Meditation: What is it?

His Holiness, the Dalai Lama says, “All human beings have an innate desire to overcome suffering, to find happiness. Training the mind to think differently, through meditation, is one important way to avoid suffering and be happy.”

Training the mind is the first step in meditation. In its’ most basic form, such training calms our relative mind.

Relative mind refers to the seemingly endless, unstoppable onslaught of thoughts and judgments – the push and pull of attachments and aversions, of likes and dislikes – that creates the mental chatter which creates anxiety and keep us up at night.

From this unfolding process, our suffering arises.

Once calm, one then seeks to recognize the absolute nature of our existence – to realize the fusion of wisdom and compassion that comprises our essential nature from which all things arise, dwell, and cease.

A common Buddhist metaphor helps us visualize and better understand the meaning of these words.

Imagine a glass of pure water (absolute nature). Add some dirt (thoughts) and stir. As it swirls, what is the state of the water?

It is cloudy and dirty.

As the water slows and settles, what happens? The pure, clear, and innate nature of the water returns effortlessly – so do our minds through meditation.
Bearing this metaphor in mind, allow me to share two techniques with the intention of sparking a better understanding of the meditation process for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Breath

There are several methods that encourage meditation and I would like to start with the most “anytime, anywhere” technique – awareness of breath.

Breath is fundamental to our existence. We can go a week without water and a month without food before death ensues. Our breath? At about four (4) minutes, its’ primacy is clear.

On the wave of breath, the surrounding life force feeds each and every cell in our body.

Training in the mindfulness of breath best begins in a quiet, peaceful, and uninterrupted location – phones down and tv off.

Later, as our mindfulness of breath becomes a new and healthy habit, we can practice in the noisiest, most crowded of situations. For starters, though, I encourage you to find or create a tranquil place for training.

As you sit quietly, feeling relaxed and open, give attention to your breath; you will see it has four (4) phases. They are:

1. Inhalation;
2. a switching point;
3. exhalation, and;
4. a switching point back to inhalation.

Inhaling through the nose, become aware of the coolness that ensues as air passes from the sinuses, to the throat, to the lungs, to the blood and then to every cell in the body.

With the tip of your tongue placed gently behind your top row of teeth, note the switch as inhalation capacity is reached and exhalation begins through the mouth. Follow it from your toes to your nose.

Train in this simple technique until you gain a sense of this innate process. Then, when comfortable with this new found mindfulness of breath, add a count.

First, allow your inhalation to arise effortlessly and circulate inwards. Mind simply is – open, free of thoughts, non-focused and nakedly aware.

Then, as the exhalation begins, bring focus to the word ONE. Gently allow the word ONE to escape your lips. Focus on the word ONE and rest entirely, and one-pointedly, on it as the sound of ONE rides the wave of your out-breath to the switch.

Then, allow the inhalation to arise effortlessly as your mind floats free of thoughts. Your relative mind expands in a state of open awareness.

As the switch to exhalation occurs, focus on the word TWO. Feel it resonate in your body until the next switch.

Again allow inhalation to occur without your conscious awareness, uttering THREE as the exhalation transpires.

Keep repeating this cycle linking mindfulness with breath. And, count.

Seek to do this training, from 1-10, without the interruption of even a single thought (other than your mindfulness of the out-breath count). Once comfortable with this training, here is a fine challenge to accept.

Every time you recognize a thought interrupting your count, return to ONE and start again until your thoughts cease to arise as you reach TEN. While sounding simple, you may find it otherwise.

Throughout this training, I encourage you to be kind to yourself and welcome any frustrations that may manifest. Allow yourself the space to train free from negative judgments and mental chatter. Simply put – relax. It is all good.

Sound

Throughout the “anytime, anywhere” meditation technique, gently uttering the count on your exhalation dovetails with the second technique I aspire to now share. That is, the power of sound.
Have you ever noticed how the giggle of a laughing baby makes you smile, or, the sound of screeching tires makes your shoulders shrug as you await the possibility of a crash?

The role of sound in our lives is something on which we rarely reflect. And yet, sound plays a significant role in creating the causes and condition for calming the mind.

Across all cultures, sound, in all forms, is used to induce emotion, and inspire and elevate our connection to something larger, something greater than the perception of our individual existence.

In Eastern philosophies, sound plays a major role in cultivating mindfulness and focus through the recitation of mantras and chanting.

Or, conversely, sitting silently and settling the mind allows us to resonate with the pervasive “hum” that underlies the boundless, infinite space in which we exist.

Buddha taught that this “hum,” is typified by the recitation (chanting) and resonance of OM.

OM represents the primordial sound of the Universe, the source from which all compounded items arise, dwell and cease – impermanence manifested.

This reflects the absolute nature of our existence.

Tapping into this understanding leads to a sense of calm that allows our body and mind to relax, to be more present in each and every moment, to live in the here and now – not chasing after a completed past, nor a continually arising future.

One can cultivate such an understanding of the experience of sound as a powerful technique through the chanting of OM throughout the entire stream of exhalation.

Pulling your navel to your spine, allow OM to ride the entirety of your breath.

Another sound based meditation technique is through the use of Tibetan Singing Bowls (TSB).

TBS date back 2,500 years. Traditionally, TBS bowls were made of silver and tin, though various metals have been used over the years, including gold, iron, lead and others.

Essentially, they are bells turned upright. Sound is created with a wooden stick that strikes the bell (gong-like), or, a stick is gently run around the rim to generate a resonant sound that fleetingly lasts.

Sitting quietly, we follow the sound to its’ natural dissolution. One-pointed focus is given to the sound as it slowly dissipates into the ether.

This represents the impermanent nature of our existence and calms the mind, as if being re-introduced to something we have known all along.

The bowl is then re-struck as your focus remains.

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I hope you find this information helpful.

Thank you to all the Masters who share these techniques and wisdom for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Peter Shankland is the author of Life In Tens – www.lifeintens.life

This article originally appeared in the Autumn 2021 issue of CHOICES Magazine