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MEDITATION IN DAILY LIFE

This is a short article I wrote for a company magazine. May it inspire you to meditate, or in my case, meditate more!

"I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. That is clear. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we all are seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness…" – His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

"Life is precious. Love is its diamond. With the strength of a tiger, to embody this jewel is to be free of one’s selfishness." - HE Prince Ratu Pandji Pandita

In the East sages and meditation masters are revered for their wisdom and compassion in teaching people how to find inner peace and happiness through the precious jewel of meditation. I am forever indebted to my teacher, His Eminence Prince Ratu Pandji Pandita, a Buddhist lama of the Sakya tradition of Indonesia who taught me the joy of meditation and showed me the path to happiness. I am honoured to share some of my knowledge with my fellow colleagues. May you all find happiness on this journey to self discovery.

Meditation is perhaps the greatest gift you can give yourself. At the very least meditation will help you relax and deal with the vagaries of everyday life. At best meditation is the most powerful method to attain enlightenment. As a non-sectarian practice the benefits of meditation are well known, ranging from developing amazing powers of concentration and insight, to relieving the effects of physical and emotional stress. Some people have even healed themselves from cancer and all range of chronic illnesses. Others speak about experiences of peace, clarity and bliss, of feeling an interconnectedness with all living things where life pulses with a vibrancy they have never experienced before.

Meditation is a practice anyone can do anywhere at any time. People feel the benefits even after practising for as little as ten minutes a day. Scientific studies have shown that meditation decreases oxygen consumption, heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure, and increases the intensity of alpha, theta, and delta brain waves - the opposite of the physiological changes that occur during the stress response.

What is Meditation?

Meditation is a state of being completely aware and present in the moment. It is the art of simply being, undisturbed by our negative thoughts, emotions and feelings. At the heart of meditation is to realise the truth that we are so much more than who we believe we are, that we are all inseparable from the divine, like the billions of rays of light are inseparable from the sun. In the Buddhist teachings we are already perfect, but because of our conditioning and mental defilements it is difficult for us to recognise our true sky like nature. This ignorance is the root of our underlying suffering.

As human beings we live our lives in the past or in the future but never in the present, forever trapped by the mental gymnastics and emotional roller coaster of our thinking minds. For example, when you went to work this morning, you were probably remembering something that happened an hour ago, or planning what you would do with the rest of your day. Maybe you were simply trying to keep warm on the bus. You were so immersed in your own inner dialogue that you probably didn’t notice how beautiful and peaceful the world around you is in the middle of winter. You didn’t notice the crispness in the air, the golden hued beauty of the few remaining leaves in the trees, nor the kindness of a stranger offering you a seat and heartfelt smile. It is these simple pleasures that we take for granted until we are forced to slow down from old age, sickness or death. It is this awareness of life’s simple pleasures that meditation can teach you by developing your appreciation.

Most of us are so busy with endless activity that we miss out on so much. We are ruled by our thinking minds that are swayed by our thoughts, emotions and feelings. We blindly follow our habitual patterns of anger, selfishness, greed, lust, jealousy and pride, knowing in our hearts that we are hurting ourselves and others, and yet seem incapable of stopping. We waste our lives looking outside ourselves for happiness and fulfilment. We do not recognise our own innate perfection, always comparing ourselves with others and following our insecurities and sense of dissatisfaction. We live in a haze of ignorance and delusion, grasping after relationships, chasing security in wealth, and competing with others for prestige and power. The underlying belief is once we have attained these things that we’ll finally be happy. This process of grasping is endless and can never be satisfied.

The Buddha taught that lasting happiness can only be found in our hearts and not in our concepts of happiness in our heads. In modern philosophy the mind resides in the head. In the mystic traditions of the East the mind resides in the heart. Our thinking, reasoning mind is like a computer. Our heart is like the software. No matter how powerful the computer, if the software is corrupted with the wrong programme (beliefs), the computer simply won’t work. Meditation techniques are like an anti-virus software (our awareness) that identifies all our negativities so that we know what to fix within ourselves, and reprogrammes our minds to let go of our negative conditioning.

The purpose of meditation practice is to develop awareness and learn to let go. It is the nature of our heads to think, to plan and organise. It is the nature of our hearts to feel. The goal of meditation is to unite these two aspects of ourselves and utilise the power inherent in these two qualities so that we can manifest our dreams.

