The TRUE, Secret, Esoteric, “Insiders’ Trick” to the Perfection of MINDFULNESS

I’ve taught meditation for over 15 years,  in five different countries,  and to 1,000s of others, to various degrees, around the World via the Web. I regularly spend weeks at a time on intensive meditation retreats,  usually they’re 10-14 days,  but I’ve been on a few lasting one to three months.  Intensive meditation retreats,  as opposed to Dharma study retreats are usually in complete silence,  and I’ll spend, on average, 8-12 hours per day in actual seated meditation,  and 24 hours per day,  in the practice of Mindfulness. 24 hours per day? Yes,  it may seem hard to comprehend without having done so,  we actually do have a great deal of control,  no, correction,  we have the potential to have complete control over every moment of our minds’ foci, including the time we are asleep.  I can remember,  liker it was yesterday, being on retreat in northern Whales,  and I noticed that I started to do something that I shouldn’t,  and I IMMEDIATELY turned my focus back towards “Pure Awareness,” which is a Mindfulness meditation that does not use an object to focus on,  such as the Breath, but simply maintains single-pointed focus,  without any clinging to any object of the mind.  What was so interesting about this,  is that I was fast asleep. But I knew I was not to indulge in any desire for sensory experience,  whether that be chocolate, wine, sex, or any number of unlimited things that the mind will attempt to grasp hold of when it is trying to be tamed.

Anyhow, my point is that I had become a Samurai, a Ninja, or something…Supernatural! My Mind has become a finely tuned instrument that would make any German engineer,  or Swiss Watchmaker Green with ENVY! But then would come the inevitable time when I would return home from retreat,  and I could slowly feel the “Bubble” start to thin,  and slowly burst. “The Bubble” is a term that any proficient meditator is familiar with,  it’s exactly as I just described,  it’s going from having the ability to control your dreams,  and meditating for many,  many hours per day,  back to the hustle and bustle of the “real world’ and all of it’s detractions, in flagrant flaunting of sexual distraction,  the sensory overload of just walking into any supermarket and seeing so,  so,  SO many CHOICES! (Yes,  what we might think as being liberating; the potential have 87 kinds of cereal,  is actually HIGHLY disruptive to one;s ability to focus.) That’s why it’s always a good idea to transition back into the “real world”,  AKA known as Samsara: the Endless rounds of birth, old age, sickness, death,  and rebirth, aging, sickness, death, and rebirth….on-and-on,  ad infinitum. If you jump too quickly from the perfect stillness and focus of a profound retreat,  back into the busy world, well it’s a little like taking a glass baking pan from the 400 degree over,  and putting it under cold water. Yes, the juxtaposition is so jarring that it just CRACKS!

But anyhow,  I am here to tell you the esoteric secret,  that which only a Bodhisattva can know,  but I am going to break the rules.  That is,  unless you’ve been paying attention,  then you could already guess.

Is it being initiated by some famous Lama who’s tight with Richard Gear? No,  that doesn’t do much. Well that’s not totally true,  everyone knows that :”The Placebo Effect” does actually bear statistical significance,  so chatting some sacred words,  or sprinkling some holy water can do just that; have a statistically significant effect.

But what you’ve heard me say is that the amount of time spent practicing,  and the more conducive the conditions,  the far greater impact your practice will have. So yes,  I fooled you into reading my Blog.  The secret is that there is no secret. The SAME way Charlie Parker learned to throw down some Bee-Bop,  the same way you get to Carnegie Hall, or make it to the Olympics is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

The number one Hindrance of real progress in Mindfulness is DOUBT. “I’m not in the right posture! My guru isn’t as good as yours! I should be wearing a Komodo instead of this Tibetan yellow hat! Lama Riphoche wasn’t feeling well when he initiated me! I should be doing Vipassana,  not Shamata! and on-and-on,  ad nausium!

