Meditation: The only introduction you’ll ever need

HAPPINESS

The myriad paths of meditation find agreement not only in the ingredients of their development but equally in their objectives. The search for genuine happiness and peace are core elements both in meditation and in our lives. Beset by the whole range of human maladies and struggles – loss, disappointment, tension, illness and confusion, we search for a way to end sorrow and conflict. In our lives we seek an enduring happiness and peace, deeper than just the temporary gratification of our passing wants and appetites. We look for ways for our hearts to sing with joy, delight and appreciation. Struggling with anger, tension, restlessness, meaninglessness or fear we search for ways to be at peace with ourselves and others, to live with calmness and depth.

Frequently in our lives we have attempted to find solutions to these conflicts and find happiness through avoiding challenging situations or endeavouring to create a ‘perfect’ world for ourselves where there is an absence of the disturbing, challenging or unpleasant. Or we endlessly endeavour to find happiness and peace through attempting to satisfy every desire that arises – more things, more achievements, more experiences. We begin to look at this longing for happiness and peace in new ways as we awaken to the fact that no matter how controlled or armoured our life is the world will always bring us more changes, new circumstances and challenges that we cannot avoid or control. We realize that there is a difference between pleasure and happiness and there is not enough of anything in the world that can be possessed or gained that can provide the happiness and peace we search for. No matter how much we gain or acquire we are not exempt from the possibility of loss. Our lives will always be a blend of the delightful and the challenging, the pleasant and the unpleasant, flattering and disturbing encounters, health and sickness. Endeavours to control the unpredictable and uncertain elements in life leaves us fearful and tense. Living in fantasies or ideals of how life ‘should be’ is a rejection of reality that banishes us from calm and balance. We begin to discover that avoidance, control and fantasy are not pathways to happiness but to confusion and conflict.

These primary insights are turning points in ourselves and are the beginning of meditation. They lead us not to dismiss or reject the world around us or belabour ourselves with judgement or despair, but to begin to look within ourselves for the source of happiness and the ways to foster it. We realize that to bring change in our personal lives and our world we will need to bring about radical change within our own hearts and minds. We begin to look not only for a genuine way to happiness but also cultivate the willingness to understand the dynamics of unhappiness and discontent. We begin to question our prejudices, opinions and beliefs and understand the way in which they can blind us to understanding what is true in the circumstances and events we meet. Instead of avoiding conflict or projecting blame in the face of disturbance, we find new encouragement to explore the nature of conflict, anger, fear and resentment and begin to understand the relationship between distress and its cause. Instead of searching the world for satisfaction, gratification and relief from restlessness and tension we become increasingly attentive to our inner life, and there are glimmers of sensitivity and understanding. Rather than turning on the television in an attempt to distance ourselves from anxiety or distress we learn to explore and untangle those feelings. Rather than being lost in anger and resistance to someone who disturbs us we find the calm and willingness to stay present and begin to understand the nature of our conflict.

With a greater willingness to be consciously present and awake in each moment, rather than being lost in struggle or resistance, our minds begin to calm and there emerges a deeper sense of harmony and rapport within ourselves and with the world. We discover that peace is not the elimination of the disturbing or challenging but the capacity to meet the changing circumstances of our lives with balance and understanding. We begin to sense a profound happiness that is not reliant upon a ‘perfect’ world, but that stems from the clarity, calmness and contentment of our own minds and hearts. It is not the happiness of exhilaration or excitement but an enduring happiness born of sensitivity, balance and appreciation.

THE PATH

All traditions will portray meditation as a path, a living dynamic process of unfoldment. It is intended to take us from confusion to clarity, from entanglement to freedom, from discontent to happiness, from agitation to serenity. The practice of meditation will not insulate us from the pain that our lives may bring, nor is it an escape from the challenges we will all be asked to address in our lives. It will enable us to meet all of the variety of changes and challenges of our life with increasingly deep levels of acceptance, balance, understanding and compassion. Meditation is not a path of passivity or withdrawal; it will empower and free us to live with greater skilfulness, vitality and intuition. Through meditation we find the inner skills and resources that enable greater responsiveness and clarity in life.

