Out of the energy and exhilaration of Rapture & Joy, we
come to rest in the settled stillness of the next Factor of Awakening, Calm
& Tranquility, Passadhi in Pali. Here
we are so far: Stable and continuous
mindfulness leads to investigation and discerning wisdom. This stirs up the
energy and effort that leads to rapture and joy, which in turn open the door to
calm and tranquility. Our meditation practice is then deliberately directed towards
nurturing this calm through quieting the mind and body.
Best of any song
Is bird song
In the quiet, but first
You must have the quiet.
- Wendell Berry
I love this poem. Intentionally spending time in quiet
places allows us to hear our own thoughts and notice the details. We need this
time and space to still the noise of our lives, inside and out. Meditation practice turns down the volume of a
discursive mind, calms the body and allows our innate wisdom to surface.
“Inner calmness is a way of being
that can transform our lives. Taking one thing at a time as our focus, letting
the imperfections of life be, fosters a sense of the present, a contentment
with the moment….As our skill in meditation grows, we can learn the art of
letting go and finding a calm center in the midst of our changing sense. As we
sit, extraordinary levels of silence and peace can open up for us….We can learn
how happiness comes from a heart at rest and not from changing our outer
circumstances.”
-Joseph Goldstein & Jack Kornfield,
Seeking the Heart of Wisdom, 1987.
Another way to access and develop a quiet mind is to suspend
our penchant for living our lives swinging on the pendulum between our likes
and dislikes believing our opinions as gospel. By loosening the grip on our
habitual fixed views, letting go of the continual evaluation of “I like this
and I don’t like that,” and not clinging to this running commentary of
judgments, we give ourselves room to breathe. This is not to say that we need
to relinquish our points of view or opinions, (we need discerning wisdom), but
by releasing our likes and dislikes even momentarily, our minds become calmer,
more spacious, and we make room for wisdom and compassion to grow. It also makes
life is easier and less contentious.
“The
Great Way is not difficult
For
those who have no preferences.
When
love and hate are both absent
Everything becomes clear and
undisguised.
Make the smallest distinction
however
And heaven and earth are set
infinitely apart.
If you wish to see the truth
Then hold no opinions for or
against anything.
To set up what you like against
what you dislike
Is the disease of the mind.
When the deep meaning of things is
not understood
The mind’s essential peace is
disturbed to avail.”
-from Verses on the Faith Mind,
the Third Zen
Patriarch, Seng-tsan
In the Satipattana
Sutta, the Buddha’s seminal teaching on the Four Foundations of
Mindfulness, the following specific meditation instructions are clearly laid
out for developing this factor of calm and tranquility. From the sutta:
“Breathing in long, he knows ‘I
breathe in long,’ breathing out long, he knows ‘I breathe out long.’ Breathing
in short, he knows ‘I breathe in short,’ breathing out short, he knows ‘I
breathe out short.’ He trains thus: “I shall breathe in experiencing the whole
body,’ he trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out experiencing the whole body.’ He
trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in calming the [body],’ he trains thus: ‘I shall
breathe out calming the [body].’”
The sutta directs
us to both knowing and training, a wonderful description of what practice
actually is. It is one thing to “know” and become aware of the breath, and
quite another and a little more difficult to “train” oneself to experience the
breath as a means of developing calm, peace and ease.
Thich Nhat Hanh adds to
this instruction by recommending a slight upward curve at the corners of the
mouth, a gentle smile. He says smiling causes the whole body to relax. Try it
out and see if you feel more at ease, if it lightens your heart.
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