareness, it’s a time to practice how to live throughout the rest of our day. Inviting students of the dharma not to meditate, as some teachers do, is an OK joke once or twice, but lame jokes get old fast.
I’ve seen Mingyur Rinpoche demonstrate how he takes a drink while meditating. He calmly reaches out for a cup, takes a drink, and returns the cup to its place — nothing out of the ordinary except that (unseen to us) he’s remaining aware of what he’s doing and thinking. That’s the state we’d like to maintain all the time, but most of us need to set aside time for practice.
Here’s Rinpoche explaining how easy it is to meditate this way. He mentions using sound as an object of awareness, but you can think of that as an anchor to enter into a more general awareness.
As to short-times-many-times meditation, “short” means different things to different people. “Many times” is easier to understand. That’s a few minutes here and there when we’re waiting in a dentist’s reception room or between meetings at work. But when we’re devoting a specific time during the day to practice meditation, what’s short?
A hyperactive practitioner may need to stand up, walk around, and break his or her attention span after the first five or ten minutes. On the other hand, I don’t mind sitting relatively still as long as I feel relaxed. I consider anything up to 20 minutes a short meditation, from 20 to 45 medium, and more than 45 long.
Beginners may need to be reminded every five or ten minutes to take a break. Beyond the beginner stage, we all need to find our rhythm.
Here’s my idea of a group meditation in a Vajrayana setting:
We all sit in quiet relaxation, making no effort to remain perfectly still. Some may be lying down. Every once in a while, we hear one of us let out a deep breath with a satisfied “Ahhhh...” At times, one of us stretches. Occasionally, someone stands up and walks around.
But shouldn’t meditators be still and quiet so as not to disturb others? In a word: No. Remember that this is practice for “real life,” which is seldom silent and still. In open awareness, we’re accepting whatever comes without judgment. That includes the sounds and movements of other meditators.
It’s all about non-judgemental awareness.
If my thoughts in this post have offended anyone, I'm sorry. I speak only for myself, and I don’t mean to change your practice. I am happy to spark your thoughts. I give vent to my contrarian attitude in part as a writing device in hopes of adding interest to the subjects I cover. And whatever path you’re on is the right one.
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With all this talk aboutn sitting still, how about a Vajra dance?