The Lotus Still Blooms (12 page)

IN 1973 I WAS first exposed to Buddhist meditation practices. My young mind (or “beginner’s mind,” as Buddhist teaching would call it) took to meditation, as the saying goes, “like a duck to water.”

Soon after that I became the “subject” in biofeedback meditation presentations. A number of electrodes were hooked up to my head, and in a few minutes I would slip from outer awareness (beta) into inner stillness (alpha). Then I would go much deeper (theta). I always remained conscious but totally detached from any outside stimulation such as sounds or noises or temperature changes. At such times part of my mindfulness meditation training was to silently repeat,
Sounds, sounds, I am hearing sounds
. Then I would consciously breathe in and breathe out, returning full focus to my breath. I was a real “whiz kid” of meditation. As I look back on those days, it seems I brought that energy and knowing with me from previous lives, because I so easily and quickly went into such deep meditation.

Practicing Right Concentration is to cultivate a mind that is “single-pointed.”The initial form of meditation I was engaged in is called “active concentration.” There one observes in a very detached manner whatever presents itself and then lets it go and refocuses on the breath—always returning to the present moment, the now.

The second aspect of Right Concentration is “selective concentration.” You choose one object and direct your full focus on it. The object could be a flame, a flower or a deity.

The more skilled we become in our meditation practices in Right Concentration, the more enriched our lives become, the happier we become. For nearly 2,600 years hundreds of thousands of monks and nuns have spent their lives solely dedicated to their spiritual practices. What evolved were certain formulas, such as meditations, that we can take and superimpose on our present spiritual understanding and practices and receive consistent results.

The first time I attended a teaching of the Dalai Lama was 1991 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. During a question-and-answer time, he was asked the question: “How long should we laypeople meditate daily— not the monks and nuns—but the average American practitioner?”

His Holiness reflected on the question for several very long moments and then responded, “Four hours, four hours would be good.”

There was an audible gasp that rose from the nearly four thousand attendees. At that time I made an inner commitment to meditate two hours a day. On only a few occasions have I spent four full hours in meditation within a twenty-four-hour day. Four hours is a very long time. Two hours is a very long time. If you are a newcomer to meditation, don’t even attempt two hours, because in all likelihood you will grow weary and quit, probably after only a few days. And that is not the goal.

Since that time in New York I have endeavored to meditate two hours daily. People ask me how that is possible since I have such a full life. At least one to one and a half hours is dedicated to Right Concentrationduring the night. Not sleeping through the night does not mean counting sheep. Counting breaths and mantras can be far more beneficial.

At those times of life where there has been just too much on my plate and my meditation has suffered, I have suffered. I have learned I simply cannot let “life” press in on my time of solitude of which I require a lot. Without Right Concentration life simply does not work well for me. It is reported that Gandhi would rise between 3 and 4 A.M. and silently meditate to prepare for his full schedule. He considered this his most important act of the day, since it gave him the energy to do whatever would come before him. Charles Fillmore, cofounder of the Unity movement, would arise in the middle of the night and spend extended times in meditation. There is something quite sacred about the stillness of the predawn hours. Interference from the fast-paced, frenetic world with all of its bombardment from disruptive waves of ego has not yet begun, and one can more easily relax into the quiet.

In reflecting on the eight points of the Eight-fold Path, it is clear that I began my practice of them with Right Concentration. This is not the norm. Usually one starts with Right View or Right Thought, the preliminary aspects that are essential. These two are followed by Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood. These three align the living and expression of one’s life with the ideal. The final three—Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration—are developmentally advancing one toward the goal of spiritual understanding and awakening.

Right Concentration is not to be used as an escape mechanism. That would be wrong concentration. Rather, Right Concentration builds the consciousness for us to live deeply with clear awareness each moment of our lives.

Following are several concentration practices that I have used and taught through the years.

This exercise will take you twenty to thirty minutes.

This takes a great deal of concentration, so do not get discouraged. Do not judge your efforts. Be kind and gentle to yourself, as if you were training a new puppy. Keep the practice joyful and light-spirited. Do not stress or strain. Refrain from getting exasperated. Allow this to be a pleasurable experience. After several weeks of practice, Right Concentration combined with Right Effort will create the ability in you to do a complete set of ten without distraction. The Buddhists say that, when one can do ten sets of ten, then that person is beginning to master Right Concentration. I personally used this technique daily for a very long time while training my “beginner’s mind.”

