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..:: Meditation ::..
By
Alan Schneider
This author has practiced
both Hatha and Kundalini Yoga for approximately three decades – both are
fundamentally Hindu meditative traditions (although Kundalini is
heavily associated with Sicdom, a cross-over tradition that is a
blend of Islamic Mysticism and Hinduism). Some discussion of these
traditions is appropriate before beginning the presentation of the Zen
Buddhist form of meditation.
Probably the best source of
“thick description” of Yoga in general is found in Chakras: Energy
Centers of Transformation by the noted Hindu author and Kundalini
Ascentionist Harish Johari. This book has the added feature of
full-size, full-color reproductions of the Kundalini Chakras, which have
depictions of the specific “god/goddess-form” associated with each
Chakra, the animal energy associated with each Chakra (represented as a
literal animal image), and the inspirited energy associated with
each Chakra (shown variously as religious archetypal symbols such
as the Ring of Fire, Trident, brilliant colors and auras, The Divine
Lotus, etc).
Johari begins his book with
discussions of the principals of Tantra, the core concept of Yoga
(Johari, 2000). Tantra is described as the inherent human drive to seek
reunion with the Divine Mind of God. On the basest and least
aware level, this is expressed by human beings through the practice of
sexual intercourse – Left Hand Tantra. As the participants
(hopefully) become more psychically and spiritually aware, their
perception of sexuality and orgasm becomes more sensitive and intuitive,
and less literal – the beginning of Right Hand Tantra. The
ultimate conclusion of this process is seen in the Kundalini
Ascension – a profound experience of direct reabsorption into the
Divine Mind, accompanied by loss of the sense of the personal ego,
occurring in deep trance in meditation (Johari, 2000).
Yoga is an adjunct to Tantra,
and is a process of calming and disciplining the mind. Without this
process, the mind tends both to wander, and to obsess on
various fixations, the most notable of which is the aforementioned
physical sexuality and orgasm. Other common fixations are food, sports,
television viewing, gambling, general consumer behavior when practiced
compulsively (as it customarily is in Western society), drug consumption
(including lawful drugs like alcohol and tranquilizers), and compulsive
religious devotion in any faith. Nor is this a complete list – it is
provided in order to convey the normal extent of human departure
from the state of grace which is the goal of both Hinduism and Buddhism.
For Johari, the process of
spiritual development is a progressive Ascension through the sequence of
states of meta-consciousness represented by the Chakras. As the Aspirant
becomes less and less focused on physical gratification, and
concomitantly more focused on spiritual perception, the meaning of the
Chakra sequence is progressively revealed in trance induced through
meditation. The eventual experience that the aspirant has is the
aforementioned complete absorption into the Divine Consciousness (Johari,
2000).
I have had several such
experiences in my lifetime. Probably the best description of this state
(called Samadhi in Yoga) is that it has the appearance of
a completely inclusive, field of super-radiant White Light, the felt
perception of Pure Love and unconditional acceptance, and the
experienced identity of the I AM Presence of God. The
actual experience of such an Ascension is quite indescribable in literal
terms (something that confirms, incidentally, a fundamental tenet of
Buddhism), hence the idealized nature of my terminology. Hopefully, my
choice of descriptors at least conveys an impression of the
experience involved.
Kundalini Yoga involves a
specific set of moral prescriptions and physical practices designed to
harness the inherent energy of the sex drive and orgasm, and focus it
internally, particularly in meditation and the ensuing state of
heightened perceptivity and relaxation known as trance. If the
prescriptions are followed diligently (and this is an extremely
frustrating, difficult task) the full Ascension will eventually
occur. This customarily is a life-long endeavor. Obviously, very few
people will have the will to succeed at such a task, and this
challenge represents the circumstance that resulted in the emergence of
Buddhism in general, and Zen practice in particular. It is perhaps
appropriate that we begin our discussion of Zen with the mechanism of
desire in the human psyche. Both Yoga and Zen hold desire as
the source of the spiritual “Fall” of humanity, and this refers to
sexual desire in particular. Why is this so? What’s so “fallen”
about experiencing and subsequently gratifying sexual (or any other)
desire?
