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MEDITATION IN STILLNESS
In China meditation is called ‘Jing Zuo’, sitting quietly. Nothing appears to be happening, but much is. Through calmness to transcendence and the control of the power that lies within the self.
Yoga is a major art of meditation coming from India. It utilises certain body focal points which are termed chakras or padmas (lotuses). Compare the use of them in the Sanskrit mantra chant: "Om mani padme hum". The chant is a compression of teachings; so very condensed in a few words that have vast realms of meaning, such as:
There are six Buddhist teachings that are noted in the arrangement of Om-Ma-Ni-Pad-Me-Hum. The chakras are Focal Gates stacked one above the other, up the central line of the body following the spine.
In Yoga, a serpent of mystery and force is said to live at the bottom chakra and the procedure is to focus upwards through each chakra until both your focus and the ‘serpent’ reaches the top, achieving a higher consciousness (personified by Vishnu).
There are weavings and spirals of mystery in the coiled dragon theme in Chinese art; in the weave of leaves around stems; in the expanding chambers of the seashell Nautilus pompilius and others; in the infinitesimal coiled dimensions of superstring theory; in Einstein’s curved space and whirlpool Black holes, in the curved path traced against the background of space as both Sun and Earth do their flowing dance around the galactic centre.
One chakra is the ‘Third Eye’ which they call Ajna. It is situated between and above the two eyebrows. Being at the level of the base of the Forebrain it is a prime attack point to impact on and shake and damage the brain in its bone casing. In the combat form of his art pre WWII (after which, disgusted with war, he changed it into a more spiritual based art), this point was Grandmaster Morihei Ueshiba’s favoured strike-point. Ueshiba liked to flick a Backfist to that point to distract the opponent’s mind, thus allowing a continuance into the successful application of an Aikido JuJutsu technique against an otherwise watchful and resistant opponent.
If the strike is NOT blocked then you have succeeded in surprising their mind. If the strike IS blocked then you have succeeded in occupying their mind.
One minute of sitting
Is one inch of Buddha.
Like lightning all thoughts come and go.
One look into your mind’s depths:
Nothing else has ever been. — Manzan (1635-1714)
Here in the warm sunshine
Once again we come out into the country.
We are like waters of many rivers
Coming together in a single sea....
The roads leading in different directions
Call us back to ourselves,
And once again the sea becomes rivers. — Feng Chih (1905-)
The mind itself is not empty, not mind-less, it is simply not bonded to thought. Thoughts may come as mists, but as they are not focused on and condensed, they do not stay. An awareness emanates and also a receptiveness, along with a new understanding, pervades the mind. An acceptance.
In China meditation is called ‘Jing Zuo’, sitting quietly. Nothing appears to be happening, but much is. Through calmness to transcendence and the control of the power that lies within the self.
Yoga is a major art of meditation coming from India. It utilises certain body focal points which are termed chakras or padmas (lotuses). Compare the use of them in the Sanskrit mantra chant: "Om mani padme hum". The chant is a compression of teachings; so very condensed in a few words that have vast realms of meaning, such as:
- Sacred-path jewel lotus enlightening-unity; Behold!
- The jewel in the lotus is wisdom.
- Practicing-the wheel of great compassion-through the lotus paths-to wisdom.
No harmony of sound is attainable without the player’s heart being in harmony with herself. — Inazo Nitobe (1862-1933)
There are six Buddhist teachings that are noted in the arrangement of Om-Ma-Ni-Pad-Me-Hum. The chakras are Focal Gates stacked one above the other, up the central line of the body following the spine.
In Yoga, a serpent of mystery and force is said to live at the bottom chakra and the procedure is to focus upwards through each chakra until both your focus and the ‘serpent’ reaches the top, achieving a higher consciousness (personified by Vishnu).
This formation of the stem of the spine with a serpent at its base is reminiscent in the Viking folklore of Tree of the Nine Worlds (Yggdrasil) which has a dragon at its base and Valhalla, or enlightenment, at its top. There are similarities between cultures. .
There are weavings and spirals of mystery in the coiled dragon theme in Chinese art; in the weave of leaves around stems; in the expanding chambers of the seashell Nautilus pompilius and others; in the infinitesimal coiled dimensions of superstring theory; in Einstein’s curved space and whirlpool Black holes, in the curved path traced against the background of space as both Sun and Earth do their flowing dance around the galactic centre.
One chakra is the ‘Third Eye’ which they call Ajna. It is situated between and above the two eyebrows. Being at the level of the base of the Forebrain it is a prime attack point to impact on and shake and damage the brain in its bone casing. In the combat form of his art pre WWII (after which, disgusted with war, he changed it into a more spiritual based art), this point was Grandmaster Morihei Ueshiba’s favoured strike-point. Ueshiba liked to flick a Backfist to that point to distract the opponent’s mind, thus allowing a continuance into the successful application of an Aikido JuJutsu technique against an otherwise watchful and resistant opponent.
If the strike is NOT blocked then you have succeeded in surprising their mind. If the strike IS blocked then you have succeeded in occupying their mind.
One minute of sitting
Is one inch of Buddha.
Like lightning all thoughts come and go.
One look into your mind’s depths:
Nothing else has ever been. — Manzan (1635-1714)
Here in the warm sunshine
Once again we come out into the country.
We are like waters of many rivers
Coming together in a single sea....