They have doubts,  that doubt robs them of any dedication and commitment,  and it’s like trying to use a bicycle pump to fill a truck tire that has a big hole in it! It’s not going make any progress if all of your energy,  your Viriya is wasted with ever-shifting thoughts.

Meditation was probably discovered by mistake.  Hunters would have to sit perfectly still,  yet remain fully aware for long period of time,  And THAST MAIN TENENT of BUDDHISM IS Conditioned-Coproduction.  The law of universe,  is just like math. or chemistry.  And it’s more like the Scientific Method,  than it is about “Ascended Masters” (whatever that really means….) The Buddha Experienced at its deepest, most profound,  Experiential level that ‘this being,  that becomes.  This ceases,  that ceases to become.” THAT is the “Aha!” moment under the Bodhi Tree.  Not intellectually,  Experientially,  the difference is,  well,  EVERYTHING.

Some teachers are better than others,  conditions are more conducive than others,  some techiques are appropriate for some than for others…yes,  yes,  yes…. All of these matter.  But what hangs most people up the most is that they pick up a saxophone,  they play with it for a while,  they don’t sound ANYTHING like Charlie Parker,  so they get bored,  they doubt themselves,  and they RATIONALIZE some excuse to move on to something bigger and better.

ow its beyond  the scope of this blog,  now,  to go into the details of how to navigate these pitfalls,  but when in count,  sit down,  relax,  sit up straight,  and just let yourself  breath.  Count each breath,  1-10,  then start over at 1,  and repeat.  Do it for 5 minutes today,  twice a day,  then  more to 10 minutes,  then 15,  then 20…. The MOST likely answer isn’t something OUT THERE,  or something inherently different about You. The problem is your Doubt, it’s you minds way of fidgeting its way out of doing something,  when it would rather be continually chasing the NEXT,  New THING,  and when that’s not new, something else,c somewhere else,  etc,  etc,  etc. You’re losing the “battle” because you’re surrendering,  and not in the Skillful sense of the word.

Relax; It’s not a race.  Just breathe.  and WHEN,  not if,  but WHEN you find yourself somewhere else,  in your mind,  DO NOT EXACERBATE the problem by trying to figure out WHY,  or HOW you got there, simply,  gentle,  without judgement,  or commentary, place your attention back on the breath. THAT is the actual SECRET to meditating and Mindfulness.

Because we aren’t fixed, static entities.  I can’t control my dreams now.  I KNOW that if I repeat the conditions,  I can get there again,  but its just not realistic,  at this time and place.  Accept it,  and gently,  with compassion,  and acceptance,  turn and place my attention back on this keyboard. All sorts of seemingly Superhuman abilities ARE ABSOLUTELY POSSIBLE.  I have experienced some of them first hand,  some many times.  But not today.  But I do KNOW the recipe for creating them,  and if that is my priority,  I can reproduce the conditions,  and reproduce the outcome. Its ALL relative,  in that sense.   70 year old that runs 5 miles per day,  or an Olympic decathlete, they might be the same person,  or they might be more appropriate goals for some,  with what we are willing to do,  what conditions are we willing and able to provide.  Because unlike athletics,  which I love,  meditation will be much stronger if you do some everyday,  when you’re older,  your set-point will be much further than the youngster,  who is in the olympics. So this is an investment that pays EXTREMELY WELL on its dividends.

But not if you give up,  and sell them at the first sign of a dip in the selling price. Meditation is one of those sticks that you KEEP,  and thew more mind you pay it,  the Return on Investment you shall reap.

(By the way, Lame Rimpoche is a generic term and title. It means “precious teacher.” If I had a dollar for everyone who asked me if I know who Lame Rimpoche is,  well,  I’d have a lot more dollars.  I only say this because I used it as an example,  and don’t want anyone to think I referring to a specific person.  I was not.  I was referring to the phenomena that people confuse What is the Dharma with what is Tibetan,  and What is Japanese. THAT is another tool that our mind LOVES to use to keep us from progressing along the Path to Enlightenment.

