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Meditation
 Meditation is the practice of taming one's mind and developing
the compassion and insight necessary to care for oneself and the
world genuinely. The practice of meditation has been taught for
over 2,500 years as a vehicle for realizing the beauty and magic
of the ordinary world without aggression or manipulation. The teachings
of Tibetan Buddhism emphasize the potential for enlightenment inherent
in every situation or state of mind. Through discipline, gentleness
and a sense of humor, the practitioner is invited to let go of
conflicting emotions and wake up on the spot.
When someone asks us, "What do you believe in?", we have to boil
it down to something that says, "I believe in love!" It can be an embarrassing moment,
because it may sound flaky, but at the same time, we can do it. We can say, "I believe
that in the mind there is a tremendous magnanimity, and that we can generate it." That’s
the kind of love we are talking about. Fundamentally, this love is who we are. Obviously,
how we discover it and how we act upon it is a process involving the most skillful means.
That's why we call what we’re doing "practice": we’re
practicing how to discover this love, how to liberate it, and how to radiate it.
--Sakyong
Mipham Rinpoche
Meditation Instruction
Meditation instruction is available Wednesday
and Thursday evenings at 7:30 pm, and on Sunday mornings from 9:00 am to noon. Meditation instruction
is always free of charge. Not just for "new" meditators,
instruction is also recommended as part of our ongoing practice. You
are always welcome to come in and speak to an instructor about your regular
practice and you may even ask to form a working relationship with the instructor
of your choice.
COOL BOREDOM
The practice of meditation could be described as relating with
cool boredom, refreshing boredom, boredom like a mountain stream.
It refreshes because we do not have to do anything or expect
anything. But there must be some sense of discipline if we are
to get beyond the frivolity of trying to replace boredom. That
is why we work with the breath as our practice of meditation.
Simply relating with the breath is very monotonous and unadventurous--we
do not discover that the third eye is opening or that chakras
are unfolding. It is like a stone-carved Buddha sitting in the
desert. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens.
As we realize
that nothing is happening, strangely we begin to realize that something
dignified is happening. There is no room for frivolity, no room
for speed. We just breathe and are there. There is something very
satisfying and wholesome about it. It is as though we had eaten
a good meal and were satisfied with it, in contrast to eating and
trying to satisfy oneself. It is a very simpleminded approach to
sanity.
--Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
From The Myth of Freedom, pages 56-57.
MEDITATION BRINGS RELIEF
"Believing that thought patterns are a solid self is the source of our bewilderment and suffering. Seeing through this simple misunderstanding is the beginning of enlightenment.
The meditation technique engenders clarity because in recognizing, acknowledging, and releasing thoughts, we realize that the mind's movement isn't "me." We don't have to cling to it as if it were a life raft. We'll still be here even if we let go. Releasing the thoughts and returning to the breath gives us a sense of space and relief. In that instant we are grounded, so to speak, because we can see ourselves as separate from our thoughts and emotions. . . .
Meditation allows us to relax our grip on "me" because we're able to see the thoughts not so much as our personal identity, but more as the effects of the speed of our mind. We gain perspective. We can see the thoughts come and go. We're not so limited by them. Suddenly everything falls into place. We might have spent our entire life -- and many lifetimes over, according to the Buddhist teachings -- identifying with the movement of our mind. Now mindfulness and awareness present us with the revolutionary opportunity to observe that movement without being swept into it."
-Sakyong Mipham
From Turning the Mind Into an Ally, pp. 63-64
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