Peaceful pause after the Monkey Mind Rodeo

Discussion of meditation in the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions.
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MindTheGap
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Peaceful pause after the Monkey Mind Rodeo

Post by MindTheGap »

I've noticed lately that even when I've had the monkey mind riding roughshod all over me in meditation, afterwards, I still have a sense of calm: peaceful and centered.

This seems odd to me.

When I started meditating, that ole monkey kept coming up, but eventually (after some struggle with wanting to thow the zafu...) I came to a point in my practice where he sat in the corner of my consciousness with a banana and let me follow my breath.

But every once in awhile... He comes screaming back.

However, now I don't get discouraged about my practice and want to quit. I feel as peaceful, calm and centered as if he'd left me alone.

So, is this a sign of progress on the path or am I just indulging the monkey and que sera, sera... So what.

...or maybe that is progress on the path?

Any thoughts?

(addendum: I do mean "monkey mind" as a metaphor. Not that I believe I have a real monkey... In my mind... Or on my back... But, y'all knew that, di'ntya? :D )

eep eep...
And now, as long as space endures, As long as there are beings to be found,
May I continue, likewise, to remain, To drive away the sorrows of the world.

- Shantideva: Bodhicharyavatara

In this world there is no man, there is no woman. There is no person, self or consciousness.
Man and woman are merely imputed and have no essence. Thus, the minds of worldly beings are mistaken.

- Wisdom Moon: now known as the Bodhisattva Tara

When there arises a gap in the mind...

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Johnny Dangerous
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Re: Peaceful pause after the Monkey Mind Rodeo

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

While it's true that generally effective meditation has a calming effect on discursive thought, IME it's a really bad idea to equate quality of meditation with simply having fewer thoughts.
Meditate upon Bodhicitta when afflicted by disease

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when you are scared

-Khunu Lama
MindTheGap
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Re: Peaceful pause after the Monkey Mind Rodeo

Post by MindTheGap »

Well, sometimes the discursive thought is not nessesarily what I mean by "monkey mind". There's a chant of Tara's mantra that Chöying Drolma does that sometimes runs through my head in a loop and I just go with it. Sometimes the discursive thought is support of practice, "Relax... Breathe... Soften the gaze..." &c. I can slide out of it and follow the breath.

:meditate:

Monkey mind, IME is more like what the... why'd I do that? did I forget...? where'd that go, is it... gah! so stupid... man, he's mean. grr... on and on and on... I catch it by the tail, maybe do a little Tonglen, follow my breath and after awhile it comes back again.

:thinking:

Sometimes it's juuuussstt mmooonnkeeyyy mmiiiiiinndd with momentary lapses of mindfulness.

:tantrum:

That's the rodeo.

Still, once my meditation is over - :namaste: I feel peaceful, centered. :meditate: calm, cool and collected.

Not like, "Whew! Glad that's over with!" :jawdrop: :applause: :woohoo: which is sort of the reaction I would expect.

Maybe it's just my mind's way of taking out the garbage IDK
And now, as long as space endures, As long as there are beings to be found,
May I continue, likewise, to remain, To drive away the sorrows of the world.

- Shantideva: Bodhicharyavatara

In this world there is no man, there is no woman. There is no person, self or consciousness.
Man and woman are merely imputed and have no essence. Thus, the minds of worldly beings are mistaken.

- Wisdom Moon: now known as the Bodhisattva Tara

When there arises a gap in the mind...

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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Peaceful pause after the Monkey Mind Rodeo

Post by Kim O'Hara »

Take it as a sign of progress along the path. :smile:
You're taming your monkey and getting to know him better, and now his antics don't disturb you at any fundamental level. You know - and he knows - that you will be back tomorrow, and every other tomorrow, and that in the end he will be happily obedient.

:namaste:
Kim
MindTheGap
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Re: Peaceful pause after the Monkey Mind Rodeo

Post by MindTheGap »

Thanks! :hug: That adds a great deal of confidence to my practice!

Good meditation this morning. I live near train tracks. When the horn blew, it brought me into mindfullness of the present moment. Emaho!

A bit :offtopic: but...

I'm really still at the Hinayana step of the path in my meditation, as such. I have a Mahayana outlook; I recite the Four Vows of a Bodhisattva as part of my meditation aspirations. I have devotion to some Buddhas and Bodhisattvas I have on my altar. I even attended A Sangye Menla empowerment, but received no formal instruction on the practice. I've not done ngöndro. And, I have no formal teacher / guru.

My actual meditation is mainly just Shamatha meditation- been doing that for quite awhile. Starting to work with a little Vipassanā.

Anyway... I had a moment in my meditation that was a little... unusual... that I wrote a poem about. I posted it in the Creative Writing section. I wonder if this is just the kleshas of pride and delusion made manifest or something significant.

I know states like this come and go, and we should not grasp at them. Still... I'd like to hear some opinions about it - even if it's just about the quality of my poetry. :emb:

Thanks again for your encouragement about the original topic! Much appreciated... :D
And now, as long as space endures, As long as there are beings to be found,
May I continue, likewise, to remain, To drive away the sorrows of the world.

- Shantideva: Bodhicharyavatara

In this world there is no man, there is no woman. There is no person, self or consciousness.
Man and woman are merely imputed and have no essence. Thus, the minds of worldly beings are mistaken.

- Wisdom Moon: now known as the Bodhisattva Tara

When there arises a gap in the mind...

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narhwal90
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Re: Peaceful pause after the Monkey Mind Rodeo

Post by narhwal90 »

Mine isn't so much a rodeo as wild jungle poop-throwing.. but it slows down after a while if I can just remember to quit fiddling around with my brain. OTOH sometimes I do get "work" done, not discursive reasoning sort of stuff but a quieter form of uncovering rationalization or delusion that was messing me up on a given topic. When I'm on form I can hold awareness of surrounding sounds in the building. I'm prepared to bet the clock on the wall runs louder half a minute and quieter half a minute- depending on if the hands are heading up or down.. but I've not pursued figuring it out.
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