So,  no matter how much,  or how little,  or what specific style you’re doing; SOMETHING is BETTER than nothing!

So,  with Mindfulness; Strive On!!!

What Makes a Buddhist a Buddhist? And what IS Buddhism, anyhow?!?!

I want to start by saying that this Page is providing some wonderful resources, and I would like to do all I can to support it. However when I posted the link, the description reads something like: ‘Buddhism is not a religion… it is a philosophy….’ I have to STOP right here and say that this is an age-old debate. However, I have spent years discussing it with people (Buddhist, Theologians, Philosophers and other lay-people, and I feel somewhat strongly about the matter, not that the semantics are so crucial, but certainly I am concerned with peoples’ personal conception of the Buddha-Dharma. It is NOT a “Philosophy” by common terms of philosophy. The definition I just pulled off the dictionary of philosophy is: “beliefs, credo, convictions, ideology, ideas, thinking, notions, theories, doctrine, tenets, principles, views, school of thought.”

Here in lies the rub. Buddhism, or more accurately; The Buddha-Dharma is a Way of Life. It is NOT a belief, NOT simply a way of thinking NOR a theory. It is an Instruction manual for Living, not something to think about. In fact, “Thinking”, in some vases is the Antithesis of the Dharma. “Thinking” certain ways, and “Believing” that these thoughts are Ultimate Truth is the root of delusion, greed & hatred, which are known as the 3 Kleshas; the underlying Cause of ALL the “Problems” in the Universe.

Personally, I do tend to call it a religion, but I understand that that the term Religion is associated by many people think as Organized Greed, or an attempt to instill a “Group Mentality,” that quashes Individuality, requiring the acceptance of DOGMAS, Commandments, a separation between the Individual, and a Direct Connection with the SOURCE, or even the Necessity of Blind Faith in a “personal, creator God.” In that sense, if that were the strict definition, than Buddhism is most definitely NOT a religion, either. SO I referenced the Dictionary’s definition. The first definition of religion is just that, “•worshiping some superhuman controlling creator.” By THAT definition, it is MOST certainly NOT a religion. However, the second two entrees: “•a particular system of faith and worship: the world’s great religions” and “•a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance” are far closer to what Buddhism, or the Buddha Dharma, as it is traditionally known (Buddhism is a phrase invented by westerners, around 100 years ago) actually means.

Ultimately this is aimply a matter of SEMATICS. My concern is NOT what term whomever chooses to use to describe their own Spiritual Evolution, but what DOES matter, in fact what really matters the most are one’s INTENTION, and HOW one goes about bringing that intention to Fruition. Thus, it ultimately doesn’t matter what LABEL one chooses, But what DOES MATTER; what is of Ultimate Significance are: INTENTIONS, and the ACTIONS one undergoes to Cultivate this Intention into Skillful Acts.

One CANNOT be a Buddhist in Theory, or Belief. What makes a Buddhist a Buddhist? One element is consistent amongst all the various schools and sects of Buddhism is the ACT of Going for Refuge to the Three Jewels: The Buddha, this the ideal to which we all aspire. The Dharma: is the Teachings, The Truth, The Path that we follow that leads us to become Buddhas. The Sangha is the Community. The Sangha is divided into 2 basic parts, the Maha-Sangha, or Greater Community, which is comprised of ALL PRACTITIONERS of the Dharma. The Community of Spiritual Friendships that are our cohorts, or equals, as well as our Mentors and our Students. The other part of the Sangha is the Ariya-Sangha; which is comprised of ALL those Past and Present (and future) Dharma Practitioners that have obtained a specific degree of Insight into the Nature of Reality, have “Entered the Stream“, and have thus passed the critical mass, the threshold from which the momentum forward is greater than that opposing, thus they are Sure to win full Enlightenment. This is the Community of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. (Although this “guarantee of Nirvana/Enlightenment may take as long as 7 more lifetimes.)

