Tweet
Hi everyone, I thought of submitting the following article to the forum to share it with those who are interested in meditation to start a dialog for the benefit of all. Thanks. Bradley.
IS BUDDHISM THE ‘WORD OF SIDDHARTHA’?
MEDITATION IN THE ‘WAY OF A SEEKER OF DHAMMA’.
When we delve into the subject of meditation the first impression that comes to our mind is the body posture commonly associated with it viz. sitting and walking. In fact, they were the only methods existed and practiced by ascetics, men of religions, yogis and mystics at the time of Siddhartha, in India.
This tradition has remained virtually unchanged ever since. It was no doubt based on the blind belief the ‘Chitta’ the thought process originated in the brain an organ a part of the body. Hence the presumption, a tranquil body was the precursor to a tranquil mind. Therefore, the strategy obviously was to silence the body to silence the brain. Hence, the body posture along with a quiet and peaceful location to calm the senses became the basic requirement for meditation in religions and ascetic practices. What is achieved through this practice is auto-hypnotism. It has no useful purpose whatsoever to a seeker of Dhamma, a worthless exercise akin to taking ‘painkillers’, a brief period of respite a self-deception. The inherent nature of the mind is duality, therefore it cannot be silenced or purified but can only be neutralized to go beyond both mind and matter the end of formations.
In India, one could still find yogis sitting or lying motionless for months blissfully unaware, the core of the problem is not the body but his ‘Dhamma’ the source of ‘Chitta’ the creator of the elusive ‘I’, which continues to react to the conditions of the outer world unknown to the meditator who in reality is in a state of deep slumber similar to hibernating bears. In this state, all that is evident to him are nothing but creations of his own deluded mind which he incorrectly perceives as ‘profound states’ of the mind.
Siddhartha for the first time realized and revealed that neutralizing the dualistic thought process is the only way to silence the creator of ‘I’. It is not about achieving anything but going beyond mind and matter.
In his quest for Deliverance, Siddhartha experienced and mastered all spiritual and ascetic meditation practices such as Jhana, vipassana, metta etc. before realizing none of them had any bearing on the way he was seeking. With this conviction gained from his own experience, he realized the only way out of this world of duality is to face it to experience it to deal with it. Thus, he turned his whole life into a ‘Meditative’ process observing his ‘Chitta’ reacting to conditions of the outer world every moment, with the ‘Mental Factor’ the concomitance - Sila, Samadhi, Wisdom to guide same on the ‘Middle Way’ to go beyond duality. This process is not about sitting or walking but a ‘Living Meditation’ because the life has to be lived to understand it. In Dhamma, the life is just what it is, there is no such thing as a ‘holy life’ or a ‘laymen’s life. Hence the seeker knows in his world there are no monasteries, temples or ‘retreats’ which are creations of the ignorant world of religions. He leads his life as everyone else but remaining constantly aware of his ‘Chitta’ to neutralize it. This “Way’ of Siddhartha is as unique as the ‘Dhamma’ he discovered ‘a something never heard before’. It is the ‘Only Way’ for the ‘Renunciation’ or abandoning of the way of the world of duality, no more birth.
To seek this unique process, everything the seeker needs can be found within himself. Teachers, preachers, sacred books, Suttas are irrelevant to this way, they are in fact a hindrance, mere creations of religions to ply their trade. Your participation is imperative to their survival. You are their valued customer, without you, they cannot exist. Siddhartha sought his ‘Middle Way’ within, to go beyond and invited the seeker to seek his own. If you fail, your misfortune is someone else’s fortune. The religions are eagerly awaiting to welcome you with open arms. No wonder it is said, ‘FAILURES ARE THE PILLARS OF RELIGIONS’.
‘The greatest conquest of them all is the conquest of self’ - Siddhartha.
IS BUDDHISM THE ‘WORD OF SIDDHARTHA’?
MEDITATION IN THE ‘WAY OF A SEEKER OF DHAMMA’.
When we delve into the subject of meditation the first impression that comes to our mind is the body posture commonly associated with it viz. sitting and walking. In fact, they were the only methods existed and practiced by ascetics, men of religions, yogis and mystics at the time of Siddhartha, in India.
This tradition has remained virtually unchanged ever since. It was no doubt based on the blind belief the ‘Chitta’ the thought process originated in the brain an organ a part of the body. Hence the presumption, a tranquil body was the precursor to a tranquil mind. Therefore, the strategy obviously was to silence the body to silence the brain. Hence, the body posture along with a quiet and peaceful location to calm the senses became the basic requirement for meditation in religions and ascetic practices. What is achieved through this practice is auto-hypnotism. It has no useful purpose whatsoever to a seeker of Dhamma, a worthless exercise akin to taking ‘painkillers’, a brief period of respite a self-deception. The inherent nature of the mind is duality, therefore it cannot be silenced or purified but can only be neutralized to go beyond both mind and matter the end of formations.
In India, one could still find yogis sitting or lying motionless for months blissfully unaware, the core of the problem is not the body but his ‘Dhamma’ the source of ‘Chitta’ the creator of the elusive ‘I’, which continues to react to the conditions of the outer world unknown to the meditator who in reality is in a state of deep slumber similar to hibernating bears. In this state, all that is evident to him are nothing but creations of his own deluded mind which he incorrectly perceives as ‘profound states’ of the mind.
Siddhartha for the first time realized and revealed that neutralizing the dualistic thought process is the only way to silence the creator of ‘I’. It is not about achieving anything but going beyond mind and matter.
In his quest for Deliverance, Siddhartha experienced and mastered all spiritual and ascetic meditation practices such as Jhana, vipassana, metta etc. before realizing none of them had any bearing on the way he was seeking. With this conviction gained from his own experience, he realized the only way out of this world of duality is to face it to experience it to deal with it. Thus, he turned his whole life into a ‘Meditative’ process observing his ‘Chitta’ reacting to conditions of the outer world every moment, with the ‘Mental Factor’ the concomitance - Sila, Samadhi, Wisdom to guide same on the ‘Middle Way’ to go beyond duality. This process is not about sitting or walking but a ‘Living Meditation’ because the life has to be lived to understand it. In Dhamma, the life is just what it is, there is no such thing as a ‘holy life’ or a ‘laymen’s life. Hence the seeker knows in his world there are no monasteries, temples or ‘retreats’ which are creations of the ignorant world of religions. He leads his life as everyone else but remaining constantly aware of his ‘Chitta’ to neutralize it. This “Way’ of Siddhartha is as unique as the ‘Dhamma’ he discovered ‘a something never heard before’. It is the ‘Only Way’ for the ‘Renunciation’ or abandoning of the way of the world of duality, no more birth.
To seek this unique process, everything the seeker needs can be found within himself. Teachers, preachers, sacred books, Suttas are irrelevant to this way, they are in fact a hindrance, mere creations of religions to ply their trade. Your participation is imperative to their survival. You are their valued customer, without you, they cannot exist. Siddhartha sought his ‘Middle Way’ within, to go beyond and invited the seeker to seek his own. If you fail, your misfortune is someone else’s fortune. The religions are eagerly awaiting to welcome you with open arms. No wonder it is said, ‘FAILURES ARE THE PILLARS OF RELIGIONS’.
‘The greatest conquest of them all is the conquest of self’ - Siddhartha.
Comment