Inspired by the Teachings of the Dalai Lama

I’ve heard the Dalai Lama say that monks often go into the streets to be with people after a prolonged meditation.  This outing enables the monk or lama to sort of test out and see how effective their meditation practice has been.  The Buddhist believes that meditation enhances one’s ability to be more compassionate, more tolerant, more patient and most of all, less distracted by the external world.  Here, I believe, less distracted really means being able to maintain inner calmness and peace in the face of problems or otherwise disturbing situations.  

The nature of the world itself is full of the potential for conflicting thoughts which leads to discord in general.  And one need not travel even outside of one’s own mind to find opposing or conflicting thoughts taking place.  Our very own mind’s are capable of holding numerous viewpoints at once with regard to any situation or subject and often this creates an inner disturbance—a conflicted mind.  Then we see this replicated within families, communities, nations and the world at large—many different ways of thinking about a matter which creates conflicts small and large.  This is the nature of the mind and the nature of the world.  But what should we to do about the conflict?

This dilemma is most effectively addressed on an individual basis.  We’ve all heard the common phrase, “Let peace begin with me.”   But how do we resolve our own individual mental conflict in order to achieve a peaceful mind—one that does not become disturbed by external factors?  

This is what the monks practice—the mental discipline relative to practiced meditation in order to achieve a state of inner equilibrium and also a state of compassion—and this they bring to the world.  Often they test this state by going into the cities to see how well they have done.  I will write more in a moment about compassion; however, I wish to share more about meditation from Dalai Lama’s point of view because I believe it is of great value.

First of all, I agree with his observation with regard to most human beings value’s relative to the outer world achievements seem more important to them than mental attainment.  Many people are concerned with achieving outer world status relative to career or financial gain—even many times a desire to achieve additional education is motivated by a desire to increase financial gain.  Actually, even some meditations themselves are motivated by a desire to increase financial gain.  Essentially, we put a lot of attention on these types of outer world accomplishments and completely ignore developing our disciplined mental capacities.  Generally, for most of us, a lot of our concentrated effort is focused upon outer world achievements; while much less (or no) concerted effort is placed upon developing our mind for the purposes of accomplishing an inner state of peace and happiness.   So, it’s a matter of examining the value system on an individual basis.  Peace and happiness are actually, I believe, our natural state—it is just that a conflicted mind or a mind at dis-ease prevents us from realizing that natural state.  

As an example, many times I’ve had to ask myself a question that goes something like:  Is it more important to place mental attention on how I’m going to find a way to pay my bills?  (This always causes inner conflict, worry, and many times fear.)  Or is it more important to maintain a state of inner peace and happiness despite outward appearances?  For me the question becomes quite pointed and it brings me to the essential question—where is it more important to make an achievement?  What is most important, the inner world or the outer world?  

This is not to say that manifesting wealth is wrong—that is not my point.  My example goes more to the contrast of neglecting the goal of mastering the mind versus mastering the outer world of appearances.  This brings me to the topic of compassion and its purpose in meditation as well as developing a single minded focus as a meditative practice.   

But first an interjection about something else that I’ve heard the Dalai Lama say—and this brought great joy to my ears.  He says that to contemplate an issue or concern is, in itself, a meditation.  To examine a subject or issue in meditation, allowing the mind to examine it from a wide perspective and from many different angles is, in itself, a meditation.  Of course I am not talking about the mind running in circles in an anxious way, but rather analysis or contemplation in a centered and peaceful state.    This practice can develop a single mind focus which is an important mental discipline in itself.  I’ve also heard Zen Buddhist teachers say something like, “Whatever it is that is troubling you, take it to the cushion”.  This means to examine it from all angles and at a distance, standing back from it, without emotion and in this way perspective comes and peace is restored.

he Dalai Lama says that when he gives talks, he begins by saying, “Let us meditate together now.”  He says that he laughs a bit at how everyone sits up straight in their chair like a soldier, because it is not the body that needs to focus, it is the mind. Likewise, reading a spiritual teaching, a book, can be a meditation—meditation is focusing the mind and that is something we often don’t understand. This writing is in fact, in those terms, a meditation. 

Continued