It is also VERY worth noting that it is NOT necessary for one to believe in Multiple Lives in order to be or Practice Buddhism. The fact of the matter is that we are ALL “reborn” with each new Breath…with every new day, with every cycle of our spinning minds. Furthermore, the concept of “re-becoming, which is what the Buddha actually taught, is actually quite different from Reincarnation…but that whole story is a discussion for another day. Suffice to simply state for now that “reincarnation” is more a concept of a “permanent soul” that just sheds it’s body and moves from life to life.  Whereas “Re-becoming” means that certain aspects, certain Karmic momentums and Habit Energies (Samskaras, in Sanskrit) do get passed from one lifer to the next.  But it is NOT like the Hindu concept where a permanent soul just changes body, like a person changes clothes, but is Changeless at it’s essence. This concept is in direct opposition to the Fundamental Discovery of the Buddha, who found that EVERYTHING is subject to the Law of Conditionality, that EVERYTHING CHANGES, including our spirit/soul there is No Fixed, Static Entity that is Permanent and Unchanging,)

We all “Go For Refuge,” by that I mean, we all turn to, look to, seek out, rely upon SOMETHING(s), or Someone, etc. What makes a Buddhist different from another is that a Buddhist’s IDEAL is that No matter WHAT one is faced with, POSITIVE, or NEGATIVE, or INDIFFERENT, a Buddhist’s IDEAL is to Go For Refuge, to turn to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha as THE SOLUTION for ALL, and Everything that one faces. THUS, one’s WHOLE LIFE, one’s whole paradigm is based upon this very ACT; this is the ANSWER to all one’s questions. This is how one arranges one’s LIFE.

So, to be a Buddhist, is not simply a matter of thinking: “Gee, I like those Dalai Lama quotes…I think I am a Buddhist.” No. One somehow hears or reads or sees the Dharma, the Truth. One has a flash of Clarity, of insight, while reading or engaged in something meaningful, and it triggers something inside, an INNER TRUTH METER, just suddenly spikes! a “moment of clarity”, and one sees the world a different way, and somehow, it triggers something that lies within us all, as something that is Essential, and Truthful, and it makes all the odd pieces fit together….This is the first limb of the Buddha’s Noble Eight-Fold Path; the Path which leads from Suffering (Dukkha) to the Ultimate Awakening, Liberation, Enlightenment (Nirvana) what we call Right, or Perfect Vision (samyag-dṛṣṭi in Sanskrit), and upon this seed being planted, one hears the Buddha Dharma, and knows on some DEEP, INTUITIVE level, that THIS IS IT!! This makes sense. THIS is what I have been Hungry for! The more you read (and hopefully you’re not just reading Facebook “quotes” (Many of which are known to be Not only altered or “Creatively Interpreted and Mistranslated” and MANY are simply FLAT OUT, MADE-UP, LIES) and Wikipedia articles, because that is NOT necessarily the Dharma! If one realizes, or obtains Right/Perfect Vision/View (samyag-dṛṣṭi) that the Buddha has it right…that this DOES really make intuitive sense, and thus one feels compelled, at least Tentatively, FOLLOW THIS VISION, pursue this path, and see if what the Buddha says will happen, does…and thus begins the journey of a Buddhist,  a journey that culminates in becoming a Buddha, Enlightened, “one whom is Akwake!

Yours in the Dharma,  with Metta & Mindfulness,

~Dharmamitra Jeff Stefani

**I wrote this for another Buddhist page on Facebook that I co-administrate: “Buddhism to the Modern World,” so the first sentence relates to that page,  but the rest is ALL relevant to All!:) The Buddhist Page I solely administrate is The Triratna Buddhist Community: Detroit-Royal Oak: http://www.facebook.com/TriratnaBuddhistCommunityMahaSangaDetroit?bookmark_t=page

as well my own webpage: http://dhamamitra.org