Hello,
My name is Michelle and welcome to episode 16 on Clarity in Meditation.
Let's start with a five-minute silent meditation practice.
To become more still and aware of our present experience.
Just as it is without judgment.
And without effort.
And as we meditate our mind becomes clear.
I'll let us know when.
Five minutes has completed and the theoretical part of the episode begins.
So coming back to the episode teaching.
And I start with a very brief recap.
On previous episodes.
And all the while remaining present.
Alert and aware.
So I recap because mental clarity is a natural by-product of an awakened,
Relaxed,
Still and open awareness.
Topics we've discussed in previous episodes.
And meditators often describe mental clarity.
As an experience of white wakefulness.
And spaciousness.
Brightness and clarity.
In episode 15,
The previous episode.
I spoke about how when the mind is awakened and illuminating,
We can see reality clearly.
Exactly as it is.
Unmediated and unobscured by anything.
And by illumination of mind.
I mean a clear awareness of things as they are.
A natural clarity of mind where you're fully aware and in direct contact with your momentary experience.
I often describe the meditative state of mind like a still lake.
Or a clear mirror that's crystal clear.
Reflecting things as they are.
Everything mental,
Emotional,
Sensorial,
Physical and spiritual things come and go in and out of our awareness.
They appear and disappear freely.
Before the still clear mind.
That is clearly reflecting things as they are.
So clarity of mind.
Is not about forcing an empty state of mind.
Or fixating on a specific object of mind.
Such as stillness or clarity.
Clarity of mind is the mind's natural unhindered ability to experience reality as it is,
Free from the obstructions of thinking,
Judgment,
And a self-centred ego.
So to ensure quality control.
In this episode.
Like in the previous episode.
I stay close to the Dharma Drum Mountain Chan Buddhist teachings on clarity of mind.
To anchor my meditation research.
In Chan Master Gogu's teaching.
Clarity of mind refers to the mind's natural ability to experience present reality.
Exactly as it is.
And he describes three progressive stages of clearing the mind and he uses the clean window or clear window metaphor to describe these three stages.
The first stage won.
Is the dirty window,
Our ordinary conditioned monkey mind cluttered with mental events,
Anxieties,
Fantasies,
Memories,
Hopes and daydreams.
And usually we see reality through this dirty window that obscures and distorts everything that we perceive.
Stage two.
Is the clean window or clear window.
Are still awareness.
That wipes away wandering thoughts and clears our consciousness.
So we are immediately and directly aware of present phenomena exactly as it is.
Undistorted unhindered and unobscured.
Bye.
Any personal subjective distortions.
So.
Chan Master Gogurgu points out that there is Oftentimes there is a subtle sense of self that is still looking at the clean window.
Still looking at the drama of our life on the screen.
So stage three is no window.
A selfless,
Enlightened state of consciousness.
That occurs when the window or the cinema screen of our life shatters and there's no separation between observer and the observed.
Between self and other.
So stage three,
No window.
Is pointing at the clear window trap.
So we can call stage three clear window trap.
Or we can add a Stage 4 called Clear Window Trap.
It's a trap that many meditators fall into.
Mistake.
The clear window.
The empty mind.
For ultimate reality.
And Gogoo warns that reifying or holding on to the clear window of awareness becomes a new attachment.
For the ego.
The ego is trying to be clear.
The ego is trying to have a clear consciousness.
But true clarity is not seeing through a clean window.
But it's realising that there is no window.
And such a realisation is an enlightened state of egolessness and non-self.
Because there's no self there to be clear and experience clarity.
The individual self has dropped away in fully enlightened states of consciousness.
So that was the three stages of the clear window metaphor.
Or we could call it a clear window trap.
And I'd now like to turn to the practice of meditation.
And by practice,
Not a word I like to use.
But practice is the word that is universally used by meditation teachers and the word method is also used.
So in Chan Buddhist meditation practice or I would prefer to say.
.
.
In Chan Buddhist meditation experience.
Which is much more correct than the word practice.
In meditation experience of just sitting.
Without using a meditation method.
The method of no method.
Just sitting.
Is known by other names.
In other Buddhist traditions.
Such as Shikantaza in Zen Buddhism.
And settling the mind in its natural state in Tibetan Buddhism.
And other phrases are used for this.
Method or practice.
Or way of meditation,
Shall we say.
The how,
The how of meditation.
Other terms are shamatha,
Focus on the mind,
Taking the mind as the path.
Taking appearances and awareness as the path.
And calm abiding.
All these meditation.
Ways of knowing how.
To meditate.
Refer to a natural,
Selfless,
Non-attached,
Compassionate mind.
