Mountains are high, valleys low
Post 4 in series of 5
So, why all of this need to watch the senses? Through direct experience of the transitory nature of all sensory phenomena, we can begin to understand the craziness of craving for positive experiences and aversion from negative experiences. This helps us to stop regretting the past or worrying about the future and to enjoy living fully in the present.
Three times a day, there were one hour long periods of special intensity where you were encouraged not to open your eyes, legs or hands. Basically, not to move for the full hour of meditation. This is much more difficult than it sounds. Try it! Put yourself in a comfortable position, within sight of a clock. Close your eyes and sit motionless. My bet is that you will either fall asleep or move and open your eyes before ten minutes are up. I found the first session really tough and had to move twice. I just managed to survive the second session without moving and each session thereafter building on the previous success. It was difficult but a great learning experience.
These sessions of special intensity generated strong sensations of pleasure and pain. The idea is to not enjoy and cling to the positive experiences and to not run away from the negative experiences. You just sit, watch and witness with the idea of developing perfect equanimity to the ups and downs and vicissitudes of fate. A bit like the ancient Greek philosophical concept of stoicism, the Vipassana approach to meditation gives a direct chance to experience what equanimity feels like.
“The real meaning of upekkha is equanimity, not indifference in the sense of unconcern for others. As a spiritual virtue, upekkha means equanimity in the face of the fluctuations of worldly fortune. It is evenness of mind, unshakeable freedom of mind, a state of inner equipoise that cannot be upset by gain and loss, honor and dishonor, praise and blame, pleasure and pain.”
~ American Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Bodhi from bstonedesigns.com
I found myself not really agreeing with how equanimity was being described by this approach to buddhism. I asked the assistant instructor how equanimity helps one to make decisions, whether small, such as choosing between white rice or brown rice, or big such as changing careers. He said that the objective of the practice was to purify your mind and then the decision would be easy.
I prefer a more zen kind of response. I think a zen teacher would say that it doesn’t matter which choice you make, both are equally right or equally wrong. The choice simply needs to be embraced with an empty mind (無心) and followed full-heartedly with no regrets or looking back. That, I think, is equanimity.
I see too many yoga teachers who have caught the universal love bug and seek to be positive and happy and loving at all times, to all beings. They can keep it up for the most part but I think they are suppressing a lot of negative emotions which are bubbling below the surface and will erupt at some point in the future. We are not robots, it is natural to express emotions. This became clear to me when watching ‘A Zen Life’, a documentary about the life of Daisetz T. Suzuki:
Among the interviewees, especially informative for me was Albert Stunkard, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, who had meditated at Engakuji immediately following the end of WWII, and shared many rare stories about Suzuki … Stunkard tells us that a group of people once asked Suzuki if a person of satori experiences suffering. To this, Suzuki replied: “‘When my wife died, I shed bitter tears.’” They retorted by asking what the use was of being enlightened, to which Suzuki replied: “‘My tears had no roots.’” Stunkard remembers that “he said it in a way that it really conveyed the kind of serenity and understanding that went way beyond the words.”
This to me is a beautiful description of equanimity. It is living a life with no roots. It is the art of eating when we are hungry and sleeping when we are tired:
“What is wisdom? … It is our life itself … When it’s cold, we put on more clothing, when it’s hot we take some clothes off … When sad, we cry. Being happy. we laugh … And this perfect wisdom doesn’t only pertain to humans but to anything and everything. Birds chirp, dogs run, mountains are high, valleys are low … The seasons change, the stars shine in the heavens … “
~ The Art of Just Sitting, John Daido Loori
To be continued …
