Practical Meditation

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Gesche Rabten. Practical Meditation

Contents

Preface

First Sunday

Second Sunday

Third Sunday

Fourth Sunday

Fifth Sunday

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Geshe Rabten

Practical Meditation

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Usually, encountering unattractive or unpleasant objects causes dissatisfaction or pain to arise in the mind. In dependence on this unpleasant experience, aversion arises. When, for example, we meet a person we dislike this process can easily begin. Here too, we must apply mindfulness in guarding the senses. These practices are generally easier for a person with a relaxed and open-minded attitude. For someone who is very frustrated or «uptight» it will be more difficult. But there is also the necessity of balance as too relaxed an attitude can result in the neglect of studies and practice and over-indulgence in sleep. When we experience an unpleasant object, we must quickly recall that if we are inattentive we can easily become meaninglessly angry. Between the appearance of the object and before anger has an opportunity to arise, we must remain mindful.

This practice should be applied when we meet with agreeable and disagreeable objects. It is best if we can thus prevent the arising of attachment or aversion and maintain a wholesome state of mind. At the least, we should try to keep the mind in a neutral state and not allow any non-virtuous actions to arise. By remaining mindful in all our actions, we will be able to gain control over attachment, aversion and other negative mental factors. If we make no effort to develop mindfulness in our daily actions, attachment and aversion will arise before we are able to stop them. If we cultivate mindfulness daily, it will be at our disposal when we need it rather than when it is too late. This concludes an explanation of one method of guarding and preventing our mind from attachment and aversion to pleasant and unpleasant objects.

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