With a still awareness.
So just sitting or just experiencing.
Is avoiding chasing and grasping meditation experience.
Hence the method of no method.
Instead of trying.
Using a technique and a method.
Instead you just experience momentary phenomena as it is.
Without evaluating,
Judging,
Avoiding,
Denying or trying.
To meditate.
And it's through selflessness.
And non-attachment.
But clear.
Awareness emerges.
Naturally.
So just sitting in meditation or settling the mind in its natural state of being.
Is having no specific meditation method.
And naturally being clear.
Of course you may,
You probably will,
Experience your sensations,
Feelings,
Thoughts,
Perceptions.
You will probably experience and observe these.
But you simply experience these as they are and you don't evaluate or get attached to anything.
Nothing is right or wrong.
No phenomena or experience.
Perception,
Sensation,
Feeling,
Thought.
Is more right or wrong,
Better or worse,
Than any other.
Including clarity,
Openness,
Stillness.
These are not evaluated or judged to be better or superior in any way to tension,
Sadness.
Dullness,
Drowsiness.
Etc.
Another common metaphor used for the clear mind is the clear sky.
The clear mind likened to a clear cloudless sky.
So although memories,
Thoughts,
Feelings,
Sensations,
Perceptions etc.
Fantasies,
Worries,
Desires,
Hopes.
Fears.
Although these clouds pass through the sky,
Our awareness,
Our consciousness,
Our body.
The underlying awareness experiencing these phenomena is the sky itself.
That remains still.
And unaffected.
It remains open and vast,
Regardless of whatever phenomena is passing in and out of awareness.
And the sun behind the clouds is also used as a metaphor to illustrate the true natural clarity of the mind and of one's true nature.
Again,
The clouds represent our perceptions,
Sensations,
Thoughts,
Emotions.
The passing weather The sky represents the openness and vastness of our awareness,
Which remains unaffected by the clouds.
And the sun represents our true clear nature that is always present even when obscured by the clouds.
Practising meditation helps clear these clouds.
And allows the inherent clarity and brightness of one's true nature to shine through.
In essence,
Through meditation.
We dissipate.
The clouds,
The obstacles.
In our hearts and minds.
That obscure our potential.
To truly experience reality as it is.
So.
The next part of this episode,
I'm going to very briefly perhaps a sentence for each.
Summarise the core components of mental clarity.
In meditation practice.
Or I should say in meditation experience.
Again,
Practice implies effort.
And in the way I practice,
It involves no effort,
Which is of paramount importance.
So clarity of mind in meditation then.
Is a state of relaxed,
Awakened.
Open and still awareness.
The mind is still.
Still open.
And free from distraction and grasping.
The mind has not closed.
In any way,
Shape or form.
And the mind is.
The Awareness of the mind is unmoved.
Is still.
So a relaxed,
Awakened,
Open and still awareness.
Is not a blank mind.
Because it has the capacity to reflect everything.
Accurately and clearly.
Immediately as they arise and pass.
Without getting attached or entangled in any passing phenomena.
So.
.
.
Taking that summary of the Clear mind.
Into consideration.
I've come up with ten core components of mental clarity.
And the first,
Number one,
Is stillness.
Stillness of awareness.
Enables the mind.
To have a still and sustained attention.
To focus undivided and undisturbed attention.
On whatever mental events arise and pass in each moment.
With stillness of awareness.
And without distraction,
Grasping or getting carried away by anything.
So stillness,
We can say stillness of awareness and of body.
As the stillness of the body is what supports.
The stillness of the awareness.
Number two.
The second component of mental clarity is space.
The bandwidth that you have available.
Process phenomena.
Space is a core component.
Because mental clarity is the result of mental space.
We need light,
But we also need space.
To Delineate differentiate and identify phenomena.
I haven't included time in this list but presumably I could have added.
Time as a core component.
So when the mind is overwhelmed by thoughts,
Emotions,
Anxieties,
Mental clarity drops away.
Because The mind is cluttered.
By experiencing the space within our mind we are decluttering.
The mind,
And this creates space for clarity.
So space and stillness.
Provide a mental buffer.
That allows the mind to reflect phenomena,
Thoughts,
Feelings,
Sensations,
Perceptions.
Allows the mind to reflect phenomena clearly,
Exactly as they are.
Without reacting impulsively or getting entangled in anything.
3.
The third key component of mental clarity is openness.
An expansive and receptive state of awareness.
Where you observe phenomena with compassion and without judgment.
So both the heart and the mind are open.
Rather than locking into a single focal point.
