Each of us can become confused as to who we really are when we are in the midst of chronic illness. We can’t find the happiness we once experienced, because we are drowning in the pain or confusion of dealing with our symptoms. Once we have calmed the mind through a meditation practice such as calm abiding meditation, and no longer follow thoughts of the past, present, or future, we now have a stable mind that can look at the nature of what arises in insight meditation. This allows us to go deeper in meditation and cut through disturbing emotions.
The first time that I heard about insight meditation was in my fourth year of medical school in Belgium. I went to see my meditation teacher, Gendun Rinpoche. I let him know that I was having a difficult time dealing with my rigorous schedule, and that my mind was often unsettled. His advice to me was to meditate, and to look at the nature of my mind. When I asked him for clarification, he said that we need to recognize the nature of whatever arises in our mind, so that we can liberate ourselves from our conditioned experience. Our daily experience of the world, he explained, is a dualistic one. Even when we are feeling well, human nature has us experience the world in terms of opposites: good/bad, happy/sad, man/woman, life/death. Insight meditation allows us to realize the ultimate nature of consciousness, which is a more unified state of perception instead of a dualistic one. This helps us to break the connection between pain and suffering.
During insight meditation, we look directly at the mind to see the nature of thoughts, emotions, and the nature of mind itself. We don’t focus on the content of thoughts and whether they are good or bad, virtuous or not. Instead, we simply ask ourselves a set of specific questions and look at the mind to directly see the answer, rather than taking an intellectual, or conceptual approach to the questions. This process is creating a direct experience of the answer, not an intellectual approach to answering the question.
These instructions are particularly helpful for those who suffer with strong emotions, especially great anxiety and fear. Instead of running from the fear, we learn to relax our minds and turn towards the fear, looking at its essential nature. This was eloquently stated by the meditation master, Mingyur Rinpoche: “At any given moment you can choose to follow the chain of thoughts, emotions and sensations that reinforce the perception of yourself as vulnerable and limited. Or, you can remember that your true nature is pure, unconditioned, and incapable of being harmed.”
How do we deal with disturbing emotions in a way that allows us to experience them differently? When we look directly at thoughts, emotions, and the mind itself in insight meditation, we get a glimpse into what is described as “the empty clear nature”. We can’t say that mind ultimately exists, because when we look directly at our own mind, we see that we can’t find anything. Mind is not solid, and has no color and form. That is called its empty aspect. Yet mind relatively exists, because the awareness aspect of mind is the basis for all of our experience. That is called its clear aspect. The true nature of mind is therefore described in the tradition of insight meditation as the inseparable unity of clarity and emptiness. When we develop a stable mind in calm abiding meditation, not distracted by thoughts and emotions, and then look at the nature of what arises in insight meditation, we can use meditation as a way to help us transform our experience. Once we are able to relax and see the empty nature of our thoughts and emotions, they are unable to harm us in the same way.
The instructions for insight meditation are to first stabilize the mind, and then focus on one question listed below for each session. You can break up each question into several parts, and focus on each of the parts individually for several minutes until you are ready to move on to the next. Ask yourself the following questions during the practice of insight meditation:
• Where does the mind come from, where does it reside, and where does it go?
• Where do thoughts come from, reside, and go?
• Where do emotions come from, reside, and go?
• Look at the mind when it is still, and look at the mind when it is in motion. Is there a difference?
• Look at the essence of the one who is meditating. Who is meditating?
• Does the "I" that is experiencing suffering have a color or form? Does the mind experiencing suffering have a color or form?
• Where do emotions such as fear come from, reside, or go? Do they have a color or form?
After you have asked these questions, and directly looked and seen whatever you have seen, rest in the essence of the mind (clarity and emptiness), non-distractedly, without grasping onto concepts. These three essential principles are summed up in three words: non-conception, non-distraction, and non-meditation. These principles guide us and help us to deepen our experience of meditation. We rest in meditation, simply without effort (non-meditation), looking at the empty nature of whatever experience arises without being distracted (non-distraction), and without grasping onto concepts about our experience (non-conception). According to my teachers, regular practice of this technique and these three principles will allow us to arrive at a much deeper understanding of the mind’s nature, helping to liberate us from disturbing thoughts and emotions.
Working With The Mind in Post Meditation
When we arise from the meditation cushion, we should try and maintain the mindfulness and awareness that was developed during meditation. Being able to rest the mind is not enough. We need to enhance our meditation practice in order for it to develop. In post-meditation, we try and maintain the state of “non-distractedness” more or less continuously so that progress can occur. To enhance the mind that has been stabilized, we also need to apply “watchfulness,” which is being aware of what the mind is doing, similar to the activity of a spy. Throughout the day, recognize what thoughts are present. If virtuous thoughts arise, recognize them as virtuous. If non-virtuous thoughts arise, recognize them as being negative. By doing this, we are sure to progress on the path, and we will not find ourselves easily distracted by the sounds and activities around us which can tend to disturb our minds.
In practical terms, this means that you must be grounded in your body and aware of what you are experiencing. You must be conscious of what you are seeing, hearing and so on. This does not mean that you attempt to interfere or block what you see or what you hear. You are simply trying to maintain awareness of your experiences. You must know what you are seeing, know what you are hearing. Also, you do not stop thoughts, but don’t allow yourself to drift in following them. Throughout the day we are usually distracted by the forms and sounds themselves and everything becomes vague; the mind is allowed to drift aimlessly and we are unaware of the details of the forms and sounds. By using watchfulness, with mindfulness and awareness in post meditation, we are aware of the details of our outer experience and also aware and recognizing what is happening in our minds. This absence of distraction helps bring progress to our meditation practice. When we learn to rest in the fresh, direct experience of the present moment, not judging or grasping thoughts, then we can help ourselves to attain greater levels of healing. There is the possibility of resting in our basic nature of peace, joy, love, and wisdom which is one of nature’s greatest healers.
At the end of your practice, take a few moments to dedicate the merit of the practice for the sake of all sentient beings limitlessly through time and space. Such a motivation will seal the merit of the practice, and be like a seed planted in the ground which will grow and bear fruit. We invoke this motivation in order to help us to reach our full potential and benefit others.
Dr Richard Horowitz
These meditation instructions are excerpted from Dr. Richard Horowitz’s recently released book “Why Can’t I Get Better? Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease”, available through St Martin’s press.
http://www.amazon.com/Why-Cant-Get-Better-Solving/dp/1250019400
www.facebook.com/DrRichardHorowitz
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