Meditation is not a magical solution nor will the different schools of meditation dispense prescriptions and formulae to impose upon the changing events we encounter. There is no system of meditation that will guarantee a quick and painless solution to the variety of dilemmas we meet in our lives. As a path of change and transformation all traditions of meditation will ask us to be a conscious participant in the development of the discipline we adopt and in the process of meditation. An integral aspect of all meditative paths lies in their practice and application. We are not passengers but travellers. There are qualities of heart and mind that we will need to foster and develop and other qualities we will be asked to understand and let go of. One of the meditation principles that runs through the variety of spiritual disciplines is the emphasis that is given to laying firm and clear foundations for the development of a meditative practice.

ETHICS

Every meditative tradition will emphasize the need to establish a basis for meditation upon the foundation of a moral or ethical life that fosters a mind and heart of mindfulness, compassion and sensitivity. The precepts, vows and commandments of the various traditions are not intended to be rules blindly adhered to but instead highlight the integral link between an ethical life and a mind that is able to deepen in calm and understanding. If in our lives we are engaged in actions, speech, lifestyles or pursuits that bring harm or pain to ourselves or to others, it is exceedingly difficult for the mind to deepen in serenity or compassion. Instead through unethical action or speech that harms ourselves or others, the mind collects residues of regret, guilt and unease. These feelings in turn create endless streams of thought and agitation preventing inner calmness and depth. Engagement in unethical action or speech fosters a pronounced sense of disharmony and fear, anger and alienation. For example, a cosmetics company, aware of the high turnover rate among the technicians involved in testing products on animals, invited an instructor to teach meditation as a stress reduction technique. Paradoxically, the experiment ended with many of the staff resigning as they connected with their intrinsic unease about the nature of their work. The discovery of the happiness so integral to meditation rests upon the harmony and clarity we cultivate in our lives and relationships, both inwardly and outwardly through our actions, speech, thoughts and choices.

Meditation is not ethically neutral nor is it solely a path of inner transformation intent upon achieving exotic states of inner experience. It is directed towards not only the cultivation of calm and wisdom, but also compassion, sensitivity, forgiveness, love and generosity. Meditation is a path not only of inner change, but a path that enables us to touch our relationships and the world around us with compassion, care and peace. It is not possible to separate the quality of our meditation from the quality of our lives. If our lives are saturated with tension, conflict or remorse this will be reflected in our meditation. If the culture of our lives and relationships is based upon peace, understanding and sensitivity, this too will be reflected in our meditation.

The ethical guidelines of any tradition show us the way to a life of harmony and peace and are the vehicles for embodying the spirit of meditation in every circumstance and moment of our lives. They show us the way to live a life of harmlessness, tolerance and compassion. Giving attention to the truthfulness of our speech, cultivating honesty, showing reverence for life through non-harming, bringing integrity and respect into our relationships with other people and fostering a mind and body that is unclouded by intoxicants – these are the ingredients of a life of peace and a mind that is easily collected and focused in meditation.

ATTITUDE

Right attitude is one of the essential principles of meditation practice in all traditions. Most styles of meditation are simple but this does not imply that they are easy. Our approach to any style of meditation is significant and profoundly influences the way in which our experience will unfold. The willingness to learn, the humility to accept the moments we falter, the inspiration to begin again in every moment are all fundamental ingredients of right attitude. Right attitude is the willingness to bring profound patience, openness and acceptance to our path. Every moment is greeted as our teacher, including the moments of boredom, restlessness and resistance. We learn to welcome even the sometimes painful discoveries of our own frailties and prejudices as invitations to deepen in understanding. The path cannot be separated from the goal in meditation. If we seek peace then we need to develop our path in a peaceful way – judgement, striving and forcing are not conducive to peace. If we seek compassion then compassion must be an integral part of our own approach to meditation – intolerance, blame and rejection are not elements of compassion. If we seek calm, excessive ambitiousness and preoccupation with goals are not appropriate or conducive.

Many people come to meditation practice inspired by the stories of great saints and mystics who have been changed through profound spiritual experiences and altered states of consciousness. We may find ourselves looking to meditation as a fast track to our own transcendental experiences and breakthroughs. Investing too much in these expectations we may easily feel disappointed or disillusioned when our initial experiences seem to fall far short of our ideals. Vision and inspiration are a vital ingredient in developing our meditation practice, but these need to be finely balanced with a number of other qualities of heart and mind that allow us to become clearly established in the reality of the present moment with balance and openness. All meditative traditions are paths from here to there, a way of realizing the understanding and compassion that is possible for all of us. For us to fulfil those possibilities, to realize our vision and aspiration we need to begin with the ‘here’, to connect clearly and fully with the truth of our experience in this moment with an attitude of acceptance and balance.

