Tag Archive for "meditation"
Outside the tarp covered window the winter rages on. Snows fall for another countless day and the sun is hidden once again. Inside, the room is warm and fragrant. The tile floor is heated from below, giant bellows push ember-warmed air up from the lower levels to warm the bath rooms. You sit, lotus style, in a ornate copper tub, steaming water comes midway up your chest. The herbs and perfumes in the water sting your eyes and fill your nose with smells of earth. Butter lamps burn around the room, casting a soft yellow pale on every corner, the smell from the lamps is disguised and forgotten amid the burning agar wood incense. From somewhere else in the monastery you can hear the chanting still, the Om Mani Padme Hum comes at you over and over until you hear the sounds as one tone.
Your eyes are closed, even if you wanted to open them, the stinging would slow you, but you keep them closed while you watch Chenrezig in your mind. He is standing before you, one of his four arms is outstretched and open palmed to you, asking for you to come with him, offering you one more chance. One of the millions that he has and will continue to offer.
Some one unseen pours more water in to the copper tub and takes a bucket out, keeping the level constant. The vapors fills your nostril and you see the color purple in your minds eye. Beyond the purple, in the center of your vision, a soft yellow starts to permeate, and then blue follows behind, until the purple once again pulls forward. The colors stream in succession now; purple, yellow, blue, purple, yellow, blue, purple.
The wind outside the window is gone now, you can hear your own breath again. The water is still, motionless against your chest as you sit perfectly still, your chest rising and falling with breath the one motion.
The colors fade into whiteness and Chenrezig is standing there again, his arm reaching to you, his mouth closed, but not tight. His eyes open, you can see the reflection of other people’s faces in his eyes, moving past like clouds on a sunny day.
Mindful of the warm water on your skin you reach out to grasp his hand and you feel something tangible as your clasp. Your eyes come open and the room is gone. The tile floor, the butter lamps, the burning agar wood, the window and the snows beyond: all gone. Surrounding you now is only the whiteness of the pure lotus.
Float now on the perfect flower.
I am not a good practitioner of meditation. My mind races, wild and erratic thoughts pop in and out of my head in rapid and seemingly random procession. Did I feed the cat, why did I say that to her, how long until I calm down, when am I supposed to work in that new project?
Definitely not a good practitioner of meditation.
So, instead I try to be mindful. I try to think about my actions right now. As I drive I try to concentrate on being there, in the car, driving. When I am in a conversation I continually try to remain present there with that person, instead of allowing my mind to drift away and fantasize about dinner or yesterday or what ever my head can dream up.
Mmmm, doughnuts.
I am getting better at being truly mindful too. Case in point: I am finding it easier to stay focused on the little things. Americans, maybe everyone else is too, are too caught up in the ‘multi-tasking’ fervor. Why? Why is it desirable to do three things at once in a fashion that leads to mediocrity? Why not instead strive to remain present and mindful of the task at hand?
Whether the task is writing a letter of thanks, flying a kite with your children or even sitting beside your loved one and talking about your thoughts about tomorrow; why not be mindful of that experience there and then.
Yes, I do know that meditation is important, and I am working on it. I try almost nightly to find some quiet time and relax. To follow my breath, in and out, not forcing it or even changing it, but just noticing how I breathe.
In, out. Quiet, relax. In, out.
You see the mandalas that the Tibetan Buddhist monks make and you just have to wonder at the skill and memory that is needed for something like that. The one above is the Medicine Buddha Mandala. It shows, among many things, the Medicine Buddha sitting on his Lotus Throne in the heart of the mandala and the Buddha Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha, touching the earth with his mudra pose.
The mandala is made by placing colored sands in a particular order around the design until you get the finished mandala, truly a magical, mystical piece of living art. Can you image the hours that are spent learning the correct order to make even the simplest design? The steady hands that one would need to make a design like this? Then, after it is completed and the prayers are said and the meditations have taken place, it is wiped away. Reminding us all of the imperminance of everything. Our life, our thoughts, our dreams and wishes and everything in the universe. Maybe even the universe itself?
OK, I know I strayed a lot on this post about “Meditation and Mindfulness” - but I didn’t sit down to write something brilliant like normal. (That was a joke.) I just wanted to remind you to be mindful. To Be Here Now, as Ram Das said. To meditate and let go.
For now, Kali pai