I encourage you to practice daily the leaf meditation, and when you feel a degree of mastery, then move on to more complex mindfulness techniques such as the ones at the end of this book. You do the work, and it will work for you. Faithfully continue in your practice and in time you will reap the priceless benefits to your inner being. Remember to be certain you are not sitting quietly with your eyes closed thinking about anything—no to-do list, no balancing the checkbook, no worrying about anything. If you are, refocus your attention on your breathing:

If you need more practice with concentration, then revisit those ten leaves. You are worth the time and effort. Your soul is worth the time and effort. The time spent developing Right Concentration will return to you blessed many times over.

This exercise can take thirty minutes to an hour or more. My husband and I became somewhat skilled in walking meditation while on retreat at Plum Village in France with Thich Nhat Hanh.

In the French countryside Thich Nhat Hanh would very mindfully and most slowly walk with his eyes looking neither right nor left, cast slightly downward. Imagine the scene with this diminutive monk leading seventy-five adults and a few children single file in the slow, nearly motionless walk with French farmers driving by in their tractors or horse-drawn carts gaping at the unusual spectacle in their bucolic land. A mischievous, impetuous little boy, who was the son of parents in our group, would run in front of Thich Nhat Hanh flailing his arms in an attempt to distract the teacher. The child never succeeded. Thich Nhat Hanh remained composed, mindful and centered in spite of the child’s antics.

This is a lovely practice that aligns the physical body and its motion through centering, purposeful movement. It also has the benefit of stilling the mind. Try it on a quiet beach or park or forest. It is very beneficial. David and I always lead this walking meditation when we lead group retreats in Hawaii, and we silently walk mindfully single file through a pristine ironwood forest. The ironwoods sway and creak in the breeze. It is as if the gentle sounds of their vibrations are communicating peace to us. The single-file line of retreatants slowly moving through the forest is gradually enveloped by the oscillations of the trees. It has always been a very meaningful experience for all.

This is another meditation that focuses on Right Concentration that I learned and practiced at Plum Village. We signed up for “Sitting on the Car Meditation,” which, when I read the title, made me burst out laughing as I visualized many Buddhists using Right Concentration mindfully sitting all over the cars in the small parking lot. It was quite a comical mental image.

As it turned out, something was lost in translation, for it was supposed to read “Sitting
in
the Car Meditation.” But the correct translation hardly helped, for what it really meant was piling sixteen to seventeen people like sardines into an old van, where we were to be silent as the Vietnamese driver wove us through the French countryside, transporting us to our intended destination. It was an attempt to remain centered while wrapped around the gearshift! I would silently practice mindful breathing or count my Tibetan mala beads to remain focused, centered and calm.

Riding so squeezed into a vehicle with others I do not recommend, but we can always bring mindful concentration to our driving, whether alone or with passengers. What happens to drivers in stressful situations is quite revealing as to what lurks in “store consciousness” (the Buddhist term for the subconscious mind). It must be one of my soul lessons, because on several occasions I have been the passenger of drivers who are spiritual practitioners, but who—when they encounter a hostile driver on the road—quickly match negative energies, cursing and swearing and making rude gestures. Such behavior is not worth it.

The highways of life will always be filled with unskilled drivers. Another’s driving skills need to have nothing to do with our maintaining calm at our spiritual center. A helpful technique to remind you to remain in your center is to print cards with calming phrases such as “Sitting in the car meditation,” “Breathe,” or “Calm in, calm out,” and tape them to your dashboard. Some place a picture of a much-loved saint or teacher, or they hang mala beads over the rearview mirror. If you find you can easily lose your spiritual equilibrium while driving, why not incorporate one or more of these ideas?

Practicing Right Concentration in one’s car can be both a safety and a centering device for drivers and passengers alike. If all drivers practiced an outer-directed Right Concentration while behind the wheel, what an impact it would have for us all as road rage and accidents began to disappear.

RIGHT CONCENTRATION in its higher state is to become absorbed in one’s meditative practice from moment upon moment without disturbances or distractions. As with the other seven points on the wheel, Right Concentration must be combined with all the others, especially Right View and Right Effort. It is reported that there are those who have sat in meditation for years, or so they thought, but their practice truly was not Right Concentration or Right Effort. Although they sat, they were always distracted or worried or planning their day. Therefore they were never actually meditating. This is where, in the early stages of my practice, working with biofeedback proved to be so beneficial. The reading from the monitorto which I was hooked up gave continual feedback as to whether I was actually in a meditative state or simply sitting quietly with my eyes closed and making out a shopping list.

Right Concentration takes years of spiritual practice to begin to gain any degree of mastery. The years of effort are so worthwhile because of the peace, compassion and insight into the nature of mind that it brings.

Practice these simple Right Concentration techniques faithfully by incorporating one or more into your daily practice, and you will begin to notice the transformation of your mind and a great inflow of peace.

—THE BUDDHA

THE MIDDLE WAY