You do not need to be a spiritual expert, religiously educated or belong to a particular tradition in order to meditate. For those who are just beginning a path and for those who have had vast previous experience in meditation, one simple yet primary ingredient is shared. It is the willingness to learn, to see clearly, to be wholehearted in our path. Meditation is essentially a ‘present’ moment experience and exploration. There are goals, directions and aspirations yet our practice of meditation and attention is focused upon the moment we are in and not upon the promises and ideals of the future. Whatever is occurring in this moment is the grist for and the birthplace of understanding, calm and peace.

PATIENCE

When you practise meditation and discover a mind that seems to be bursting with thoughts, a body that is restless or uncomfortable and emotions that are unpredictable or overwhelming it is easy to conclude that your meditation is impossible and worthless. The moment you focus your attention it seems to be swept away by memories from the past, planning the future or lost in the apparently endless mind storms of the present. You may be tempted to think that your meditation can only truly begin once you have succeeded in getting rid of or overcoming all of the distractions that plague you. This is a conclusion and an attitude that can only lead to tension, struggle and further confusion as you struggle with the apparently bottomless well of distractions. Consenting to this attitude breeds forcing, willpower and striving but does not lead to peace, calmness or understanding.

Patience is one of the primary enabling principles of meditation practice. It is the quality that allows us to find calmness and harmony in every moment rather than the struggle and tension born of impatience. The preoccupations, thoughts and distractions that appear to plague us and prevent us from meditating are not obstacles to be overcome or enemies to struggle with. It is in the midst of all of these that we learn some of the deepest lessons of our lives and our meditation. It is easy to hold love, compassion, acceptance and simplicity as ideals to be achieved in the future. It is also true that anyone can be compassionate when they remain unchallenged, we can love easily when surrounded by flattery, we can easily be calm when we are undisturbed – but this is not the truth of our lives. It is in the midst of disturbance, challenge and the difficult that we learn most deeply about acceptance, balance and compassion. The willingness to let go of our comparisons, evaluations and preoccupations with goals is a major factor in cultivating patience, to stay steady and balanced in the midst of busyness and confusion.

As we are faced with the variety of forces of our minds, hearts and bodies that appear to pull us away from our meditation it is patience that enables us to return over and over to the moment we are in with calmness and ease. No matter how lost we become in our thoughts and preoccupations, we can begin again to cultivate awareness and connectedness in the very next moment. The willingness to begin anew in every moment, free from judgement or conclusion is always possible for us. It is the embodiment of patience.

ACCEPTANCE

The capacity for acceptance is another of the primary principles that allows meditation to deepen and that runs through the variety of approaches. True acceptance is neither blind nor passive, but the capacity to see things as they actually are, free from judgement or prejudice. Acceptance is the extension of generosity, tolerance and forgiveness.

The process of inner change includes the process of becoming increasingly aware and sensitive to our inner landscape. In cultivating the power of attention we are revealed to ourselves. The variety of inner processes and dynamics that shape the life of our hearts and minds becomes progressively more visible to us. No one has yet created a path of meditation in which we are able to bypass ourselves – our bodies, emotions, minds, or personalities on the way to enlightenment, peace and understanding. Instead through meditation we become increasingly intimate with all the variety of thoughts, feelings, impressions and aspirations that shape us as human beings. We do not always enjoy or appreciate facets of our being that are revealed through our meditation practice. Qualities such as greed, anger, jealousy or indifference are not easy to accept with kindness and tolerance. It is easy to become judgmental and rejecting of parts of ourselves that we dislike because they are not in accord with our image of who we think we should be. Our judgements and rejections serve only to harden the mind and create endless agitation as we endeavour to avoid what we condemn within ourselves.

In a very real way meditation begins with acceptance. It allows us to soften and open, to bring compassion and generosity of heart. We do not have to justify, excuse or villify the variety of thoughts and feelings that arise. As we become increasingly aware and sensitive to the movements of our minds and hearts we also more deeply understand that rarely do they come to us through personal choice or selection but are born of confusion and misunderstanding. We are not always in control of our minds and hearts – this is a significant understanding. Rarely do we wake in the morning and decide it is a good day to be depressed or angry. Equally it is not so simple for us to wake in the morning and decide it’s a timely day to be happy or compassionate. Understanding with sensitivity and balance the unpredictable nature of our thoughts and feelings enables us to step back just a little, to refrain from judgement, to see things as they actually are and to stay balanced. This is the embodiment of acceptance and compassion.

