Awakening the Buddha Within _ Eight Steps to Enlightenment - Lama Surya Das [157]
2. Training
We teach the mustang to lose its fear of the unfamiliar. It will learn to give up bucking and thrashing in return for the safety of a warm, safe haven. Eventually it will be able to gallop freely at full speed, and its movements will have purpose and meaning. But for now it is learning to walk on a tight rein. In meditation we train the restless mind to slow down and relax.
3. Testing
We must work with the mustang; we have to take it out and ride it. What happens when it’s exposed to outside influences, distractions, noises, temptation? Will it be able to maintain its poise and disciplined attention? In developing our awareness practice, we test whether we can maintain our mindfulness and concentration when we move away from the meditation room into the outside world.
4. Transforming
The mustang has been transformed. It is now able to carry its owner long distances at any speed. In meditation we are no longer controlled by our thoughts; instead we can use the mind’s unique abilities for our own higher purposes. We have tapped into the inexhaustible power of mind.
5. Transcendence
In transcendence the rider and the horse become as one. There is no longer a separate “you” who has to tame, train, or test “it.” We realize oneness, completeness, and harmony with the universe. Concentration practice helps bring us back to that unified wholeness at our source. We can go with the flow of things just as they are, without resistance or clinging, knowing that we are part of the infinite flow … And that wherever we may go, it goes with us.
Concentration Exercises
We can use just about anything as an object of concentration. Traditional centering devices include mantras, candles, prayers, or visualizations. We could also choose to concentrate on a vase, a flower, or any other object near at hand. Over the years many Christians have read The Way of the Pilgrim, a charming old book that tells of a wandering Russian seeker who is searching the countryside trying to learn how to pray without ceasing. Extended prayer is but another example of concentration leading to transcendence.
For our purposes, I have found that the easiest, most tried and true concentration object is the breath. The breath, which often accurately reflects our mood and our physical being, can hold our interest, while allowing for some flexibility. When we are excited, we breath rapidly; as we relax, our breathing becomes slower and more relaxed. When the mind becomes quiet, the breath becomes quiet.
The first thing we need to do with our concentration device or object is to locate it. If we were to use a mantra, for example, we would need to remember the mantra, to call it to mind. With the breath, we find it and focus on it by locating the exact spot above the lip where the breath hits the base of the nostrils. Finding the physical sensation of our breath at that spot helps us find ourselves in the present moment. This is an experience of reality right now. Returning to reality and what is time and time again helps us stay in the present moment. This is a way to genuinely connect to the real, tangible world. Such a connection cultivates a sane and balanced response to life.
The following series of six meditations are exercises for increasing your concentration and mental focus.
1. BREATH COUNTING
We begin with breath counting. Remember that we expect the mind to wander. By numbering each breath one through ten, we keep bringing the mind back to the task at hand—focusing and staying in the moment.
Begin as always by taking your seat. Relax and let go of anxieties, preoccupations, and ordinary concerns. Breathe. Let everything settle. Breathe. Let your body and mind become quiet.
When you are ready; when you feel as though you have fully arrived; when you feel centered and have collected yourself in this place—in this moment—on your seat, on the spot, on the dot, start:
Inhaling, count one to yourself.