[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.56,0:00:09.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,<Attaining Enlightenment\NThrough Meditation>
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.44,0:00:17.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Questioner) Hi Sunim, thanks \Nfor giving me a chance to ask a question.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.58,0:00:22.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, I have a question on meditation\Nand studying Buddhist scripture.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.74,0:00:27.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I learned that the Buddha achieved\Na peaceful mind and profound enlightenment
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.63,0:00:29.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through meditation.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.49,0:00:33.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I am trying to practice meditation\Nfor the same purpose,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.30,0:00:39.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but as a beginner who hasn't gone\Nthrough the path, I have some doubts
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.84,0:00:46.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about how I can achieve such a deep state\Nof enlightenment through not thinking.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.14,0:00:54.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Could you explain how meditation can lead\Nto such peace of mind and enlightenment?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.56,0:01:04.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Sunim) All suffering actually happens\Nbecause we think too much.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.21,0:01:21.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, we need to truly liberate ourselves\Nfrom our preconceptions of ethics,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.42,0:01:30.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,morality, religious faith, and other\Nparadigms. Those guard our thoughts.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.68,0:01:36.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.51,0:01:52.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Say a man and a woman who like\Neach other have become lovers.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.33,0:02:03.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, in a regular relationship between\Ntwo ordinary people, you like each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.02,0:02:17.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, if you are Buddhist clergy\Nor Catholic clergy, you have been taught
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.90,0:02:23.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not to engage in relationship with,\Nin a sexual relationships.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.33,0:02:35.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, those people\Nwho are trained in that way,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.11,0:02:39.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while they enjoy being with the other\Nperson in a romantic relationship,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.21,0:02:42.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,also feel guilt.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.12,0:03:00.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, all that guilt, that negative feeling,\Nis not a result of having this romantic
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.87,0:03:03.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,relationship with another person you like.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.43,0:03:09.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It comes from your own preconceptions\Nthat you shouldn't be doing this.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.85,0:03:30.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, a lot of the suffering and issues\Nwe experience today actually happen
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.32,0:03:34.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because of the contradiction or collision\Nbetween what is happening in reality,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.52,0:03:41.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what we experience in reality, and our\Npreconceptions of how things should be.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.23,0:03:56.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That suffering disappears\Nwhen you erase the contradiction
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.36,0:04:03.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of choosing abandoning a preconception\Nand accepting reality
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.83,0:04:08.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or adhering to that preconception\Nand foregoing your desires.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.12,0:04:26.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, we can never solve this problem\Nas long as we simultaneously adhere
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.25,0:04:31.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to a preconception and desire \Nwhat we want in reality;
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.08,0:04:34.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that contradiction will persist.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.20,0:04:38.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, another example:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.34,0:04:53.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If traditional ethics dictate\Nthat men and women of certain age
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.09,0:04:58.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cannot be romantic partners,\Nthen such relationships create suffering.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.100,0:05:11.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Similarly, if we are taught that divorce\Nis unacceptable after marriage,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.97,0:05:21.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,yet circumstances call for separation,\Nthis contradiction creates suffering.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.32,0:05:28.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, observing the natural course\Nof relationships,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.37,0:05:31.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people come together and separate\Nall the time.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.54,0:05:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is all part of coming together.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.00,0:05:42.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It shows that separation or divorce is\Nnot inherently a cause of suffering.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.55,0:05:54.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's your preconceptions of "what ought to\Nbe" that actually causes you suffering,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.08,0:05:58.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether it's a first meeting\Nor a separation.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.04,0:06:11.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you can just erase\N"what ought to be",
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.18,0:06:20.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then you eliminate\Nmuch suffering from internal conflict.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.13,0:06:58.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example, when we teach our daughters\Nthat premarital sex is a sin,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.31,0:07:05.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it causes them internal suffering\Nwhen they engage in it.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.31,0:07:11.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But we do not teach our sons \Nthis to the same extent,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.53,0:07:16.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so they may not feel the same guilt.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:16.44,0:07:22.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is all due to the preconceptions\Nwe instill in our children.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.50,0:07:34.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example, if you stop thinking\Nright now, there is no cost to suffer.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.93,0:07:43.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's why the foundation of\Nour meditation is stopping your thinking.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.48,0:07:54.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What posture you take, how you breathe,\Nnone of that really matters.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.93,0:08:08.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many people say they are meditating,\Nbut they end up thinking quietly.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.36,0:08:10.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That is thinking, not meditating.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:10.58,0:08:16.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thinking good thoughts does not mean\Nyou meditate well.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.93,0:08:24.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Meditation is\Na state of absence of thoughts.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:24.04,0:08:31.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If your thinking stops,\Nmost of your suffering will go away.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.51,0:08:40.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But once you try it, you will find\Nyour thinking does not stop easily.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:40.38,0:08:52.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Your thinking is naturally amplified\Nmany times over.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.38,0:08:59.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when you are meditating,\Nyour body may be still,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.63,0:09:02.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but you are always thinking.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.78,0:09:18.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How do you stop thinking?\NIntending to stop thinking amplifies it.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:18.79,0:09:25.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the old teachers said:
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.24,0:09:32.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's dust flying in the room.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.07,0:09:36.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We don't see it well.\NIt is almost invisible.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.74,0:09:42.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When a ray of sunlight shines\Ninto the room from the outside,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:42.01,0:09:48.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we realized that dust floats in the room.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.12,0:10:02.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are trying to get rid of dust\Nin the room with something.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.32,0:10:06.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then, we are realizing that\Ntrying to do so only creates more dust.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:06.87,0:10:12.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What do we do?\NWe just have to let it be.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:12.55,0:10:20.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As time passes,\Nmost dust will gradually settle.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:20.78,0:10:42.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They mean we constantly live in a flux\Nof thoughts and distractions,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.12,0:10:50.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we do not realize it without that\N"ray of light" to illuminate it.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.18,0:11:13.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Realizing how "dusty" your mind is\Nisn't a meditation failure;
Dialogue: 0,0:11:13.19,0:11:16.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it is part of the process\Nof meditation to recognize that.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:16.71,0:11:25.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the same as seeing that ray of light\Nilluminate all that dust.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:25.62,0:11:36.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first key is to realize\Nthat "I live amidst distracting thoughts".