Acceptance is the withdrawal of judgement and prejudice; this is also the beginning of change and transformation. Instead of resigning ourselves to helplessness or despair in the face of our thoughts and feelings or resisting them with tension and struggle we can turn our attention to meet directly whatever thoughts or feelings are present without conditions. Surrounding those inner processes with a clear and balanced attentiveness creates a relationship of interest and exploration rather than rejection. We begin to sense the possibility of new pathways of understanding, letting go and depth.

SIMPLICITY

Simplicity is a fundamental principle of meditation found in all spiritual traditions. Cultivating simplicity is in the service of establishing an environment of calmness and wholeheartedness in our lives and within ourselves. There are many dimensions to simplicity. Simplicity does not imply abandoning our lives, work and relationships. Simplicity is concerned with our approach to all of these areas of our life. Conscious simplicity is a path of disentangling ourselves from complexity, excess and the confusion generated by a mind that is fragmented and scattered. Excess may be in terms of possessions, commitments or thought. The mind that is burdened by excess in any area, is a mind that is starved of calmness and balance. Alienated from inner calm we are prone to habitual reactions and feelings of being overwhelmed by the events of our inner and outer world. Cultivating a path of simplicity begins with the honest reflection upon our lives to see where there is excessive complexity and entanglement. Do we do too much? Are we over-committed? Do we want too much? These areas signal their presence through tension, obsessive or repetitive thinking, habitual reactions and stress. We can interpret these signals of complexity and excess as messengers that invite us to give clear and conscious attention to the ways we may be able to cultivate disentanglement, simplicity and calm.

Simplicity is a path that is consciously developed through calm attention and wholeheartedness. Learning to be simply present, attending wholeheartedly to the moment we are in, is the path of meditation that can be applied to the whole of our lives. The cultivation of simplicity invariably has with it the companion of renunciation – not in the pursuit of asceticism but in the service of calmness and balance. Layers of judgement, evaluation and comparison are unnecessary burdens that distort our capacity to see each moment and each person in our lives as it actually is. We can learn to let go, to bring a fullness of attention to one moment at a time. In any moment of our lives it is not possible to attend to or solve every detail of our past or future. It is only possible to fully attend to and care for the moment we are in. Thoughts of past and future will continue to arise in the present – held in the light of clear and simple attentiveness they are divested of their urgency and will also pass. Held in the light of clear attentiveness there is the possibility of a more intuitive response emerging.

Just as simplicity is a quality that brings calmness to our outer lives, it is equally a quality to cultivate in our inner world. Meditation is not a path of accumulating theories and information but a path of fostering intuition and clarity. Our meditation is not aided by preoccupations with goals, evaluation or comparison. Learning to be simply present, attending wholeheartedly to the moment we are in is the path of meditation. Through habit our minds will demand answers, solutions, reassurance and familiar labels for our experience but this will simply get in the way of clear attentiveness. A major factor in cultivating simplicity is the willingness to let go of all of these demands, to not cling to the variety of thoughts and comparisons that will inevitably arise, but also to let them pass.

DEDICATION

The central themes of dedication and perseverance run through all great spiritual stories and are essential principles of meditation found in all traditions. As we explore meditation it will not always be a path of exciting revelations and profound breakthroughs. It would be unrealistic to anticipate that every period of meditation will be filled with dazzling insights or states of bliss. Those moments may come to us, but there will also be many moments when it seems that nothing is happening, no progress is being made or when our meditation is felt to be simply boring. There may well also be moments when we are faced with experiences of inner turmoil, states of mind that are challenging or painful inner experiences. This is natural. It is rare for anyone’s meditation to unfold in a predictable, linear manner. There will be valleys and peaks, highs and lows, times of delight and times of challenge.

The qualities of dedication and perseverance are essential principles that sustain us on our journey and keep us balanced in the midst of experiences that change in a way that is not always predictable or desired. In moments when we find ourselves despairing over a lack of progress or being assailed by inner storms of thought or feeling it is not time to resign or surrender to despair it is helpful to reflect upon our initial intentions and the vision that began us on our exploration. This should renew our intention to open to and be present with whatever difficulty is before us. Meditation is concerned with awakening, and awakening is an inclusive process – it embraces every aspect of our being and experience, the pleasing and the challenging. Don’t judge, don’t reject, don’t conclude – simply bring a calm, balanced attentiveness to everything that presents itself. The moments when our meditation introduces us to experiences of delight are not times to begin to consider retirement. The capacity to keep coming back and to sustain attention in the midst of highs and lows, the exhilarating and disappointing moments strengthens our inner steadiness and potential for dedication.

