0:00:04.564,0:00:09.445 <Attaining Enlightenment[br]Through Meditation> 0:00:09.445,0:00:17.577 (Questioner) Hi Sunim, thanks [br]for giving me a chance to ask a question. 0:00:17.577,0:00:22.736 So, I have a question on meditation[br]and studying Buddhist scripture. 0:00:22.736,0:00:27.626 I learned that the Buddha achieved[br]a peaceful mind and profound enlightenment 0:00:27.626,0:00:29.493 through meditation. 0:00:29.493,0:00:33.302 I am trying to practice meditation[br]for the same purpose, 0:00:33.302,0:00:39.838 but as a beginner who hasn't gone[br]through the path, I have some doubts 0:00:39.838,0:00:46.135 about how I can achieve such a deep state[br]of enlightenment through not thinking. 0:00:46.135,0:00:54.557 Could you explain how meditation can lead[br]to such peace of mind and enlightenment? 0:00:54.557,0:01:04.211 (Sunim) All suffering actually happens[br]because we think too much. 0:01:04.211,0:01:21.423 So, we need to truly liberate ourselves[br]from our preconceptions of ethics, 0:01:21.423,0:01:30.680 morality, religious faith, and other[br]paradigms. Those guard our thoughts. 0:01:30.680,0:01:36.509 For example: 0:01:36.509,0:01:52.330 Say a man and a woman who like[br]each other have become lovers. 0:01:52.330,0:02:03.015 So, in a regular relationship between[br]two ordinary people, you like each other. 0:02:03.015,0:02:17.905 However, if you are Buddhist clergy[br]or Catholic clergy, you have been taught 0:02:17.905,0:02:23.327 not to engage in relationship with,[br]in a sexual relationships. 0:02:23.327,0:02:35.112 So, those people[br]who are trained in that way, 0:02:35.112,0:02:39.209 while they enjoy being with the other[br]person in a romantic relationship, 0:02:39.209,0:02:42.117 also feel guilt. 0:02:42.117,0:03:00.869 So, all that guilt, that negative feeling,[br]is not a result of having this romantic 0:03:00.869,0:03:03.427 relationship with another person you like. 0:03:03.427,0:03:09.852 It comes from your own preconceptions[br]that you shouldn't be doing this. 0:03:09.852,0:03:30.322 So, a lot of the suffering and issues[br]we experience today actually happen 0:03:30.322,0:03:34.523 because of the contradiction or collision[br]between what is happening in reality, 0:03:34.523,0:03:41.234 what we experience in reality, and our[br]preconceptions of how things should be. 0:03:41.234,0:03:56.363 That suffering disappears[br]when you erase the contradiction 0:03:56.363,0:04:03.833 of choosing abandoning a preconception[br]and accepting reality 0:04:03.833,0:04:08.123 or adhering to that preconception[br]and foregoing your desires. 0:04:08.123,0:04:26.252 However, we can never solve this problem[br]as long as we simultaneously adhere 0:04:26.252,0:04:31.083 to a preconception and desire [br]what we want in reality; 0:04:31.083,0:04:34.204 that contradiction will persist. 0:04:34.204,0:04:38.342 So, another example: 0:04:38.342,0:04:53.094 If traditional ethics dictate[br]that men and women of certain age 0:04:53.094,0:04:58.997 cannot be romantic partners,[br]then such relationships create suffering. 0:04:58.997,0:05:11.972 Similarly, if we are taught that divorce[br]is unacceptable after marriage, 0:05:11.972,0:05:21.315 yet circumstances call for separation,[br]this contradiction creates suffering. 0:05:21.315,0:05:28.370 However, observing the natural course[br]of relationships, 0:05:28.370,0:05:31.540 people come together and separate[br]all the time. 0:05:31.540,0:05:37.000 It is all part of coming together. 0:05:37.000,0:05:42.550 It shows that separation or divorce is[br]not inherently a cause of suffering. 0:05:42.550,0:05:54.082 It's your preconceptions of "what ought to[br]be" that actually causes you suffering, 0:05:54.082,0:05:58.045 whether it's a first meeting[br]or a separation. 0:05:58.045,0:06:11.182 If you can just erase[br]"what ought to be", 0:06:11.182,0:06:20.129 then you eliminate[br]much suffering from internal conflict. 0:06:20.129,0:06:58.311 For example, when we teach our daughters[br]that premarital sex is a sin, 0:06:58.311,0:07:05.306 it causes them internal suffering[br]when they engage in it. 0:07:05.306,0:07:11.533 But we do not teach our sons [br]this to the same extent, 0:07:11.533,0:07:16.438 so they may not feel the same guilt. 0:07:16.438,0:07:22.500 This is all due to the preconceptions[br]we instill in our children. 0:07:22.500,0:07:34.933 For example, if you stop thinking[br]right now, there is no cost to suffer. 