Attaining Enlightenment Through Meditation

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#meditation #enlightenment #thoughts

Ven. Pomnyun's Answer to “Attaining Enlightenment Through Meditation”
Selection from Casual Conversation with Ven. Pomnyun Sunim(법륜스님) (Sep. 14, 2024)

Question:
How can we reach enlightenment through meditation during which we are not supposed to think about anything?

<Attaining Enlightenment
Through Meditation>

(Questioner) Hi, Sunim. Thank you
for giving me a chance to ask a question.

I have a question about meditation
and the study of the Buddhist scriptures.

I learned that the Buddha attained
a peaceful mind and profound enlightenment

through meditation.

I am trying to practice meditation
for the same purpose.

But, as a beginner
who hasn't gone through the path,

I have doubts about how I can reach
such a deep state of enlightenment

simply by not thinking.

Could you explain how meditation leads
to peace of mind and enlightenment?

(Sunim) Most of our suffering arises
primarily from our thoughts.

So, we must free ourselves
from our preconceived notions of

ethics, morality, religious beliefs, and
other paradigms that shape our thoughts.

For example, consider a man and a woman
who like each other and become lovers.

In a typical relationship
between two ordinary individuals,

they can simply like each other.

However, if they are Buddhist or Catholic
clergy, they have been taught

not to engage in romantic
or sexual relationships.

So, those who have undergone
such training,

while experiencing joy
in their romantic relationship,

also struggle with guilt.

That guilt, the negative feeling they get,
does not stem from the relationship itself

but rather from their belief
that they should not be engaging in it.

Much of the suffering and issues
we experience today occurs

due to the clash between reality,
what we truly experience,

and our preconceived notions
of how things should be.

This suffering disappears when we resolve
the contradiction in one of two ways:

either by letting go of our preconceptions
and accepting reality as it is

or by adhering to our preconceptions
and giving up what we desire in reality.

However, we can never truly resolve
this problem

if we attempt to hold onto
our preconceptions,

while simultaneously trying to attain
what we desire in reality,

because that contradiction
will inevitably persist.

Let's take another example.

If there are traditional ethics
or morals dictating that

men and women of certain ages should not
see each other as romantic partners,

then engaging in such relationships
leads to suffering.

Similarly, if we're taught that
divorce is unacceptable after marriage,

yet circumstances call for
separation or divorce,

this contradiction results in suffering.

In the natural course of life, people may
come together and go their separate ways.

Coming together is not
the cause of suffering,

nor is separation or divorce.

Rather, it is our preconceived notions of
"what ought to be" that create suffering,

whether it's meeting for the first time
of a relationship or separating.

If we can let go of the idea
of "what ought to be,"

we can eliminate much of the suffering
that arises from internal conflicts.

For example, when we teach our daughters
that having sex before marriage is a sin,

if they are later forced
into premarital sex,

it causes them
significant internal suffering.

But we do not emphasize this as much
when teaching our sons,

so if they have premarital sex,
they may not feel the same level of guilt.

This is entirely due to the preconceptions
we instill in our children.

If you were to stop thinking right now,
there would be no suffering.

This is why the foundation of meditation
is to stop thinking.

What position you take, how you breathe,
none of that truly matters.

Many of you say you meditate,
but, in reality, you are thinking quietly.

That is thinking,
not meditating.

Thinking positive thoughts does not mean
you are meditating properly.

Meditation is the state
where thoughts have stopped.

And if you stop thinking,
most of your suffering goes away.

However, once you try it, you will realize
that your thoughts do not cease.

(Audience Laughter)

In fact, they may become amplified
twofold, threefold, or even tenfold.

So, while your body remains still
during meditation,

your mind is constantly
engaged in thinking.

Then, how can we stop thinking?
If you set an intention to stop thinking,

that intention itself
becomes another thought.

That is why the old masters
taught us this analogy:

Imagine there's dust
flying all over the room.

The dust is barely visible to us.

But if there's a ray of sunlight
coming through the room,

we suddenly become aware of
how much dust is floating in the air.

We take a cloth or a duster
and start cleaning to remove the dust.

Yet, instead of eliminating the dust,
we stir it up even more.

Then, what should we do?
We simply let it settle on its own.

As time passes,
most of the dust will settle.

This analogy shows that we live constantly
filled with thoughts and distractions,

but we are unaware of that

because we lack that single ray of light
to illuminate them.

Thus, when you sit down to meditate and
start noticing how cluttered your mind is,

this is not a failure in meditation.

It's actually a process
of meditating properly.

It's just like seeing that single ray
of sunlight revealing the dust in a room.

