Meditation Alone Is
Not Enough
Judy Lief May 6, 2016
tricycle
The practice of mindfulness-awareness
meditation does not take place in a vacuum.
Meditation Alone Is Not Enough
We all have preconceptions, we all have points
of view. Not only do we have ideas, but we have opinions and
countless judgments, especially about other people. We may hope to
free ourselves from such a tangle, but usually what we find is that
we just exchange one set of preconceptions for another. Is
meditation enough?
The practice of mindfulness-awareness
meditation does not take place in a vacuum. It happens within a
certain context and point of view. In the Buddhist tradition,
meditation is often presented in the context of view, meditation,
and action. Each of these three is essential, as a system of checks
and balances.
VIEW
If we do not understand the view, the practice
of meditation can be more of a trap than means of freeing ourselves
from deception. Without an understanding of nontheism and the
motivation to benefit others, meditation practice can degenerate
into self-absorption and escapism. Rather than loosening our
ego-clinging, it could further perpetuate our ignorance and
grasping.
Meditation practice is a way of loosening our
solidity.
Rather than connecting us to our world, it
could draw us away from it. Meditation practice could even be a
tool of aggression, a way of clearing the mind before going out to
commit our next murder. Meditation in and of itself is no magical
cure-all. Proper understanding and proper motivation are important.
The view informs the practice.
Likewise, meditation balances view. Meditation
practice is a way of loosening our solidity. Without practice, even
the most inspired view can become rigid ideology. The practice of
meditation brings out the futility and limitations of holding any
rigid view.
We see the nature of our attachment to
particular viewpoints, and the simplicity of letting such views
dissolve. The irony is that the proper motivation and view are
essential, and at the same time, it is also essential not to grasp
any view.
ACTION
Action, the third component, is a balance to
both view and meditation. Meditation does not matter that much if
it has no effect on the rest of our life. Likewise, we could be
filled with empty words that do not lead to any change whatsoever
in our life or our relationship with others. We need to act on our
understanding and our awareness.
Action, like view and meditation, does not
stand alone. Action without clarity of view is blundering and apt
to cause more harm than good. And action without meditation tends
to be speedy and complex, rather than spaciousness and simple. But
if these three factors are in balance, clarity of view and
meditative awareness permeate all our activities.
In the Buddhist path we are bringing together
our actions, our view, and our practice. It is a balance of
awareness, insight, and action, working harmoniously together. In
that way our energy is no longer divided or scattered, but we are
fully present in whatever we do. That is what it means to be a
genuine human being.
In Buddhism, the point is not simply to be
accomplished meditators but to change our whole approach to life.
Meditation is not merely a useful technique or mental gymnastic,
but part of a balanced system designed to change the way we go
about things at the most fundamental level. In this context, it is
a way of exposing and uprooting the core problems of grasping and
ego-clinging that separate us from one another and cause endless
pain.
NOT JUST MEDITATION
There are many varieties of meditation and
many different contexts in which it occurs. Even within the
Buddhist tradition, there are many varieties of meditation and many
differences of opinion as to what meditation is all about. Yet,
wherever it turns up, it is colored by one set of preconceptions or
another. Nowadays, people pluck techniques such as meditation from
their traditional contexts, mix and match practices from very
different traditions, and apply them in new settings.
The technique may be there, but there is no
heart.
Meditation practice is increasingly presented
in a secular way, free of religious trappings. In the United
States, this tends to place it in the general category of self-help
techniques. As a result, meditation has been de-mystified for many
people, who see it as one aspect of a healthy lifestyle, like
working out or eating healthy food.
Meditation is used as therapy, to calm people
down, as healing (to lower blood pressure, for instance, or deal
with pain), and even as a way to get ahead in business, or win at
sports. It is gradually becoming part of the mainstream. This is
not unlike what has happened to the practice of yoga, once viewed
as a sophisticated system of spiritual training, and now offered
regularly. The technique may be there, but there is no
heart.
There is a danger that the practice of
meditation could be similarly reduced. The very technique designed
to undermine the power of ego-fixation could become another feather
in our ego-cap.