Monday, March 3, 2008

Two planes of meditation and "intuitive awareness"

Another bit of my post on a Buddhist forum regarding Ajahn Sumedho's "intuitive awareness."

....To expand on this, simply put, there are 2 planes of meditation [not saying that one is better than another]. One is meditation on the "contents" of experience. Another is meditation on the experiences themselves, not on the contents. The first is simpler to understand as in everyday experience, since we were born, we have been conditioned to think that "I am thinking.", "I am hearing", "I am meditating.", etc. As this is the mode of our thinking, it is easier to start meditation by paying attention to the "breathing that I am doing" or "the arising and falling of my abdomen". This is a duality-type meditation.

On the second plane of meditation, instead of going into the "contents" of experience, we can simply meditate on the experiences themselves. This is, IMO, a non-duality type of mediation. Instead of starting with the "I am doing something, etc", we simply rest in the awareness – aware of experiences objectively. There is no observer. Instead of saying that "I am meditating on the sound in my brain", or "the sound outside my brain", just aware of sound without conception that this is even a sound, as any perceptions that “the sound is heard by me”, “inside my brain” or “outside my brain”, are all concepts. Similarly, instead of saying that "I am observing the breathing in and out", just aware of breathing without putting any label. If labeling arises (as we have been conditioned to think that it is me who is breathing), just be aware of this thinking. If there is a labeling that "it is no-self that is breathing", also just be aware of that too. Both are mind-produced concepts. So simply aware of them. That is all. Stand back from labeling, and simply stay with awareness without prejudice. This is a non-dual type of meditation.

In the opening chapter "Intuitive Awareness", this is quoted from Maharahulovada Sutta 62.17, Majjhima Nikaya:

"Just as space is not
established anywhere,
so too,
develop meditation
that is like space,
for when you
develop meditation
that is like space,
arisen agreeable
and
disagreeable contacts
will not invade
your mind"

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