Copulation temporarily
dissipates what Freud called libido, the universal life force
which is the driver of human affairs, and is not itself sexually
differentiated. To Freud, libido was libido was libido, at the
biological foundation of the mind. This is, in reality, the first
objection to sexual practice – it dissipates something which,
under other (i.e. Right Hand) circumstances, can be used to
trigger Ascension and enhanced awareness. In the event that libido is
not dissipated in orgasm, the customary result is obcessional thought
about the sex act. This also tends to effectively distract the mind from
awareness of things spiritual and sublime in character. The bottom line:
physical sex is unfortunately a negative in the quest for Enlightenment,
whether consummated or not (Johari, 2000).
Buddhism emerged with a new
vocabulary of Enlightenment, and with the new terminology came a fresh
vision of what was possible and beneficial for humanity. Samadhi became
Satori, and the emphasis of the experience changed as well.
Satori is a quite different
term (from Samadhi), and the implications for human consciousness differ
markedly as well. The goal of Satori in meditation is to experience a
stage of consciousness that is free of all dualities and contradictions
on every level of knowing – a completely unified mental state,
free of the suffering born not only from desire, but from the lack of
understanding known as ignorance in Buddhist philosophy (Brown,
2004). To be free from dualities means completely free, even from
the ultimate duality that confronts every human being as long as they
live – death and life. Buddhism describes this as the Duality of
Being and Not Being. As long as even this duality is left in perceptual
place, Satori cannot occur. Much of Buddhist practice has evolved to
answer the riddle of death in realtime, emphasizing the reality
that we must confront what we fear where and when we experience
it, and sustain that confrontation until we have mastered that fear.
This confrontation frequently begins with entry into the Buddhist
lifestyle, and lasts until Satori is achieved.
The final duality of
Being/Not Being can only be resolved in meditation. When the subject has
sufficiently turned away from material gratification in an esthetic
lifestyle, which ideally includes vegetarian dining, wearing of simple
robes, and celibacy, while living in a dedicated setting called a
Zendo, and continued to meditate faithfully and regularly, the
otherwise permanent state of agitation in the mind provoked by incessant
desire gradually subsides, alleviating ignorance in the through enabling
Enlightenment in the process. (Barnhill, 2004).
The concept of celibacy is
pivotal to the true experience of the Zen (or Unified State)
of consciousness. Sexual desire stimulates attachment to the desire
object, whether concrete or fantasized. Since all attachment is
futile in the face of our eventual death, the powerful effect of sexual
desire is seen as particularly important to overcome (Kaza, 2004). There
are many prescriptions in Buddhist practice for reducing or eliminating
sexual desire, including the avoidance of spicy foods (known to be
aphrodisiac influences), provocative dress (hence the robes, which
conceal the body), provocative behavior (any kind), and provocative
thoughts (Kaza, 2004). Even lascivious fantasies are felt to
be almost as agitated and agitating as lascivious realities.
The life/death duality is the
last to go (rooted as it is at the very base of the seat of personal
manifestation – the physical body), and is frequently described as
fading away when the process occurs. When the ego is temporarily
absent, the total evaluative function ceases, and a state of profound
peace, associated with emptiness is experienced. So, Satori is a
state of the complete inactivity of the mind, a cessation of normal
waking ego consciousness. Rather than attempt to define any condition
associated with this state, Buddhism in general, and Zen in particular,
simply describes only how it can be attained. The presumption
here is that the condition is beyond description, but not beyond
experience. The implication of this concept for (among other
things) semiotics and linguistics is staggering – there is an
alternative state of awareness that is sign and symbol
independent – the state of pure consciousness attainable in
meditation, of non-acculturated consciousness that may be attainable for
all human beings in this life, not a hypothetical afterlife.