BEGINNING TO MEDITATE

Within the different schools of meditation you will find a range of suggestions about the optimal way to undertake a meditative training. These will range from the traditions that suggest withdrawing from the world into solitude to the traditions that suggest that the most effective way to meditate is in the midst of our daily lives with all their busyness and challenge. Despite these variations it is clear that for meditation to be meaningful and effective for us it must have the capacity to be integrated into the daily rhythms of our lives. Unless we choose a path of withdrawal or asceticism it is realistic to expect that our meditation will have the power to bring not only inner change, but also greater peace and clarity into the whole of our lives. Most of us do not come to meditation looking for a way to separate ourselves from the world even more, but to look for a way to be present in ourselves and in our families, work and play with greater wisdom and compassion.

The majority of meditative traditions will offer a path that embraces the full spectrum of our lives, suggesting the importance of times that are dedicated to a formal cultivation of a practice and the application of this practice on a moment to moment level in every circumstance. The process of transformation is not exclusively concerned with changing our consciousness, but equally with finding the skills to live with well-being, peace and understanding.

TIME

Considering the differences in our lifestyles and commitments it is not possible to prescribe what is the right amount of time to dedicate to meditation practice. The rhythm of our lives may allow us to take extended periods of time in more cloistered retreat settings that allow us undertake a dedicated exploration of a meditative discipline. It may also be that the level of our commitments allows only for a regular, daily practice and that our temperament inclines more towards a meditation practice that is developed and integrated on a daily level.

It is helpful to create a time in our day that is regularly dedicated to our formal meditation. When we wake in the morning or before going to bed at night are times that lend themselves well to a period of stillness and reflection. Making these periods of meditation into a reliable part of our daily routine is an invaluable asset in developing a path of practice. We may begin with fifteen-minute or half-hour periods. It is all worthwhile. It is helpful to approach these times with great care – they are not times for rehearsing our day or pondering upon what has been left undone. They are times for focus and dedication.

PLACE

Just as it is helpful to establish a regular time in our days for formal meditation, it is also helpful to create a space. It is not necessary to retreat to a cave or mountaintop in order to meditate but it is helpful to create a certain simplicity around us that reminds us of the importance of giving care to our inner landscape. It may be simply a corner of our bedroom that becomes a dedicated space. If possible, find a place that is somewhat secluded from excess noise and disturbance. It’s time to turn off the telephones and televisions and as much as possible create an external space of silence and calmness.

POSTURE

Before we ever begin to meditate most of us have been exposed to visual images of what meditation looks like in the form of Buddha statues and other religious images. Some traditions of meditation such as Zen will greatly emphasize the importance of adopting a particular posture whereas other traditions will downplay its significance. Whether you choose to sit in a full lotus position or in a chair there are a few simple guidelines that are helpful.

It is important that you feel at ease and relaxed within your posture. Your meditation will not be overly fruitful if it is spent struggling with excessive discomfort or tension in your body. Meditation is a process of sensitivity and befriending the moment and this begins with the relationship you have with your body. Experiment until you find a posture that you are able to sustain without forcing. It is helpful to sit with an upright back, whether this is on a cushion, on the floor or on a chair. Let your body relax, your eyes can either be closed or simply focused on the floor in front of you. Your body can express the quality of alertness and attentiveness you are seeking in your meditation.

Sitting postures appropriate for meditation

A TEACHER

Again, differing degrees of emphasis are given to the significance of having a teacher or guide within the variety of meditative traditions. A teacher will offer more than just instruction in technique or form, but will serve as a spiritual friend able to offer guidance and experience. Some meditators find it helpful to connect with a teacher on an ongoing basis and as our meditation deepens the support of someone who has travelled this path before us can be invaluable. However, a relationship with a teacher is not a prerequisite to cultivating a meditation practice. If you bring to your meditation practice the willingness to learn, to deepen in sensitivity and patience, and the commitment to developing attentiveness, you have everything you need to begin.

In the following chapters the major styles of meditation will be explained. Feel free to experiment with and explore any of them until you find a style you feel some rapport with.

Beginning to Meditate

1 Choose a regular time – morning, evening, or whenever you can rely upon not being interrupted.

2 Find a place – as secluded, simple and quiet as possible.