Merriam-Webster defines discipline as "training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character." When I think of discipline in regards to practice, I think of the Sanskrit word tapas. Tapas is one of the five niyama outlined in Patanjali's Yoga-Sutra. Georg Feuerstein has this to say about tapas:
Tapas . . . consists of all kinds of ascetic practices from fasting and observing complete silence to standing stock-still for long periods of time. Such disciplines, apart from steeling the will, create an inner heat ---also called tapas--- which brings about a qualitative change in consciousness. According to the Yoga-Sutra (II.43), austerity causes all impurity of the body-mind to dwindle and leads to perfection of the body and sense organs (The Shambhala Guide to Yoga, p.43).
Now I haven't been trying to stand still for hours or observing silence. Nonetheless, amongst the usual activities and routine chaos of life, I've been implementing a lil' discipline (some heat for the coming winter months, if you will). A few examples:
- Sitting for 30-minutes each day
- Regular (and I mean REGULAR!) asana practice
- Working ---from home, I might add--- a steady amount of hours
- Reading
- Knitting
- Watching less television
- Using the computer less (except now, of course)
Another discipline that I committed to was the monthly mindfulness exercises offered in Frank Jude Boccio's new blog. For the month of October, Frank proposed mindful consumption through the practice of paying attention to the first coffee/tea/water of the day (full description of the practice can be found here).
Originally, I was hesitant to take on another practice. Yet after reading the October instructions, I thought this morning mindfulness practice would be a 'walk in the park' (you know what they say about assumptions . . . ass - u - me).
Now me and that first morning coffee are besties. My morning ritual involves coffee (fair-trade organic, ahem), toast & peanut butter, my partner and dog. We sit together chatting about the previous or coming day, while sipping our coffees and feeding the dog toast crusts (though it's bad dog manners . . . shhhh . . . don't tell).
Introducing this new element of repeating a gatha, being quiet, holding the cup in both hands, smelling the aroma of the coffee, slowly taking the first sip, exploring the sensations, the internal dialogue, the urge to swallow felt nourishing at first. I felt a sense of really being there at my dining table with that coffee. Yet after a day or two of this practice, I began to feel resistance. As though the practice were taking me OUT of my life.
Now I've felt resistance to practice before ---hence this discussion around practice and discipline. It can be much easier to keep moving along deep in the grooves of habit than to actually pay attention. AND I wonder about the possibility of superimposing the idea of 'being mindful' on top of experience, instead of actually paying attention to the experience itself.
I don't have an answer (when do I ever really have an answer . . . ha ha). But I do have something to share from Brad Warner's new book "Sex, Sin, and Zen":
. . . let's just say that mindfulness means a state in which one is fully present ---and not just paying attention to what's going on but doing so without thinking a whole lot about it. Let's say it refers not just to the activities of the brain but to the entire body and being. And let's take it even further and say that mindfulness doesn't refer just to what you as an individual do, but to a condition that includes the entire universe . . . True mindfulness is when you let go of the idea of mindfulness and just do whatever it is you happen to be doing. Trying to be mindful seems to me to defeat its own purpose.
Hmmm . . . Food for thought.
2 comments:
Hi Nicole,
You raise some very important issues with this post. First, there's the issue of 'resistance.' I have come to see resistance as a kind of sparring partner rather than an obstacle or enemy. It is the epitome of Georg Feuerstein's description of tapas as "creative tension."
Just today I spoke about the presence of resistance to my class. The 'voice' of resistance is the voice of egocentricity, and egocentricity is NEVER going to want to practice! It's job is to not want to and my job is to not believe it.
Second, it is indeed possible to superimpose the idea of 'being mindful' on top of experience instead of actually paying attention to 'experiencing.' Note, I used the verb/gerund or whatever here. Paying attention to "the experience" separates some witness or 'experiencer' from the 'experience,' when all that is really going on is 'experiencing.'
I think this may be what Brad Warner is getting at, though I'd want to read more of the context because there is a dangerous tendency in Japanese Zen to almost fetishize 'spontaneity' that has led to some real instances of abuse and twisting of the teaching.
A statement like "True mindfulness is when you let go of the idea of mindfulness and just do whatever it is you happen to be doing" carries a very dangerous edge. As I said above, it is true that one must go beyond the "idea of mindfulness" and really 'be' mindful/ness. But to 'just do whatever it is you happen to be doing" is a sentiment the Buddha would most certainly criticize! In fact, I think I once wrote to the Mindfulness Yoga Teacher's Group of what mental factors truly need to be present in order for (right) mindfulness to actually be present.
One quick way to inquire for yourself if you are caught in the idea of mindfulness or if you are truly mindful (or at least paying attention) is that it is very embodied; there's the presence of samahitata where the mind is stable, pure, and alertly active. It is the opposite of 'self-consciousness' which is what many in the Japanese Zen tradition think of when they hear the word "mindfulness."
Please let me know what you think....
Thanks for your comment, Frank!
I like the idea of 'creative tension'. I can appreciate your explanation of mindfulness and comments regarding Brad's statement. Mmmm... more food for thought. ;0)
I look forward to participating in November's practice!
Metta,
Nicole
Post a Comment