Besides the feeling of
discomfort, the arising of thoughts is one of the biggest obstacle
in our effort to stay concentrated in our mediation. Our mind will
not do it unless we have been practicing it for some time, possibly
for some years. Thoughts will always arise in our meditation and
the way to work with it is to label it quickly as it arises, like
calling it 'thinking’ or ‘remembering’ or nonsense’. The minute we
give our thought a label, we are stepping back to look at it.
Unless we do that, we become the thinker and become totally
distracted, we should not have to think of anything when
meditating. Life is a continuous process and does not require us to
think about it all the time as it arises and ceases every single
moment. As for our thought process, when it arises it should not
matter what label we tack on to it, any label used during
meditation means the thought needs to be
dropped.
With the habit of applying
label in meditation, we will be able to label thoughts in our daily
living as wholesome, profitable, skilful or otherwise. When we know
thoughts that are unwholesome or unskillful we can then let go of
it. We can than learn to think what we want to think and when one
learn to do that, one never need to be unhappy again. At the same
time, one can also see the power of mindfulness and what it can do
to change our lives for the better. The one way for the
purification of self, for the destruction of un-satisfactoriness,
for entering the noble path, for the realization of freedom from
all suffering – is Mindfulness. When we have a
thousand thoughts, we should give it a thousand labels. That is the
way to real mindfulness. Labeling of our thoughts is the foundation
of mindfulness in action that
leads the way to liberation when we actually practice
it.
Feeling of discomfort will
arise when we try to keep the body still for some time. Our body
does not like to be kept still for any length of time as it wants
to move to alleviate its discomfort. During meditation this thing
happens and the usual immediate reaction is for one to move to
remove this discomfort and any pain that arises. We should try to
become aware of how this pain and discomfort come about first. We
should realize that there is contact, there is feeling and with it
come reaction. It is also this same reaction to our feeling that
made us go round and round in the cycle of birth and
death.
We can classify feeling into
three forms - pleasant, neutral and unpleasant. During meditation,
when we feel pain, we want to get away from it. This is the same in
our daily life, we try to run away, push it away, or change the
outer cause of any unpleasant feeling we come across. We would
usually do anything to get rid of discomfort, but the only way to
get rid of it is to get rid of our craving for comfort first. Our
body does not have suffering, it is suffering in itself and it is
only when we realized that it is so, than can we begin to fathom
the reality of human suffering. This body can’t sit or lie still
without becoming uncomfortable. We should begin to see the
impermanence and un-satisfactoriness that is inherent in the human
body. We should also learn the fact that feeling too arises without
our invitation and if feeling of pain or discomfort arises during
our meditation, we should only move gently after we have examining
why we are doing so. To grit our teeth and try to sit still will
only create a dislike for the whole situation, it is also a
reaction of the wrong kind to move spontaneously when we feel pain
or discomfort. One is the greed for comfort and the other is an
aversion to discomfort. They are the two sides of the same coin.
The only thing that made any sense is the insight into oneself and
one’s own reactions which will then bring about results. When our
feelings and thoughts arise, watch them as being totally
impermanent. Anyway, they arise and cease, come and go at will, so
why should we call them as ours?
Impermanence,
un-satisfactoriness, non-self are the three marks in all that
exists. Unless we are able to identify these characteristics within
ourselves, we will never going to know what the Buddha is trying to
teach us. Meditation is the way to find out the truth about it. The
rest are just words, tools and means that point the way to it. It
is action that is required.