Pure conscious perception beyond verbal experience.
The type of meditation
emphasized in Zen practice neutralizes both the symbol and the
meaning given to the symbol by a given culture. To Zen, words are
words and nothing more (Fouts, 2004), in fact, words are literally
nothing. This is frequently called meditation on the Absolute.
The Absolute is not presumed to be God – an omnipotent, omnipresent,
omniscient Being present at the core of consciousness, but rather a
condition of complete unity of experience without
duality of any kind present at the core of consciousness. This is why
Buddhism is not per se Deific. Rather than presume that the experience
that transcends all experiences is Divine in character, Buddhism simply
leaves it up to the individual to make the decision – was the experience
apparently Divine? Fine! Then you met God. Was the experience simply one
of profound peace and one-pointedness? Equally fine. Then you met the
Void. The distinction can only be made intuitively, and is beyond
the reach of semantics as a tool of understanding. It simply must be
experienced, and meditation on the Absolute is the way to that
experience (Barnhill, 2004).
In general, meditation in Zen
has some similarities to meditation in Yoga. The well-known cross-legged
Lotus position is equally suited to either tradition. Zen emphasizes the
use of a specific hand position, called a mudra in the Hindu
tradition, and a mala in Zen practice. The hands are to be
loosely folded into each other, preferably left into right, without
interlacing the fingers. Zen also permits the eyes to be closed in
meditation, preferably with the head slightly bowed in humility,
another key Buddhist construct. The universal emphasis of
Buddhism is found in leading a peaceful, simple, austere life of
meditative expression.
It is significant that
meditation in general is considered to be an obscure practice in the
American cultural Master Narrative – the qualities that we are
conditioned to accept as right and desirable. And along with the
signifier “obscure” comes the signifier “suspect”. To the casual
observer, it appears as if nothing is occurring during meditative
practice, and to do nothing in American society, accept while
sleeping, is considered unproductive, a very devalued condition.
In fact, the real experience of “nothingness” is possibly the single
most powerful place for consciousness to reside – it is from this state
of “non-perceived perception” that all Creation emerges in the Dance of
Life.
After attaining the correct
posture, or physical state, the subject begins to work on
attaining the correct mental state. Again, there is some
similarity to Yoga here – deep, relaxed breathing is emphasized, along
with the release of thought by simply noting the occurrence of
specific thoughts, especially thoughts related to desire or suffering
(Barnhill, 2004), and then allowing them to pass away. In fact the
importance of semantic distinctions is evident here – Yoga defines a
construct of meaning for the ultimate state of consciousness, and calls
this God, while Zen defines only a vague descriptor – the
Absolute. Is God the Absolute? The road to this destination appears to
be much the same in either case.
The Void or
Absolute condition of Satori that I have experienced was not
possessed of any characteristics at all, while the Divine I AM
Presence of Samadhi was just that, a Presence, and
this alone is a qualitative feature, which can be described, even
if such a description is quite daunting to perform. Perhaps in Samadhi,
the self is simply taking another look, at The Self, where
Satori is the ultimate non-look at everything. I will continue my
investigation, and encourage the reader to do so as well!
References
Barnhill, D. (2004). Good work: An
engaged Buddhist response to the dilemmas of consumerism.
Buddhist-Christian Studies, 24, 55-63.
Brown, B. (2004). Environmental ethics
and cosmology: A Buddhist perspective. Zygon, 39, 885-900.
Fouts, A. (2004). Satori: Toward a
conceptual analysis. Buddhist-Christian Studies, 24, 01-116.
Johari, H. (2000). Chakras: Energy
Centers of Transformation. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books.
Kaza, S. (2004). Finding safe
harbor: Buddhist sexual ethics in America. Buddhist-Christian
Studies, 22, 23-35.
- With Love, Alan -
(Copyright 2009, by Alan Schneider)
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