He's not trying to bless the train.
You said he is uttering words.. he is probably either reciting a
mantra or a Buddha name. It is a very common practice.. perhaps you
have not seen enough Buddhists or monks. Reciting a mantra or a
Buddha can also help in stabilising the mind and to cultivate
samadhi, or a state of one
pointedness.. so that the mind does not waver so much.
Second thing is Buddhist meditation isn't meant for entering a
state of trance. Of course if he close his eyes he won't know
what's happening around lah... but my point is Trance is not the
goal of Buddhist meditation.
I wrote this in: Questions About buddhism
In Buddhist meditation, there is
a state of complete alertness and clarity, which is why Buddhist
meditation is not about going into a state of
trance. It is not about blanking out. The nature of the Mind (not
to be mistaken as our ordinary, sentient mind that causes the
cycles of samsara, but rather Mind refers to our Buddha Mind or
Buddha Nature), or so called our true self which is no self,
contains the lucid/luminous aspect. The other aspect is the
Emptiness aspect, which we might talk about that next time.
Ultimately, through meditation and practise one will realise and
experience/get in touch with one's primordial state of pure
awareness, or one's Buddha Nature, which is like a clear bright
mirror reflecting everything we experience in the world. This is
just an analogy (and not a very good one since ultimately even the
mirror is not a separate entity from its reflection, but rather it
is a form of moment-to-moment 'participatory' awareness). It is
also an all pervading presence of 'yourself' connected with the
universe, so in this state of pure awareness there is actually no
seperation between you and me or the universe, and everything is
just spontaneous arising of this pure awareness, and we and all
Buddhas are all one in a sense. The 'self' is merely an illusion,
based on identification with the 5 skhandas, which is why the
Buddha taught about no self. If we were to investigate, we will not
find 'self' in the 5 skhandas (five aggregates), or our sensory
experiences, or even in our thoughts, and therefore it would be
meaningless to grasp on this fictitious idea, which is the root of
all ignorance, afflictive emotions and sufferings. Through
meditation one can also transcend this attachment through insights
and awakening.
Reality has always been so (non dual) but due to the layer of
illusion of separation, like the layer of dust covering the clear
bright mirror and preventing us from seeing what's the reality of
it all. Which is what the Buddha taught about 'purifying the mind'
is all about -- clearing the dust, or attachment to dualistic,
afflictive emotions (such as greed, hatred, jealousy, envy, etc)
and ignorance, to reveal the reality underneath it. And this is
what is special about Buddhism, as all 7 Buddhas Gatha says that
the 7 Buddhas taught Buddhism as 'Avoiding all evil, Doing all
that's good, and Purifying the Mind.' The third
one, purifying the mind, sets Buddhism different from the other
religions. At the time of death, if one can recognise the
primordial clear light as one's true, original nature, one's 7th
consciousness dissolves into this clear light and becomes liberated
or enter into nirvana. Otherwise our Karma, along with the 7th
Consciousness (consciousness of a seperate 'self' based on
ignorance) will pull us back to undergo the endless cycles of
rebirth in the world of suffering -- Samsara. Therefore to
summarise, Buddhist meditation and practise has nothing to do with
attaining any states of trance, but rather, it is a process of
Awakening and Awareness.
My sincere apology if any offence taken
To add.. not only attachment to
afflictive emotions but also to incessant thinking, and dualistic
notions and ideas of things due to ignorance (i.e not knowing the
true nature/reality of all phenomena as emptiness) and illusions...
which is also form of grasping, attachment. For example we grasp at
appearances thinking that they truly exist even though all
phenomena are empty of inherent existence.. as they are
co-dependent arising and arise out of causes and conditions.. and
are ever impermanent. Because of these illusions.. we suffer.. and
cannot be liberated. We can start to purify our minds by practising
mindful awareness... with mindfulness we will become more aware of
the reality of ourselves, our thoughts and behaviors, and the
reality of our thoughts and experiences (i.e emptiness,
impermanence, the 3 dharma seals/4 seals, etc)... and with
mindfulness we will also not become caught up and lost in
appearances and thoughts, and eventually through practise and
insights these thoughts and illusions will be self liberated as
they arise and there will be an immediate awareness the moment they
arise, and we will not become attracted and become lost in them, we
will not be deceived by our minds, illusions of self and
permanency, into attachment, seeking, or aversion.