0:07:34.933,0:07:43.476 That's why the foundation of[br]our meditation is stopping your thinking. 0:07:43.476,0:07:54.930 What posture you take, how you breathe,[br]none of that really matters. 0:07:54.930,0:08:08.360 Many people say they are meditating,[br]but they end up thinking quietly. 0:08:08.360,0:08:10.581 That is thinking, not meditating. 0:08:10.581,0:08:16.932 Thinking good thoughts does not mean[br]you meditate well. 0:08:16.932,0:08:24.044 Meditation is[br]a state of absence of thoughts. 0:08:24.044,0:08:31.509 If your thinking stops,[br]most of your suffering will go away. 0:08:31.509,0:08:40.375 But once you try it, you will find[br]your thinking does not stop easily. 0:08:40.375,0:08:52.380 Your thinking is naturally amplified[br]many times over. 0:08:52.380,0:08:59.630 So when you are meditating,[br]your body may be still, 0:08:59.630,0:09:02.780 but you are always thinking. 0:09:02.780,0:09:18.794 How do you stop thinking?[br]Intending to stop thinking amplifies it. 0:09:18.794,0:09:25.245 So the old teachers said: 0:09:25.245,0:09:32.074 There's dust flying in the room. 0:09:32.074,0:09:36.742 We don't see it well.[br]It is almost invisible. 0:09:36.742,0:09:42.010 When a ray of sunlight shines[br]into the room from the outside, 0:09:42.010,0:09:48.120 we realized that dust floats in the room. 0:09:48.120,0:10:02.320 We are trying to get rid of dust[br]in the room with something. 0:10:02.320,0:10:06.870 Then, we are realizing that[br]trying to do so only creates more dust. 0:10:06.870,0:10:12.551 What do we do?[br]We just have to let it be. 0:10:12.551,0:10:19.219 As time passes,[br]most dust will gradually settle. 0:10:34.885,0:10:49.160 So basically what they're saying is that we carry around we're constantly living in a flux of thoughts, distractions and what thoughts but we don't realize we're living in this sea of distractions because we lack that single ray of light to actually eliminate that. 0:11:02.998,0:11:15.950 So the fact that you actually sit down and start realizing how dusty the room in your mind is it's not a failure in meditation it's actually a process of meditating that recognition. 0:11:20.500,0:11:25.294 It's the same thing as seeing that single ray of light actually illuminating all that dust. 0:11:29.850,0:11:35.915 You know, that first realization that I live in the midst of all this dust in this distraction thoughts 0:11:45.690,0:11:59.825 then you start engaging in kind of performance oriented meditation in what you want to do meditate better faster and thereby creating more distraction letting dust fly even more you have to just let it be 0:12:03.882,0:12:14.680 doesn't really settle that quickly does it because it just flies around that's why the strategy is to focus your thoughts on.[br]One thing. 0:12:20.731,0:12:24.805 The easiest place to focus your thought on is your breath. 0:12:35.370,0:12:41.115 Basically it's a strategy of focusing on the inhalation and the exhalation of your breath 0:12:47.221,0:12:49.550 in Pali, it's called Annapana. 0:13:00.355,0:13:16.920 Another strategy that came up during the Zen Buddhist tradition is the cohen just focused on one single thought or one single question like who am I just focus on that single question 0:13:20.464,0:13:26.255 you know, other thoughts would constantly be there.[br]You just let that be. 0:13:29.790,0:13:34.675 But the only thing that you actually direct your focus on is on that single question. 0:13:39.681,0:14:13.450 For example, say I read a book in the middle of the forest.[br]I mean, you guys, you know, they're birds tweeting here the stream and you have cars.[br]I can't really focus if the cars were not running, if the birds would stop tweeting, if the stream would stop running then I can actually focus in a quiet forest right? 0:14:17.343,0:14:18.984 But we can't stop those. 0:14:22.309,0:14:26.420 Just because you stop those externalities doesn't guarantee that you can focus. 0:14:48.629,0:15:06.650 So but if you really focused on the book and you get really into the substance of the book Dancing Birds may tweet but you don't pay attention to it.[br]The cars may be running on the road next to it but you don't really pay attention nor do you pay attention to the stream actually running beside you because you're really focused you are in that zone of focus. 