It is the first realization that you are
surrounded by endless distracting thoughts.

Then, you may start approaching meditation
with a performance-oriented mindset,

striving to meditate better and faster.

This, in turn, creates more distractions
just as letting dust fly even more.

You have to just let it be.

But it's very hard to simply let it be
because thoughts keep arising.

That's why the strategy is
to focus your thoughts on one thing.

The easiest thing to focus your thoughts
on is your breath.

It's a strategy of focusing on the
inhalation and exhalation of your breath.

In Pali, it is called Ānāpānasati.

Another strategy that emerged during
the Zen Buddhist tradition is a Koan,

which is focusing on a single thought,

a single question
like "Who am I?"

Just focus
on that single question.

Other thoughts will constantly arise.

Just let them be.

The only thing you should truly focus on
is that single question.

For example, imagine you are reading
a book in the middle of a forest.

You hear birds tweeting.

You hear the sound of a stream.

And you hear cars passing
on a distant road.

Because of these distractions,
you find it difficult to focus.

If the cars stopped running,

if the birds stopped tweeting,

and if the stream stopped running,

then you would be able to focus
in that quiet forest, right?

But you can't stop those things.

Even if you could eliminate
those external distractions,

it wouldn’t necessarily mean
that you could focus.

But if you truly immerse yourself
in the book,

the birds may tweet,
but you won’t notice them.

Cars may pass on the road nearby,
but you won’t pay attention to them,

nor will you notice the stream beside you

because you are deeply focused and
fully absorbed in what you are reading.

While meditation is
about the absence of thoughts,

from a strategic perspective, it is
about concentrating on a single thought.

Let's say you focus
on breathing in and out.

When the breath comes in,
you notice the breath entering.

You are not thinking
about the breath coming in.

This is a kind of sensory experience,
the flow of air as it moves

over your skin, through your nostrils,
and into your lungs.

And you also feel the tactile sensation
of the breath leaving your nose.

This is experiencing,
not thinking.

You are simply experiencing the breath.

You might think of your mother
at some point.

Once you become distracted
by the thought of your mother,

you start thinking, "Oh, what about
the time we went on a picnic together?

What about the time we had an argument?"

You unconsciously create
narratives around the thought.

This becomes a distraction.

You can't stop the thought of
your mother from rising.

But whatever thoughts come to you,
you keep focusing on your breath.

Basically, do not pay attention
to the thought or give it energy.

Then, the thought naturally dissipates.

But soon, other thoughts will arise.

You might suddenly think about coffee.

Nevertheless, you stay focused
on your breath.

Then, the thought of coffee
also dissipates.

No matter how many thoughts arise,
if you do not pay attention to them,

they will simply come and go
again and again.

But once you engage
with a thought of coffee,

you start following it
and creating a story:

"What kind of coffee do I want?
With whom do I want to drink this coffee?"

At that moment, you have already lost
your focus on the breath

because you can only focus
on one thing at a time.

If you focus here,
you lose focus there.

And if you pay attention there,
you lose attention here.

Thoughts are just that.

As long as you don't pay attention
to them, they will simply rise and fall.

So, when we say we are distracted,
the random thoughts themselves

are not distractions.

They become distractions when
we start creating stories around them.

If you keep practicing, the amount of time
you can sustain focus on your breath

before getting distracted can increase,

first to 1 minute, then to 5, then to 10.
It will gradually increase.

Your attention span for focusing
on your breath will continue to grow,

and you will experience
fewer distractions.

Then, you start gaining autonomy.

You will no longer be bound
by past memories or future expectations.

The reason you feel anger, frustration,
hatred, or resentment is that

past memories resurface, bringing back
the wounds you once experienced.

You become fearful, anxious, and nervous
because you are thinking about the future.

If you are no longer held captive
by thoughts of the future,

your anxiety and nervousness
will naturally fade away.

That is why we teach to awaken
in the here and now

without being captured by past memories
or the future that has not yet arrived.

Even if thoughts about the Buddha
arise unbidden during meditation,

they are still distractions.

Maintain singular focus on your breath,
and everything else is a distraction.

If you are meditating on a Zen Koan,

anything beyond exploring the question,
"Who am I?" is a distraction.

In that state, even what you read
in scriptures, sutras,

or even the Buddha's own teachings
become distractions.

That is why there is a teaching:
"If you see the Buddha, kill the Buddha.

If you encounter your teacher,
kill the teacher."

Of course, this does not mean to literally
kill them. (Sunim Laughter)

Rather, it means
not to give them any attention.

They are simply distractions.

Sorry for the lengthy response.
(Sunim Laughter)

(Questioner) Thank you.
(Audience Applause)