Awakening the Buddha Within _ Eight Steps to Enlightenment - Lama Surya Das [163]
I use concentration exercises daily. No matter how experienced we become as meditators, we continue to go back to the same mindful breathing and walking exercises time and time again. Athletes start their training every day with the same simple stretching exercises and warm-ups. Even a great sprinter doesn’t walk out the door and start sprinting. Sprinters know they need to return time and time again to their warm-ups and build to peak performance level.
The same thing is true with spiritual practice. As meditators, we start with the simplest awareness exercises and then move on from there. We are getting our minds into shape. In the beginning, these exercises may seem somewhat restrictive and controlled. And they are. Yet these exercises help us evolve toward greater freedom and panoramic awareness through the use of self-discipline. We are building up our own concentration muscle. The beautiful wild mustang of mind is being tamed and reined in before it can be totally let loose to run free. This principle of a little control followed by a little release is another example of the Buddha’s middle way of moderation. With the right measure of control balanced with release, the natural mind finds its natural place, and so do we.
BEING CHALLENGED ONCE AGAIN BY THE HINDRANCES
A discussion of concentration would not be complete without mentioning again the five classical hindrances that can impede our progress: craving, ill will, torpor, restlessness, and doubt. They will all try to interfere with your meditations. Your thoughts may be filled with cravings and desires; you may remember old arguments; you may feel too tired to continue; you may doubt whether meditation is working for you.
One challenge to meditation that just about everyone faces is restlessness, which sometimes masks itself as boredom. It may show up in a meditation session when we wonder when the hour is going to end—or even if it will ever end. Or sometimes a thought bubble appears, and even though we are meditating we still respond with knee-jerk impulses.
Restlessness also presents itself outside of the meditation hall. Many men and women are drawn to the spiritual path at times of life crisis. Meditation can be a real emotional life preserver. But when their lives improve and they are again on an even keel, they may become distracted by new interests and lose interest in their practice. Some people wander on and off the path for years depending on what else in happening in their lives. When we become restless in this fashion it may indicate that we are still placing too much emphasis on outer events and people; we are still looking for solutions outside ourselves. Meeting the challenge of restlessness requires focus and a real commitment to do more inner work. Continuity and repetition are the secrets of success.
Some of us have deep streaks of restlessness that prevent us from leading settled, well-balanced lives. Aren’t we all a little guilty of this? We complain that we don’t have time to accomplish what we want, and yet the moment one chaotic life episode ends, we create new chaos. We take on projects, love affairs, and financial obligations we can’t manage. We keep stirring up our outer world as a way to deal with inner dissatisfaction. This restless motion will never end until we simply lay it down.
When we see someone who can’t stop creating more complications for themselves, we may say he or she is making waves, looking for trouble, going around in circles, or playing games. The underlying impulse driving an out-of-control life isn’t so different from the impulse that makes a meditating monk start fidgeting. A good meditation session is simply a microcosm of a well-lived life.
Restless impulses can be handled through meditation. An old Buddhist technical term that meditators use is called “the interest factor.” Here’s how it works: Let’s say Debra is sitting in meditation, and it’s going really well. Suddenly