0:15:14.145,0:15:22.495 So meditation is all about the absence of thoughts but from a strategy perspective, it's all about focusing on that one single thought. 0:15:27.074,0:15:31.160 Let's say we focus on the breath in and breath out. 0:15:34.996,0:15:39.050 So when the breath comes in to know that the breath is coming in. 0:15:42.770,0:15:45.660 So you're not thinking about the breath coming in. 0:15:54.420,0:16:04.950 This is a kind of an experience of your sensation of the flow of the air as it actually travels over your skin, through your nostrils as it enters your lungs 0:16:11.855,0:16:31.480 and you also feel that kind of tactile sense of the breath leaf in your nose.[br]So this is our thought. This is experiencing.[br]You're just experiencing that breath.[br]You might think of your mother at that time. 0:16:39.160,0:16:57.319 But once you actually get distracted by the thought of your mom, you start thinking, oh, what about the time we went on a picnic with my mom?[br]What about the time we had an argument with her?[br]So you actually create narratives around those stores and this becomes distraction. 0:17:00.675,0:17:32.618 So you can't really stop the thought of your mom kind of rising.[br]But despite whatever thoughts come to you, you keep focusing on that but basically do not pay attention or energy to that thought.[br]And then the thoughts kind of dissipate.[br]Then other thoughts will come you'll think about but nevertheless you focus on their brain the thought of coffee dissipates. 0:17:41.925,0:17:47.405 So you'll have connous thoughts rise and fall, rise and fall as long as you don't pay attention to it. 0:17:55.796,0:18:05.910 But once if you start actually start doing it, when you think of coffee, you kind of follow it and create a story out of it.[br]What kind of coffee do I want you?[br]With whom do I want this coffe? 0:18:10.000,0:18:13.362 At that time you already lost that focus on that breath 0:18:16.723,0:18:29.275 because our attention can only focus on one thing at a time.[br]If I focus on here, I lose focus there and if I pay attention there, I lose attention here. 0:18:37.111,0:18:42.595 Thoughts are just that as long as you don't pay attention to it, it'll just rise and fall, rise and fall. 0:18:53.378,0:19:04.420 So when we say we're distracted, those random thoughts are not distractions of themselves.[br]It really becomes a source of distraction when you start creating stories around those thoughts. 0:19:20.266,0:19:32.755 So if you keep on practicing your time that you can sustain that focus on that single breath, it can be one minute before you're distracted, then five minutes and 10 minutes it'll actually increase. 0:19:42.870,0:19:51.130 So the attention span on that single breath is going to continue to increase and less dractions you'll experience less distraction. 0:20:03.429,0:20:10.955 Then you start actually gaining autonomy.[br]You're no longer beholding your past memories or future hopes. 0:20:21.186,0:20:28.870 The reason you get angry, you get sad, you feel this emotion and that is because all these past memories come haunting you 0:20:39.111,0:20:44.260 and you become fearful and anxious and nervous because you're thinking about the future. 0:20:52.507,0:20:58.130 So if you're not captured by the thoughts of the future, then all your anxiety and nervousness goes away. 0:21:06.970,0:21:14.840 So that's why we teach to be awakened here and now without being captured by your past memories or the future that has not come yet. 0:21:22.684,0:21:31.365 So even if Buddha's a thought about Buddha comes unbidden to you or doing meditation, that's just another distraction. 0:21:36.980,0:21:41.213 So just singular focus on that breath everything else is a distress. 0:21:50.953,0:21:58.835 If it's a Zencen, anything that actually falls outside the scope of the exploration of that question is a distraction. 0:22:03.850,0:22:11.790 And so in that state, even what you read in the scriptures, sutras or even Buddha's own teachings, they're just distractions. 0:22:19.370,0:22:26.950 That's why there's teaching if you see a Buddha, if you think about the Buddha, kill the Buddha.[br]If you encounter your teacher, kill the teacher. 0:22:34.435,0:22:49.210 So we don't really mean literally kill them but obviously what we are saying is that do not pay them any mind.[br]They're just distractions.[br]Sorry for the lengthy response.[br]Thanks.