Remembering to Sit

Everyday seems to go by so quickly. It is very easy to have the whole day pass by without taking the time to sit and reflect. However, my teachers and all great masters repeatedly remind us that there are not results without meditation.

There are lots of good reasons to make meditation part of each day. Do you want to have peace and happiness for yourself? Do you want to be of aid to others? Do you want a calm and content thinking? Then sit every day!

How about downsides? Can you think of any? So far I have only heard of one. It takes some time. Any more? Look deeply. I bet you cannot find another.

There are some items of advice that I have adopted to assist me. First, I regard meditation/sitting the most important thing that I do every day. I have placed it number 1 priority. Second, I follow the advice to set the time of day to sit. I have a set time. Further, I have a set place. This is when I take my seat and meditate. If for some reason, I cannot sit at this place and at that time, I will think of it often until I am able to sit.

Hearing teachings plants the seeds of our awakening.

Contemplating these teachings (a form of meditation of its own) provides the nourishment for the seeds of enlightenment to sprout.

Sitting in calm meditation provides the nourishment for the awakened mind to blossom.

I find the greatest obstacle to continuing my sitting practice are those times when repeated sitting seems to be having no effect. Sometimes I go for weeks without any noticeable results. It is easy to start wondering if I am just wasting my time. At these times, it is only my discipline to keep sitting that keeps me showing up. Then in one instant, in one sitting, I can gain a glimpse of the other side. I like to think that I am experiencing a bit of what it would be like to be total free of the delusions of samsara ( the world that has been fabricated by my grasping and confused thinking). Maybe this too is just deluded thinking. However, these small glimpses and the small breakthroughs provide the inspiration to keep returning to my seat and to my practice.

Many Dharma Blessings,

Geoff