In t H e f i l m G r av i t y , after hurtling through outer
space, Sandra Bullock’s character takes slow, delicious steps on
the Earth. For me, this simple scene was the most impactful of the
whole movie. It reminded me of a teaching by the ninth-century Zen
master Rinzai: “The great miracle is not to walk on the
air or to walk on water or fire, but to be able to walk on the
Earth.” When I started to ask what it meant to walk on the “Earth”
of
my own life, I realized that I spent most of my time walking
on
the “air” and “water” of the past, the future, my plans, fears,
and
hopes. In fact, it was rare for me to take steps on the “Earth”
of
my embodied experience.
An authentic practice life isn’t about seeking peak
experiences
but rather touching the wonder of the ordinary. This is made
clear in a conversation that the Buddha is said to have had
with
a prince. The prince asked, “What do you and your monastics
practice every day?” The Buddha replied, “We sit, we walk,
and
we eat.” The prince said, “We also do these things every day,
so
how are you different?” The Buddha responded, “When we sit,
we know we are sitting. When we walk, we know we are
walking.
When we eat, we know we are eating.”
We can practice walking meditation throughout the day, even
when we only need to take a few steps. Usually in our daily
lives,
we’re habituated to physically and mentally going somewhere
that’s not here. We’re sitting and we decide to open the
window.
The next thing we’re aware of is that we’re at the window;
we
haven’t been present for the time in-between. Walking
medita-
tion is an opportunity to bring awareness to the transition
mo-
ments, which in fact make up the majority of our life.
Whenever I practice walking meditation, it’s new and differ-
ent. At times I walk slowly, taking perhaps three steps for
every
in-breath and three steps for every out-breath, and at other
times
the situation is such that I need to move more quickly, but in
any
case I bring the same awareness to my steps. As I walk, I feel
my
feet on the Earth and bring my awareness to my breath. I
become
rooted in my body, established in time and place.
Walking meditation is a gift you offer yourself. When you
walk, relax your whole body. Notice how many steps you take
for each in-breath and out-breath. If you find that your
mind
is wandering, silently repeating a word or two can be
helpful.
One suggestion is to say, “Arrived, arrived” on the in-breath
and
“Home, home” on the out-breath.
The practice of meditation is about arriving with every
breath, every step. When we settle into our lived experience,
we
have truly arrived. ♦
imaginary better world. They are found only in the present.
Mindfulness became my gateway to an unending process of
discovery. What is this mind and heart? How can I live a life
worth
living? My life became a fertile ground for investigation,
accep-
tance, and discovery.
Becoming open to experience isn’t always easy. Sometimes we
face unpleasant aspects of our body and mind. But this too
is
insight, and when we approach our difficulties with kind
attention,
they lose their power over us. It all comes down to the simple
act of
returning to the breath and the body, and then using our
embodied
presence to notice what is happening right now. Certainly it
can
be difficult, but reminding ourselves that we are on a path that
has
been trusted and traveled for more than 2,600 years can
help.
We all struggle: with sickness, raising children, aging
parents,
death of loved ones, and violent boundary violations. But in
each
moment we can call on our ability as human beings to open,
even when it doesn’t feel pleasant.
I remember crying while listening to Insight teacher Trudy
Goodman explain to a woman who had just lost her husband
that we sit again and again in the crucible of meditation. We
sit
for ourselves, for those we love, and for the next time we
venture
into the depths. She told the students, “Don’t worry that you
will
miss out. If you aren’t in the crucible now, you will be. Let’s
prac-
tice now so that we can open even amidst the storms.”
I remember being on a meditation retreat and falling into a
pit of despair and frustration. Memories flashed from my
past,
my body burned, and I just wanted to get out of, fix, and
change
my experience.
I asked my teacher, Jack Kornfield, if the bombardment of
unpleasantness ever stopped. He smiled big with love and
care.
“Relax and you will know,” he said.
It can be counterintuitive to relax when there is chaos. Yet
learning to recognize, accept, investigate, and not identify
with
our experience—think of the mnemonic device “RAIN”—helps
free us from the false realities our thoughts, emotions, and
body
sensations create. We usually feel that our experience is solid
and
will never change, but with insight it all breaks down into a
mil-
lion different aspects. We open so that all experience is a
flowing
stream, and when debris floats by, it is held with loving,
non-
judgmental, mindful awareness.
The Buddha taught that we free ourselves from our stormy
struggles by noticing their causes and by understanding the
pat-
terns of our mind, or programming. We are able to recognize
which parts are useful and which are hindering us from
freely
experiencing the ebb and flow of life. Let’s call this “mind
hack-
ing,” because mindfulness gives us the ability to reprogram
the
inner operating system and become more fluid in our
identity.
As you practice Insight Meditation, you’ll become more com-
fortable with this continual shifting of identity, and you’ll
come to
trust the unfolding of life itself. It provides the soil for a
deep joy
and connection in both solitude and in relationship. With
mind-
fulness you can extend your inward learning and begin to
deeply
love the whole network of humanity. Here’s how to get
started.
How to Practice Insight MeditationYou can practice Insight
Meditation in a number of situations.
You can practice in a quiet place in your home, in your car,
or
even during a break at work. You may want to surround
yourself
with objects that remind you of the sacred quality of life,
perhaps
a flower or candles. Allow the space to be uniquely yours.
Begin by taking a meditation posture either in a chair or on
a meditation cushion. Allowing your posture to be upright
and
stable, take a few deep breaths in and out, exhaling fully
and
inhaling fully.
As your breath becomes simple and natural, allow your sit-
ting bones to fall toward the earth and your spine to
straighten
toward the sky. Feel the weight of your body and the space
it
takes up. Soften your attention by relaxing into the posture
and
allowing a simple smile to appear on your face.
Now direct your attention to the natural rhythm of your
breath, noticing the sensations as you breathe in and out.
Notice
the space between your inhalations and exhalations. You may
make a gentle mental note: in with the in-breath and out
with
the out-breath. Allow the multitude of sensations to arise
and
pass around the breath.
When you notice your attention wandering, gently bring it
back to the breath. It takes time to be able to stay with the
breath
for very long. It is like going to the gym: with practice,
your
“attention muscles” will become stronger and you will be able
to
see more and more clearly what is happening in your
experience.
To deepen attention, notice if the breath is warm, cool,
hot,
slow, or fast. Is it tingling, stuffy, gentle? Investigate what
is hap-
pening. Usually we take this mysterious process of breathing
for
granted. Use it to become present.
When thoughts come, acknowledge them gently and return to
the breath. Stepping outside the story, we can begin to
non-iden-
tify and simply be with what’s happening. One moment at a
time,
gradually open to the whole range of sensations and the flow of
life.
As you become more present using the breath, ask yourself,
what else is happening right now? Allow the experience to be
as
it is without pushing it away, grasping toward it, or numbing
out.
Become gracious, accepting, fully present, and wise. This is
the
art of mindfulness.
Focusing on the movement of the breath softens our iden-
tification with the stories we tell ourselves so we can simply
be
with what’s happening. With gentleness and insight, your
sense
of freedom grows and you open to the flow of life. ♦
Walking Meditation in MotionWith every step, says BrotHer PHaP
Hai , you can touch the Earth and the wonder of life.
SHAMBHALA SUN JULy 2014 SHAMBHALA SUN JULy 2014 4544
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