Dialogue: 0,0:11:36.66,0:11:50.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When you practice\Nperformance-oriented meditation,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:50.02,0:11:54.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which aims to meditate better and faster,\Nit creates more distractions.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.24,0:11:57.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It causes more dust fly.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:57.10,0:12:00.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You have to just let it be.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:00.62,0:12:07.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it doesn't really settle that quickly\Nbecause it just flies around.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:07.90,0:12:15.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's why the strategy is\Nto focus your thoughts on one thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:15.40,0:12:25.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The easiest place to focus your thought on\Nis your breath.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:25.85,0:12:38.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Basically, it is a strategy\Nof focusing
Dialogue: 0,0:12:38.12,0:12:42.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the inhalation and exhalation\Nof your breath.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:42.54,0:12:50.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Pali, it is called Ānāpāna.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:00.36,0:13:16.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,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
Dialogue: 0,0:13:20.46,0:13:26.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you know, other thoughts would constantly be there.\NYou just let that be.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:29.79,0:13:34.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the only thing that you actually direct your focus on is on that single question.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:39.68,0:14:13.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example, say I read a book in the middle of the forest.\NI mean, you guys, you know, they're birds tweeting here the stream and you have cars.\NI 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?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:17.34,0:14:18.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But we can't stop those.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:22.31,0:14:26.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just because you stop those externalities doesn't guarantee that you can focus.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:48.63,0:15:06.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,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.\NThe 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.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:14.14,0:15:22.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So meditation is all about the absence of thoughts but from a strategy perspective, it's all about focusing on that one single thought.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:27.07,0:15:31.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let's say we focus on the breath in and breath out.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:34.100,0:15:39.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when the breath comes in to know that the breath is coming in.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:42.77,0:15:45.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you're not thinking about the breath coming in.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:54.42,0:16:04.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,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
Dialogue: 0,0:16:11.86,0:16:31.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you also feel that kind of tactile sense of the breath leaf in your nose.\NSo this is our thought. This is experiencing.\NYou're just experiencing that breath.\NYou might think of your mother at that time.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:39.16,0:16:57.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,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?\NWhat about the time we had an argument with her?\NSo you actually create narratives around those stores and this becomes distraction.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:00.68,0:17:32.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you can't really stop the thought of your mom kind of rising.\NBut despite whatever thoughts come to you, you keep focusing on that but basically do not pay attention or energy to that thought.\NAnd then the thoughts kind of dissipate.\NThen other thoughts will come you'll think about but nevertheless you focus on their brain the thought of coffee dissipates.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:41.92,0:17:47.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you'll have connous thoughts rise and fall, rise and fall as long as you don't pay attention to it.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:55.80,0:18:05.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,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.\NWhat kind of coffee do I want you?\NWith whom do I want this coffe?
Dialogue: 0,0:18:10.00,0:18:13.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At that time you already lost that focus on that breath
Dialogue: 0,0:18:16.72,0:18:29.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because our attention can only focus on one thing at a time.\NIf I focus on here, I lose focus there and if I pay attention there, I lose attention here.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:37.11,0:18:42.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thoughts are just that as long as you don't pay attention to it, it'll just rise and fall, rise and fall.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:53.38,0:19:04.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when we say we're distracted, those random thoughts are not distractions of themselves.\NIt really becomes a source of distraction when you start creating stories around those thoughts.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:20.27,0:19:32.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,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.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:42.87,0:19:51.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the attention span on that single breath is going to continue to increase and less dractions you'll experience less distraction.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:03.43,0:20:10.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then you start actually gaining autonomy.\NYou're no longer beholding your past memories or future hopes.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:21.19,0:20:28.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The reason you get angry, you get sad, you feel this emotion and that is because all these past memories come haunting you
Dialogue: 0,0:20:39.11,0:20:44.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you become fearful and anxious and nervous because you're thinking about the future.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:52.51,0:20:58.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So if you're not captured by the thoughts of the future, then all your anxiety and nervousness goes away.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:06.97,0:21:14.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,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.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:22.68,0:21:31.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So even if Buddha's a thought about Buddha comes unbidden to you or doing meditation, that's just another distraction.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:36.98,0:21:41.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So just singular focus on that breath everything else is a distress.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:50.95,0:21:58.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If it's a Zencen, anything that actually falls outside the scope of the exploration of that question is a distraction.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:03.85,0:22:11.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so in that state, even what you read in the scriptures, sutras or even Buddha's own teachings, they're just distractions.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:19.37,0:22:26.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's why there's teaching if you see a Buddha, if you think about the Buddha, kill the Buddha.\NIf you encounter your teacher, kill the teacher.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:34.44,0:22:49.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we don't really mean literally kill them but obviously what we are saying is that do not pay them any mind.\NThey're just distractions.\NSorry for the lengthy response.\NThanks.