Brownie, our dog, sat in perfect attention, ears cocking , tail tensely wagging, eyes alert, looking up at the tree. He was after a monkey. Just one thing filled the whole of this conscious horizon: the monkey. And since he has no min, there was not a single thought that came to disturb his total absorption: no thought of what he would eat tonight, or whether there would be anything to eat at all, or where he would sleep. Brownie was the nearest thing to Contemplation that I have seen.
You may have experienced some of this yourself sometimes, for instance when you were totally absorbed watching a kitten at play. Here is a formula for Contemplation, as good as any other I know: be totally in the present.
Quite a tall order, really: Drop every thought of the future, drop every thought of the past- in fact, just drop every thought, period, and become totally present. Contemplation will occur. Contemplation will occur!
After years of training, the disciple
Begged his Master to give him Enlightenment. The Master led him to a bamboo grove and said to him, ‘See that bamboo, how tall it is. See that other one there, how short it is.’
At that very moment, the disciple was enlightened.
They say Buddha tried every spiritually, every form of asceticism, every discipline that was available in the India of his times, in the effort to attain enlightenment. All in vain. Finally he sat under a bodhi tree one day, and was enlightened. Eh passed on the secret of enlightenment to his disciples in words that must seem mysterious to the uninitiated, particularly to the man who deals in thoughts. When you draw in a deep breath, oh monks, be aware that you are drawing in a deep breath. And when you draw in a shallow breath, oh monks, be aware that you are drawing in a shallow breath. And when you draw in a medium-sized breath, oh monks, be aware that you are drawing in a medium-sized breath.’ Awareness. Attention. Absorption. No more.
This kind of absorption one observes in little children. They have easy access to the Kingdom of Heaven.
You may have experienced some of this yourself sometimes, for instance when you were totally absorbed watching a kitten at play. Here is a formula for Contemplation, as good as any other I know: be totally in the present.
Quite a tall order, really: Drop every thought of the future, drop every thought of the past- in fact, just drop every thought, period, and become totally present. Contemplation will occur. Contemplation will occur!
After years of training, the disciple
Begged his Master to give him Enlightenment. The Master led him to a bamboo grove and said to him, ‘See that bamboo, how tall it is. See that other one there, how short it is.’
At that very moment, the disciple was enlightened.
They say Buddha tried every spiritually, every form of asceticism, every discipline that was available in the India of his times, in the effort to attain enlightenment. All in vain. Finally he sat under a bodhi tree one day, and was enlightened. Eh passed on the secret of enlightenment to his disciples in words that must seem mysterious to the uninitiated, particularly to the man who deals in thoughts. When you draw in a deep breath, oh monks, be aware that you are drawing in a deep breath. And when you draw in a shallow breath, oh monks, be aware that you are drawing in a shallow breath. And when you draw in a medium-sized breath, oh monks, be aware that you are drawing in a medium-sized breath.’ Awareness. Attention. Absorption. No more.
This kind of absorption one observes in little children. They have easy access to the Kingdom of Heaven.
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