Meditation
While we are so busy, running around trying to make sense of life, the life is actually here, waiting for us to arrive.
– Joseph Campbell
In both, my Counselling, as well as Yoga practice, the discipline of meditation is an imperative adjunct to healing body, mind and heart. If we do not tend the mind, we are likely prone to drop back into old habitual beliefs and ideas, attitudes and actions, which binds us into suffering.
If requested, I provide my clients with on going guided practice of meditation, as well as understanding and applying the basic Buddhist and Yogic concepts in daily life.
Meditation (Sanskrit “Dyana”) itself has two main components which are the attributes we cultivate in mind and heart: Wisdom (awareness, insight) and Love (compassion, gentleness). The two are just like two wings of a bird. In order for it to fly, it has to have both wings. Wisdom without the Love is arrogance. Love without the Wisdom is ignorance.
To find out more, look bellow.
As per Buddhist tradition, meditation instructions, upon request, are given by donation.
Times to be negotiated.
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell. Don't go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want. Don't go back to sleep. People are walking back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch. The door is round and wide open. Don't go back to sleep.
~ Rumi
Mindfulness and Awareness
Sanskrit स्मृति , smrti and Sanskrit विपश्यना, vipaśyanā
Mindfulness is a door to peace of mind.
Awareness (clarity, insight) is a practice of wakefulness which subsequently uncovers the innate wisdom within (Sanskrit ज्ञान Jnana).
The above poem of Rumi’s actually reflects the basics of meditation instruction, which highlights the clarity of mind, regardless of its ups and downs.
It takes a commitment to be still while just sitting, as well as to develop a regular practice. Like Rumi insinuates in this poem, being present (in the practice of meditation) to the fleeting moment, means refusing to “go back to sleep.”
With this practice, one inevitably becomes more sincere and alive, less rigid and opinionated, more caring and compassionate for oneself and one’s environment. In fact, the solid differences between “Me, Mine and I” and “Other” start to peel away and we notice how interconnected and interdependent we are with others.
It is our mind, and that alone, that chains us or sets are free. ~ Dilgo Kyentse Rinpocheh
Love, Compassion and Boddhichita
Sanskrit बोधिचित्त , Karuna and Bodhicitta
Compassion is the method of meditation practice. Whatever arises in the mind or body, whether a thought, emotion, physical injury or worry, it is met with a caring and gentle heart. Bodhicitta is the mind that strives toward awakening and compassion for the benefit of all beings.
There are many practices of cultivating compassion, such as the practice of Loving-Kindness (Pali Metta) or the Tibetan practice of Giving and Receiving (Tibetan “Tong-Leng”).
Here is a talk on Wisdom and Compassion given by my Tibetan teacher, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.
For more resource, look the appendix bellow.
When our self-imposed prison walls come down, all that
remains is the connectedness that we are.
~ Ezra Bayda
What teachers say about the practice
There are many outstanding teachers of meditation who emanate the depth of their own practice, wisdom and compassion. The following are some of them.
Surrendering ones aggression (late 1970’s)
Meditation instruction – How to meditate
Disclaimer: The practices we offer are not meant to be medical services. If any of these offerings may be questionable for your health or well-being, please consult your medical practitioner.
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