Over thousands of years sages have developed countless meditation techniques, including the chanting of mantras, the Japanese tea ceremony, temple offerings and martial arts. The purpose of techniques is to focus and train your mind to recognise the state of meditation, which is to be aware and present in the moment. By developing one’s awareness and training oneself to let go, we learn to accept who we are and begin to realise we are all already perfect.

We judge ourselves far too harshly. Judgement is a characteristic of the thinking mind and the antithesis of compassion, which is a basic understanding of what it feels like to be in another person’s shoes. By meditating and becoming aware of your own pain or inadequacies without judgement, you will begin to develop compassion towards yourself and how painful it is to follow these negative thoughts and emotions. You will begin to connect more and more with others when you realise that everyone experiences the same suffering, which is basically what Buddhists call the First Noble Truth. You will begin to relax and become more open.

The Practice

A common misconception that face beginners to meditation is that they often think they have to empty their minds of all thoughts, or rigidly will their bodies to maintain a strict posture and fight through the discomfort of sitting in a full lotus position. Imposing all these beliefs on yourself will make it difficult to enter the state of meditation because you are so preoccupied by trying to meditate correctly - to get it right.

When you meditate you are not meant to do anything but simply breathe, relax and watch all your thoughts, emotions and feelings as they arise in your mind. When you allow yourself to "be", without judgement to what you are thinking, doing or feeling, a deep sense of peace arises and you may even experience a sense of clarity and bliss.

When you first begin to practice you will notice just how many thoughts pass through your mind. Sometimes feelings of anger, sadness, hurt or loneliness may arise. These recognitions are good because it means you are becoming more aware. All you need to do is to acknowledge them, relax and let them be. The more you practice, the pain of these emotions will affect you less and less as you train your mind to acknowledge and let go. After a while your mind will become less agitated and more quiet and tranquil, like you are standing in the eye of a cyclone where it is peaceful and yet you can see destructive swirl of your emotions around you.

You will begin to notice an aspect of your mind that simply watches everything without judgement. This "watcher" is the real you beyond all your negative beliefs about yourself. This watcher is your awareness, heart or conscience, which is infinitely wise and compassionate. If you are able to rest in this state continually you will be happy because you will be guided by the individual passion of your own heart, which is inseparable to the divine.

The Buddha perfected meditation and taught 84,000 different ways to tame and pacify the mind. Following are some techniques you can practice at home or during work. It may be helpful to find a teacher or join a meditation class if you are interested in developing your practice.

Following the Breath: The most popular meditation technique is to follow your breath. This is basically practicing what Buddhists call ‘mindfulness’ where one’s concentration is focused on the simple act of breathing. If you are new to meditation, find a suitable place to meditate that is quiet and free of external distractions. Sit down on the floor in a cross-legged position or on a chair. (It is not necessary to sit in the full lotus position that is used in some advanced yoga classes). The important thing is to maintain a relaxed but alert posture, with your spine as straight as comfortably possible. To help you maintain your posture you may sit on cushions to elevate your bottom and take the pressure off your lower back. Tuck in your chin slightly with your eyes gazing downwards and focus on a spot about a metre in front of you. If you are a beginner you may want to close your eyes to begin with and once you are relaxed, slowly open your eyes.

Then focus your attention on your breathing. Breathe in and out naturally. Do not force your breathing but be aware of the length of each breath focusing slightly on the out breath. One method to help you concentrate on following your breath is to lightly focus your attention on the movement of the rise and fall of your belly. Another method is to focus on your nostrils by noticing how the air feels cool when you inhale, and then feels warm when you exhale.

At various times of the day, try to focus on your breathing. You can do this while you are doing the washing up, making the beds, waiting at a red light, or even sitting in front of your computer. The instant benefit from this is that it brings you immediately to the present moment. It is also very effective during or before an important meeting, an exam, or even while sitting in the dentist's chair. As you breathe out, you will start to feel your body relax, and your mind will become more focused. So each time you feel yourself getting stressed or find that you have unexpected time on your hands, you can do a quick 60 second meditation.

Exercising Your Smile: Your smile has the power of peace and inner equilibrium. Breathe deeply, especially when you are a bit rushed, feel rattled or overwhelmed. Relax and while you breathe, let your smile play on your lips. Soften your eyes and become aware of how much your face and mind have loosened from the joyful act of just smiling. While you breathe and smile, let this smile spread throughout your body. Breathe and smile with your entire body. Practice this smile and breathing daily, especially when are in front of the mirror getting ready to go out. Notice how much this smile helps your well-being and how much it helps others.