#336 Meditating - OR - just Thinking?

     Sitting still and trying to think things through is not meditating. Yet having thoughts does not by itself exclude meditating. Useful instructions from well-known meditation teacher Ashin Tejaniya:  

"Trying to create something is greed. 
Rejecting what is happening is aversion.
Not knowing if something is happening or has stopped happening is delusion.

Only to the extent that the observing mind has no greed, aversion or anxiety are you truly meditating.

Don’t have any expectations, don’t want anything,
don’t be anxious, because if these attitudes are in your mind, it becomes difficult to meditate."

     Having greed, aversion & delusion doesn't make one a "bad" or "evil" person, but these do cause suffering. We meditate to scientifically, experientially, learn how life works - how to let go of greed, aversion & delusion - thus reduce suffering, and live with joy.

Anne Bastedo   http://www.serenityimages.ca