Meditation Practice:
In Taoist practice it is necessary to embrace the breath with the mind and the mind with the breath. With practice one becomes balanced and the practitioner becomes able to plunge into deeper and deeper meditative states where " there is no sky, no earth, no body. "This advanced state of meditation is what is referred to in the saying 'Knowing the white, keep the black, and the illumination of the spirit will come of itself." White refers to everyday life and the rational mind. Black means the intuitive side of the brain and the mystical realms. This distinction was a basic part of the teachings of the Complete Reality School.
The purpose of meditation practice, then, is to center and calm the mind for it is said: "When the ordinary mind is calmed, the shining mind of Tao comes forth." This saying was attributed to Chang San-Feng, one of the famous adepts of the Complete Reality School. "The mind of Tao" refers to the primordial real consciousness. The all-too-human way of mistaking the ego or the ordinary mind for our true self or buddha-mind is called "putting the servant before the master."
Quoted from: 'The Online Journal of the I Ching, Yi Jing'
http://www.fortunecity.com/business/influence/1805/taoism.htm
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Sunday, January 29, 2006
Meditation - stillness and movement. A Taoist perspective
People tend to regard meditation as extremely difficult - if not altogether impossible...
But very often people have a concept of meditation that complicates its practice.
In a Taoist commentary on the I Ching*, there is a reference to the text, 'Directions for Blessings' where Lu Tung-Pin says the following:
"If you have your heart set on the universal Tao, you should certainly practice concentration in stillness. However, concentration in stillness is not a matter of intentionally keeping the mind on something while remaining quiet. If you intentionally seek stillness while quiet, once you move or act your mind will again be aroused. When stillness culminates, there is spontaneous movement - this is the force of potential. If you can seek stillness while active, your mind stays on truth, so you can act without error. Then there is no further concern when quiet."
"(Other) Taoist teachers also affirm that the real stillness and openness which they esteem as a method for breaking through the bounds of conditioned subjectivity and opening up objective awareness cannot necessarily be accomplished simply by arresting or inhibiting the movement of the mind, as this can leave intact the clutter of ingrained habits, only to reassert themselves again on arousal. The classical Chan master Pai-Chang, speaking of the need for insight as well as calm, said, "That which is held by the power of concentration leaks out unawares, to arise in another context."
Also,
"If the mind remains unmoved, and sees as if not seeing, being like open space, not dwelling on anything, (these visions) will naturally disappear."
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* 'The Taoist I Ching', translated by Thomas Cleary; Shambhala Publications, Inc., 1986; p. 12-13
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o
But very often people have a concept of meditation that complicates its practice.
In a Taoist commentary on the I Ching*, there is a reference to the text, 'Directions for Blessings' where Lu Tung-Pin says the following:
"If you have your heart set on the universal Tao, you should certainly practice concentration in stillness. However, concentration in stillness is not a matter of intentionally keeping the mind on something while remaining quiet. If you intentionally seek stillness while quiet, once you move or act your mind will again be aroused. When stillness culminates, there is spontaneous movement - this is the force of potential. If you can seek stillness while active, your mind stays on truth, so you can act without error. Then there is no further concern when quiet."
"(Other) Taoist teachers also affirm that the real stillness and openness which they esteem as a method for breaking through the bounds of conditioned subjectivity and opening up objective awareness cannot necessarily be accomplished simply by arresting or inhibiting the movement of the mind, as this can leave intact the clutter of ingrained habits, only to reassert themselves again on arousal. The classical Chan master Pai-Chang, speaking of the need for insight as well as calm, said, "That which is held by the power of concentration leaks out unawares, to arise in another context."
Also,
"If the mind remains unmoved, and sees as if not seeing, being like open space, not dwelling on anything, (these visions) will naturally disappear."
__
* 'The Taoist I Ching', translated by Thomas Cleary; Shambhala Publications, Inc., 1986; p. 12-13
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o
Friday, January 27, 2006
Science and Consciousness
Science centers always around the human being, no matter where it puts its focus. Human consciousness is the first and last instrument of science regardless of how powerful the microscopes, telescopes or other instruments that we conceive of, construct and apply in the pursuit of science.
Consciousness is the eternal subject of science, and yet science is said to be 'objective'. This is a grand illusion that arises because too often we take consciousness for granted..
o
Consciousness is the eternal subject of science, and yet science is said to be 'objective'. This is a grand illusion that arises because too often we take consciousness for granted..
o
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