Archives
October 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Westerners are pretty bad at introspection. It is understandable. Westerners live in cultures which anthropologists call monophasic. In monophasic cultures attention is primarily given to the external world which overshadows the inner psychical world.
Because of this cultural habit, many Westerners seem very ill at ease with meditative, introspective paths except to imagine that meditation is about sitting on a zafu (a Japanese meditation cushion) which, incidentally, might explain some of the popularity of Zen in the West. As far as Westerners will go in the direction of introspection is to allow psychoanalysis in which the analyst attempts to show the analysand what is going on in their head. But self-introspection—well—forget it.
In a nutshell, Buddhist meditation is all about introspection which tends to be self-analytical as well as illuminative in which the path to liberation is revealed—or perhapas I should say, experienced. With such an experience comes our first introduction to the animative nature of citta or mind. This is also the beginning of the spiritual life of Buddhism. (Citta is virtually impossible to translate into English. Imagine 'will', 'mind', and 'psychic energy'—rolled into one—and you will come close to grapsing the meaning of citta.)
The beginning steps of Buddhist meditation are primarily concerned with observing our physical being. Especially, in traditional Buddhist training we are taught to be mindful of every twitch, burp, nervous trembling, and anxious heart beat—and much more. But going further, Buddhist meditation is also about getting acquainted with the landscape of our mental life and its more subtle underpinnings which are vast and deep, this being pure Mind. This last part is the most difficult to access. But this is where the door of liberation is to be sought. There is no door of liberation in the external world.
thezennist at 4:49:00 PM EDT Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | 
digg this
Meditation in a nutshell
Westerners are pretty bad at introspection. It is understandable. Westerners live in cultures which anthropologists call monophasic. In monophasic cultures attention is primarily given to the external world which overshadows the inner psychical world.
Because of this cultural habit, many Westerners seem very ill at ease with meditative, introspective paths except to imagine that meditation is about sitting on a zafu (a Japanese meditation cushion) which, incidentally, might explain some of the popularity of Zen in the West. As far as Westerners will go in the direction of introspection is to allow psychoanalysis in which the analyst attempts to show the analysand what is going on in their head. But self-introspection—well—forget it.
In a nutshell, Buddhist meditation is all about introspection which tends to be self-analytical as well as illuminative in which the path to liberation is revealed—or perhapas I should say, experienced. With such an experience comes our first introduction to the animative nature of citta or mind. This is also the beginning of the spiritual life of Buddhism. (Citta is virtually impossible to translate into English. Imagine 'will', 'mind', and 'psychic energy'—rolled into one—and you will come close to grapsing the meaning of citta.)
The beginning steps of Buddhist meditation are primarily concerned with observing our physical being. Especially, in traditional Buddhist training we are taught to be mindful of every twitch, burp, nervous trembling, and anxious heart beat—and much more. But going further, Buddhist meditation is also about getting acquainted with the landscape of our mental life and its more subtle underpinnings which are vast and deep, this being pure Mind. This last part is the most difficult to access. But this is where the door of liberation is to be sought. There is no door of liberation in the external world.
thezennist at 4:49:00 PM EDT Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | digg this
10/25/07 11:30 PM
With metta,
Robert
enterbeing@aol.com