Dhyana - meditation

The true state of meditation is elusive and difficult to describe. Just as one knows that one must have been asleep when one wakes up, one becomes aware that one had slipped into meditation in emerging from it. In pure meditation all awareness of the self or the surroundings is lost and one enters into a state of complete absorption. True meditation is not a dynamic process that involves the intellect. In fact it is the opposite. It is the moment when all thought stops.

Most of the time when we sit for meditation it is merely a question of constantly bringing the mind away from the incessant thinking and back to the object of concentration. Over time and through practice the thoughts start to slow down and it becomes possible to observe a space or a pause between the thoughts. It is through this breach that we can truly meditate. Occasionally when one becomes completely absorbed in the object of concentration the mind stops its incessant chatter and there is an experience of great peace and expansiveness. This momentary stoppage of the mind is for only very brief periods at first, perhaps just a few seconds, if even that, but slowly and gradually, with time and practice and infinite patience, that period extends itself and then we start enter the state of meditation.

What do you see? The flowers, or the water they are floating on?

If you are truly interested in learning to meditate we suggest that you take a ten day Vipassana course at any one of the Vipassana centres around the world. For further details you can consult their website www.dhamma.org.

Neither Marc nor Meng Foong are vipassana teachers, but both practice the technique which is based purely on observing the breath and bodily sensations. Vipassana will enrich your yoga practice and bring you closer to the ultimate goal of enlightenment.

If a person has a really deep interest in spiritual growth, he or she cannot do away with the practice of meditation.

- Dalai Lama