So this morning I was ruminating on this, and revisited the Supplication To The Kagyu Gurus. As I have mentioned before, it presents meditation in reference to the body: the foot of meditation is, the head of meditation is, and the body of meditation is. And new thoughts began to spring forth.
It probably has more to do with seeing new levels, which tends to be the case in Buddhist experience. Anyway, the image begins at the feet. The lotus is symbolic of renunciation. Being that this is a blog, I'm not a teacher, yet, I'm going to go out on a limb here. Renunciation is vital. In fact, in Words of My Perfect Teacher, there is mention of isolation, which serves to reduce the number of distractions to practicing the dharma. And maybe in Tibet in the centuries past that was a do-able thing. However, if you are like me, it is the 21st century, I am a home maker (meaning married with children and gainfully employed), which means that dropping everything to find a suitable place to isolate would not benefit many people, least of all myself. So how can I renounce, to sit on this pure white lotus unstained from the mud from which it arose, and still exist within the cultural framework I find myself in? Hey, my karma put me here, how do I do this thing?
There are meditation exercises one can do that will enable one to detach from this world to an extent. We might like to completely, but considering all the suffering we would like to eliminate. Ken McLeod's book, Wake Up To Your Life, has some great meditation practices in it to develop detachment, renunciation, and as another translation of the world, revulsion. Partly it has to do with changing our view, which then affects what we value. As we more and more learn to value that which lessens suffering, we will obviously then not value that which creates it, be they philosophical views, or political/economical views. One of those practices is is meditating on equanimity. It's a great practice to find out where your own bias is, as well as the ego. There are many more in his book, which I, and my teacher, recommend.
However, there may be a time needed to actually quit reading the news, books, listening to talk radio, watching TV, and isolating oneself as much as possible, to spend time practicing. It's not unlike building a house. This part is not the foundation, it's getting the dirt ready to take a foundation, as well as the work involved in establishing the drainage, compaction, the stem walls and slabs needed to actually put a building on. The trick here is to not let the ego get caught up in the spiritual trip....
The Sun is behind the body, and it symbolizes emptiness. DANGER WILL ROBINSON: yes, there is some. Emptiness realization, when it starts, can develop a bit of nihilistic feelings. I got them. It was all very depressing for a brief while. And it really means that you have just broken through, or still are, the very surface of what emptiness is. The body of meditation is awareness. And when you bring awareness to the reality that all is empty (eh?), then you are getting somewhere! So what does empty mean? Good question. My answer will be the country bumpkin variety, so if you really want a great precise answer, consult a teacher. Take a table for instance. See, already you have an image in your mind. Take that "table" apart in your mind. Now that you have all the parts on the floor, please pick out for me the part that is called "table." I think you see where this is going. Do the same thing with your arm. With a mountain. With your ego. Your consciousness. Then tell me where inside you that consciousness resides. Oh my! We have conveniently labeled the material and none-such in our lives, and as we can see, there is really no "table." It's a label we give to an amalgamation of parts. And if we look atomically close at every part, what we see is that the whole thing is held together by the electro-magnetic bonds of the atoms, which are really some incredibly small particles that zip around in emptiness! If we compressed all the empty space out of every atom, we would be small indeed.
What does all this mean?! Argh! Funny you should ask that, because maybe all which you see around you, when viewed from this "empty" perspective, isn't the reality you ascribe to it. Unless you are a material atheist, when you pass on, this "reality" will be no more, so is it really reality? And what does the sun have to do with any of this?! Argh!*#! Harrison, you drive me nuts!
The sun is what is on the other side of the surface. Stay tuned for more.
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