with Distractions - I
some time, every meditator encounters distractions during practice,
and methods are needed to deal with them. Some elegant stratagems
have been devised to get you back on the track more quickly
than trying to push your way through by sheer force of will.
Concentration and mindfulness go hand-in-hand. Each one complements
the other. If either one is weak, the other will eventually
be affected. Bad days are usually characterized by poor concentration.
Your mind just keeps floating around. You need some method of
reestablishing your concentration, even in the face of mental
adversity. Luckily, you have it. In fact you can take your choice
from a traditional array of practical maneuvers.
This first technique has been covered in an earlier chapter.
A distraction has pulled you away from the breath, and you suddenly
realize that you've been day-dreaming. The trick is to pull
all the way out of whatever has captured you, to break its hold
on you completely so you can go back to the breath with full
attention. You do this by gauging the length of time that you
were distracted. This is not a precise calculation. you don't
need a precise figure, just a rough estimate. You can figure
it in minutes, or by idea significance. Just say to yourself,
"Okay, I have been distracted for about two minutes" or "Since
the dog started barking" or "Since I started thinking about
money." When you first start practicing this technique, you
will do it by talking to yourself inside your head. Once the
habit is well established, you can drop that, and the action
becomes wordless and very quick. The whole idea, remember, is
to pull out of the distraction and get back to the breath. You
pull out of the thought by making it the object of inspection
just long enough to glean from it a rough approximation of its
duration. The interval itself is not important. Once you are
free of the distraction, drop the whole thing and go back to
the breath. Do not get hung up in the estimate.
When your mind is wild and agitated, you can often re-establish
mindfulness with a few quick deep breaths. Pull the air in strongly
and let it out the same way. This increases the sensation inside
the nostrils and makes it easier to focus. Make a strong act
of will and apply some force to your attention. Concentration
can be forced into growth, remember, so you will probably find
your full attention settling nicely back on the breath.
Counting the breaths as they pass is a highly traditional procedure.
Some schools of practice teach this activity as their primary
tactic. Vipassana uses it as an auxiliary technique for re-establishing
mindfulness and for strengthening concentration. As we discussed
in Chapter 5, you can count breaths in a number of different
ways. Remember to keep your attention on the breath. You will
probably notice a change after you have done your counting.
The breath slows down, or it becomes very light and refined.
This is a physiological signal that concentration has become
well-established. At this point, the breath is usually so light
or so fast and gentle that you can't clearly distinguish the
inhalation from the exhalation. They seem to blend into each
other. You can then count both of them as a single cycle. Continue
your counting process, but only up to a count of five, covering
the same five-breath sequence, then start over. When counting
becomes a bother, go on to the next step. Drop the numbers and
forget about the concepts of inhalation and exhalation. Just
dive right in to the pure sensation of breathing. Inhalation
blends into exhalation. One breath blends into the next in a
never ending cycle of pure, smooth flow.
The In-Out Method
This is an alternative to counting, and it functions in much
the manner. Just direct your attention to the breath and mentally
tag each cycle with the words "Inhalation...exhalation" or 'In...out".
Continue the process until you no longer need these concepts,
and then throw them away.
Canceling One Thought With Another
Some thoughts just won't go away. We humans are obsessional
beings. It's one of our biggest problems. We tend to lock onto
things like sexual fantasies and worries and ambitions. We feed
those though complexes over the years of time and give them
plenty of exercise by playing with them in every spare moment.
Then when we sit down to meditate, we order them to go away
and leave us alone. It is scarcely surprising that they don't
obey. Persistent thoughts like these require a direct approach,
a full- scale frontal attack.
Buddhist psychology has developed a distinct system of classification.
Rather than dividing thoughts into classes like 'good' or 'bad',
Buddhist thinkers prefer to regard them as 'skillful' versus
'unskillful'. An unskillful thought is on connected with greed,
hatred, or delusion. These are the thoughts that the mind most
easily builds into obsessions. They are unskillful in the sense
that they lead you away from the goal of Liberation. Skillful
thoughts, on the other hand, are those connected with generosity,
compassion, and wisdom. They are skillful in the sense that
they may be used as specific remedies for unskillful thoughts,
and thus can assist you toward Liberation.
You cannot condition Liberation. It is not a state built out
of thoughts. Nor can you condition the personal qualities which
Liberation produces. Thoughts of benevolence can produce a semblance
of benevolence, but it's not the real item. It will break down
under pressure. Thoughts of compassion produce only superficial
compassion. Therefore, these skillful thoughts will not, in
themselves, free you from the trap. They are skillful only if
applied as antidotes to the poison of unskillful thoughts. Thoughts
of generosity can temporarily cancel greed. They kick it under
the rug long enough for mindfulness to do its work unhindered.
Then, when mindfulness has penetrated to the roots of the ego
process, greed evaporates and true generosity arises.
This principle can be used on a day to day basis in your own
meditation. If a particular sort of obsession is troubling you,
you can cancel it out by generating its opposite. Here is an
example: If you absolutely hate Charlie, and his scowling face
keeps popping into your mind, try directing a stream of love
and friendliness toward Charlie. You probably will get rid of
the immediate mental image. Then you can get on with the job
Sometimes this tactic alone doesn't work. The obsession is simply
too strong. In this case you've got to weaken its hold on you
somewhat before you can successfully balance it out. Here is
where guilt, one of man's most misbegotten emotions, finally
becomes of some use. Take a good strong look at the emotional
response you are trying to get rid of. Actually ponder it. See
how it makes you feel. Look at what it is doing to your life,
your happiness, your health, and your relationships. Try to
see how it makes you appear to others. Look at the way it is
hindering your progress toward Liberation. The Pali scriptures
urge you to do this very thoroughly indeed. They advise you
to work up the same sense of disgust and humiliation that you
would feel if you were forced to walk around with the carcass
of a dead and decaying animal tied around your neck. Real loathing
is what you are after. This step may end the problem all by
itself. If it doesn't, then balance out the lingering remainder
of the obsession by once again generating its opposite emotion.
Thoughts of greed cover everything connected with desire, from
outright avarice for material gain, all the way down to a subtle
need to be respected as a moral person. Thoughts of hatred run
the gamut from petty peevishness to murderous rage. Delusion
covers everything from daydreaming through actual hallucinations.
Generosity cancels greed. Benevolence and compassion cancel
hatred. You can find a specific antidote for any troubling thought
if you just think about it a while.
Recalling Your Purpose
There are times when things pop into your mind, apparently at
random. Words, phrases, or whole sentences jump up out of the
unconscious for no discernible reason. Objects appear. Pictures
flash on and off. This is an unsettling experience. Your mind
feels like a flag flapping in a stiff wind. It washes back and
forth like waves in the ocean. At times like this it is often
enough just to remember why you are there. You can say to yourself,
"I'm not sitting here just to waste my time with these thoughts.
I'm here to focus my mind on the breath, which is universal
and common to all living beings". Sometimes your mind will settle
down, even before you complete this recitation. Other times
you may have to repeat it several times before you refocus on
These techniques can be used singly, or in combinations. Properly
employed, they constitute quite an effective arsenal for your
battle against the monkey mind.