Most of the time we go around in a kind of self-induced torpor of non-awareness. The thrust of the Buddhist path is to remove that non-awareness. Through Buddhist meditation we give the mind space to sharpen and expand its awareness.

Seeing, Not Doing

When we meditate or practise awareness in our everyday life, it is not a thing about which we can say ‘I’m doing something’. If ‘I’ were doing something, then it would always turn out to be mistaken. The whole process is really one of ‘undoing’ conceptual thoughts and creations.

Unlearning Process

Since the practice does not consist of doing any particular thing or developing any particular kind of conceptual framework, it is more a process of unlearning than of learning. It is a matter of learning not to engage in certain old habits of relating to the world and our experience.

These habits, both positive and negative, arise in that space of well-being and at the same time they are nothing to do with it. They could neither cause nor destroy it, however bad they were.

Unveiling Process

The three qualities pervade all our experience and as we practise they are gradually revealed or unveiled. What we are doing is working at removing obstructions. Buddhist practice removes those things that prevent the three qualities expressing themselves in their fullness within our experience and thus prevent them from radiating out into the world.

The Quest to Discover the Nature of Mind

Both sitting meditation and carrying the practice out into everyday life become a kind of quest, a process of discovery. It is not a matter of trying to find truth as a kind of conceptual formula or idea. It is about actually discovering something real within ourselves.

A Process of Re-Alignment

It is simply a matter of learning to align ourselves with qualities that we have already and yet which have nothing to do with the ego process of proving ourselves or defending ourselves.

Manipulated Calmness Is Not Stability of Mind

The aim of Buddhist meditation is not simply to become calm, although this can be a welcome side effect. People often treat meditation as if it were a therapy to help them solve some particular problem such as tension or disturbed emotions.

The problem with this approach is that it is too project-oriented. Although Buddhist meditation does eventually lead to greater mental peace and stability, it is important to understand that this is not the direct focus of the meditation.

If one focuses on calmness, the tendency is to try to manipulate the mind or dull the awareness so that it stops moving so much. This is the direct opposite to what is required.

Source: Based on the following reference. Rigdzin Shikpo. Openness Clarity Sensitivity. Compiled from talks by Rigdzin Shikpo. Edited by Shenpen Hookham. Oxford: The Longchen Foundation, 1992, 2000. 

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