For those who haven't done the trek in Nepal yet,I would like to briefly describe its main characteristics.You climb up in order to descend and most of the hike the rhythm of walking is up,down,up,down and so on until you reach the goal.When you think that you have arrived at the top or in the village, you have to go down again, because most of the times the villages are built in the valleys.It's really a good test for a character and patience;above all it makes you learn how to forget the goal and appreciate the journey.
In the Buddhist Vipassana meditation the main objective is to remain present as an observer of whatever happens inside & outside of you.It's primarily focus is on physical sensations and feelings.If we pay good attention,we realize that our body is filled with sensations all the time and that they are constantly changing.
In Sanskrit writing there is a word "anicca",which represents the law of change and impermanence. When learning Vipassana meditation we repeatedly encounter the phenomenon of "anicca",which reminds us that feelings arise in order to dissolve.
Vipassana teaches us the universal laws of the inner world: change,instability,transience and impermanence.Similarly to the trekking,the inner journey is not only upward but also downward.Much like the jumper in a pole vault,who must lean back to get momentum and then skips the desired bar .
One would have thought that going straight up will ensure arrival to the destination,but at least in Nepal it's a different procedure.
We ascend in order to descend.Feelings arise in order to disappear.Awareness of such reality can greatly relieve the nuisances of human life.And we all know very well that it is useless to fight or complain against the universal law.
Just as you can't spend much time on the top of the mountain, you can't always be psychologically "up". Are we therefore subjected to described fluctuations from one extreme to another? The Buddhist view is that the law of impermanence can't be changed,but we can rather establish a mature relationship with the law. Because our mind is always looking in the direction of likes / dislikes and is continuously chasing the pleasant stuff –this can be observed in order to stop reacting whenever the impulse arises .
While trekking,this kind of approach would mean that we peacefully hold out all the ups and downs, especially if the path is leading in the right direction. Likewise in meditation , where the path is even more difficult,because we are primarily tested and cheated with our own illusions and mind projections .
Whereas in trekking the final destination or a goal should be very clear,it is quite different in the process of meditation.Thinking about a goal during meditation can be the biggest obstacle, because the idea that we are getting somewhere often blinds our mind.Of course,the meditator shouldn't sit without attention and being tossed back and forth with his own thoughts. I think his intention should primarily be clarity of thoughts and a clear mind.However,in my experience this isn't achieved with plain exertion and effort.It happens when we have no expectations and we don't use the method for turning ourselves into Buddhas.Instead we can do »sitting just to sit« as Alan Watts suggests in his classic »The way of Zen« (1957).
In Sanskrit writing there is a word "anicca",which represents the law of change and impermanence. When learning Vipassana meditation we repeatedly encounter the phenomenon of "anicca",which reminds us that feelings arise in order to dissolve.
Vipassana teaches us the universal laws of the inner world: change,instability,transience and impermanence.Similarly to the trekking,the inner journey is not only upward but also downward.Much like the jumper in a pole vault,who must lean back to get momentum and then skips the desired bar .
One would have thought that going straight up will ensure arrival to the destination,but at least in Nepal it's a different procedure.
We ascend in order to descend.Feelings arise in order to disappear.Awareness of such reality can greatly relieve the nuisances of human life.And we all know very well that it is useless to fight or complain against the universal law.
Just as you can't spend much time on the top of the mountain, you can't always be psychologically "up". Are we therefore subjected to described fluctuations from one extreme to another? The Buddhist view is that the law of impermanence can't be changed,but we can rather establish a mature relationship with the law. Because our mind is always looking in the direction of likes / dislikes and is continuously chasing the pleasant stuff –this can be observed in order to stop reacting whenever the impulse arises .
While trekking,this kind of approach would mean that we peacefully hold out all the ups and downs, especially if the path is leading in the right direction. Likewise in meditation , where the path is even more difficult,because we are primarily tested and cheated with our own illusions and mind projections .
Whereas in trekking the final destination or a goal should be very clear,it is quite different in the process of meditation.Thinking about a goal during meditation can be the biggest obstacle, because the idea that we are getting somewhere often blinds our mind.Of course,the meditator shouldn't sit without attention and being tossed back and forth with his own thoughts. I think his intention should primarily be clarity of thoughts and a clear mind.However,in my experience this isn't achieved with plain exertion and effort.It happens when we have no expectations and we don't use the method for turning ourselves into Buddhas.Instead we can do »sitting just to sit« as Alan Watts suggests in his classic »The way of Zen« (1957).