Dhamma Talk

Last night's Dhamma talk in Inglewood was insightful. Canadian-born monk, Venerable U Vamsarakkhita was passing through Calgary, so I was glad to hear him speak once more. I appreciate his words because they are honest and to the point. What stuck with me from last night's talk was his advice on how to reduce suffering: "...accept the truth of impermanence organically and life will become simpler."
Back in April, I attended my first Vipassana retreat. I had the privilege of learning some meditation techniques from U Vamsa. His method of easing new students into lengthy meditation is through metta (lovingkindness). The method is simple: whether you are doing seated or walking meditation, you start by repeating the prayer to yourself: may I be happy, peaceful, free from suffering.... Then you choose 5 persons of significance in your life. For each individual, start by mentally listing several qualities in them that you admire.....and then repeat the metta for that person, and so forth. Eventually, you will move on to wishing metta upon all sentient beings. You are focusing on nothing but metta. Not your breath......not your steps.....In my first interview, I was given some advice on how to move past the wandering mind while meditating: this was where I was able to interject some vipassana technique for the first time. Every time a thought or worry would enter my mind, I was to label it for what it was: THINKING. Repeating this word, until the thought disappeared.

So, last night as we were seated in meditation, we were told to use the vipassana technique exclusively. This was my first time doing this for any length of time, and although the method is slightly different from the metta....it's just as simple. You are observing everything for exactly what it is: if you hear a sound, then acknowledge it as a sound. If your mind starts to wander, then acknowledge it as thinking. If you feel aching in your lower back (and I certainly did!) then acknowledge it as sensation. And after this acknowledgment, then move back to the observation of the breath....the rising and falling of the abdomen.

I tried this technique again this morning. It was more difficult today, as my mind was in a million places, but I am trying not to be too hard on myself...after all, I admit that I am relatively new to meditation. And so, I am reminded of something that Pattabhi Jois always says: "Practice...and all is coming!"