The roads leading in different directions
Call us back to ourselves,
And once again the sea becomes rivers. — Feng Chih (1905-)
The farther we peer into space, the more we realize that the nature of the universe cannot be understood fully by inspecting spiral galaxies or watching distant supernovas. It lies deeper. It involves our very selves. — Robert Lanza
The mind itself is not empty, not mind-less, it is simply not bonded to thought. Thoughts may come as mists, but as they are not focused on and condensed, they do not stay. An awareness emanates and also a receptiveness, along with a new understanding, pervades the mind. An acceptance.
Next Chapter: Breathing
(Image: The Samurai and Meditation[Ed] - Google Images)
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Hey Cheney,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for these lectures on Meditation. I think it is a very important discipline for anyone, but mainly for people with very stressing jobs. Meditation helps us keeping rooted in our Essence and not lose sight of what is important in this life. It also prevents us from falling into existential traps.
Good job and I will do all the exercises in this series.
Cheers
Would you call meditation a condition of pre-death?
ReplyDeleteIt depends on what you mean by “pre-death”. You meditate while alive; it refreshes and boosts the mind while alive. It is not related to death. Death is a vast and difficult subject. It is true that warriors in the East used meditation and meditative arts such as Chan or Zen Buddhism to calm their mind before going to battle, going to die. The philosophical and strategic choice was made because Zen teaches the mind to stay focused in the present moment, and in battle the present moment of attack is where the mind should be, not day-dreaming. All arts are of precious use to warriors, that assist the mind in the emotional and dangerous situations of battle against weapons, opponents, and even in verbal debate where only mind is in conflict with mind.
ReplyDeleteAs is said in by Frank Herbert in his novel ‘Dune’: Fear is the mind killer. Acknowledging Fear is part of the way to overcoming it. As Fear is a reactive emotion that arises stealthily from the depths of your mind, a spoken awareness of it helps to overcome it; by use of ‘The Voice’ upon oneself. The use of ‘The Voice’ is a method expounded in ‘Dune’. When under threat and speaking you should always lower your voice’s tone. Aggressive animals tune in to sound and a high-pitched voice smacks of a victim; as the squeal of a dying creature in the night forest. Any Aggressor needs to know if you are a Victim, or not, and watches and listens intently, as they glare at you, for the tell-tale signs that a victim projects outward. As a victim-mind is unlikely to defend itself.
In a sense all of Life relates to the other side of itself, which is Death. Death is needed for renewal of all beings who are not immortal. If all beings die then why is Life itself not FULLY extinguished everywhere? Life is blooming in endless multitudes. There is a ‘silvern’ thread of life or DNA that connects you to eons in the past and also may do the same for eons into the future. So you are both ancient and new. Can learn from the ancients and can add what is new to that learning. Life has a kind of immortality through DNA, the inner spiral coding program in nearly every cell, that defines us all. The numerous spiral worm-like mysteries, like the Worms in ‘Dune’, inside each of us. But as DNA is in continual change or evolution, we are also creatures of change and adaptability to new environments. From oldness comes newness.
Mr Cheney, so what is the relationship between the Trees and the Third Eye? In African culture we also associate trees with mysticism, with places where a lot of works are done, where healing is done. It's important to be under a tree!
ReplyDeleteThe “Third Eye” is a site on the forehead between the eyes and just above the eyebrows. It is a site that has been given mystical connotations. In humans the spot is associated with a sensitivity of being an input output of the mind’s focus; a virtual channel to the mind in the brain.
DeleteIt has a history and significance to many cultures/ philosophies: Dharmic, Hinduism, Qigong, Chan/Zen, Taoist, Theosophist etc. You will note in India, for cultural reasons, a painted dot can be placed at that point.
Being along the line of the base of your brain in the cranium, it was a favourite strike point with a backfist by the martial arts Grandmaster Morihei Ueshiba, to disrupt the mind and enable a hold to be taken, a hold that would otherwise be avoided by the opponent. The main problem in attacking is not so much the strike but how you deliver that strike or grab in order to get passed the opponent’s watchfulness and defences. A firm strike at that point would rattle the brain but that was not the main purpose and so it did not matter if the strike was firm or light as the mind would be disrupted.
As a physical point of sensitivity it is so in amphibians, salamanders and reptiles. The Tuatara lizard of New Zealand is a clear example of physically having a light-sensitive organ or eye (it has a lens), a parietal eye, at this point. Although the Tuatara looks like a lizard it is not one, it is of its own ancient independent species. The purpose of the extra eye is subject to speculation. It is however connected to the pineal gland, something that Madam Blavatsky (Helena Petrovna Blavatsky the Russian spiritualist and sensationalist) would have been thrilled to know. The Tuatara’s third eye declines with age, perhaps an example of the special gifts displayed in childhood that decline to myths in adulthood. As do our gills in our foetus state dissipate according to the requirements of our growth programming process. The body changes to the orders programmed in its DNA.
Leila, The Third eye and a tree connection may simply relate to an all-seeing-ness being obtainable from a higher position, such as that which a tree provides. In mythology, the ravens of Odin that watched over the earth and mankind did so from the top of the ‘tree’ of Yggdrasil in Valhalla, the tree of branches or Channels that spread to and connected the 9 known worlds. A tree is the convenient symbol and concept used to understand anything connected by branches or channels of any kind. In Christmas trees the star-spirit at the top is placed to watch over all.
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