The mind becomes a vast clear sky letting experiences,
Phenomena arise and pass naturally.
And maybe I can add that I feel openness is very closely intertwined,
Related,
With.
Non-judgment and compassion.
So we mean we're truly allowing all phenomena and experience to be okay as it is.
The fourth core component of mental clarity is the awakened mind.
That's natural within everyone and is intrinsically clear.
It's a state of awareness or consciousness where we're not attached to anything.
But in direct experiential contact with phenomena exactly as it is.
The mind is awake.
A lot.
And bright.
And it is.
Interested.
It is involved.
It is working.
It is observing the mind with a keen interest in the phenomena arising and passing.
But without grasping,
Attaching,
Appropriating or identifying with any subjective mental states that come and go.
So the awakened mind is awake and fully functioning.
We are not sleeping when we are meditating.
On the contrary,
We are extremely awake.
The fifth core component of mental clarity is awareness.
The foundation of meditation.
And it's the psychical act.
Of knowing what is happening as it happens.
Without misperceiving,
Without distraction.
Without the habitual tendency of getting carried away with whatever comes and goes in the mind.
Awareness is the consciousness that is present and still.
And vast.
And open.
Without grasping without appropriating or attaching to anything.
Simply aware and knowing in full consciousness.
What is occurring in each present moment.
And the next moment.
And the next moment.
The 6th.
Core component.
Of mental clarity.
Is attention.
That acts as the input.
The focus and input of the mind.
Whereas clarity is the output of the mind.
Now attention.
Is more limited.
And focused.
But there's no judgment here,
And crucially,
Attention is needed.
Because it's used in single-pointed awareness.
That precedes open awareness.
It's used in single-pointed awareness to anchor still and concentrate the mind.
And it's the stillness,
The anchor stillness and concentration.
That is going to help prevent distraction,
Grasping.
Getting carried away.
By the clouds of the mind.
Getting carried away by phenomena that clouds mental clarity.
So the seventh core component of mental clarity is presence.
The non-reactive,
Stable,
And solid state of awareness or consciousness.
The state of consciousness of an anchored awareness.
I'll repeat that.
Presence.
Is the state of consciousness of an anchored,
Still awareness.
Entirely functional in the present moment.
Presence facilitates and enables the experiencing and observing of phenomena as it happens,
Without judging,
Without being distracted or getting caught or swept away.
Without getting lost in the past or worrying about the future.
So.
.
.
One's awareness is anchored in the present moment.
It's not clinging to the past or the future.
But simply experiencing life in each moment as it unfolds.
Number eight.
Core component of mental clarity is non-attachment.
The practice of observing your thoughts,
Emotions,
Sensations,
Perceptions.
Without clinging to anything or trying to push anything away.
Or trying to make anything happen.
Hence the method of no method.
We're not attached to any technique,
Method,
Device,
Skill.
That's going to help us meditate.
So non-attachment is about relinquishing the egotistic need to control your reality and your identity.
To create your meditation.
And non-attachment is allowing experience to unfold naturally on its own terms,
In its own way and time.
Just as it is.
Without judgment.
So the mind simply reflects things as they are.
Just as the passing weather Letting things come and go naturally and freely rather than clinging on to anything.
And number nine,
Core component of mental clarity,
Is freedom.
Freedom for me to speed up my voice so this episode won't be longer than 60 minutes.
Freedom is mental freedom in meditation.
That allows us to manage.
Our experience.
And remain resilient,
Open.
Without becoming distracted or overwhelmed.
So much like openness.
Freedom.
Is.
The power to.
Let things be as they are.
Whatever it is.
On number 10,
Core component of mental clarity is brightness of mind in meditation that refers to the heightened brightness,
Clarity.
Alertness and mental lucidity of the mind.
Of the clear mind.
So rather than the mind being sluggish and dull,
A bright mind is vivid and highly receptive to present moment experience.
Clearly and accurately.
Reflective in a wonderful way.
And number 11 and the final core component of mental clarity.
I like that I've listed 11,
11 being one of the many master numbers.
So 11,
The master number,
Is sharpness of mind.
Where the mind is working freely,
Effectively,
Efficiently.
Accurately,
In a balanced and wholesome way.
So of course,
Sharpness.
Of mind.
Naturally is a part of clarity of mind.
We experience with clarity and sharpness each phenomena.
And our sharpened perception enables us to see things exactly as they are,
Unclouded,
Undistorted,
Undistracted.
And perhaps I can add that sharpness.
Is also useful in non-attachment So it's okay for one moment to finish and a brand new moment to be born.
And for that moment to end and die.
And a brand new moment and experience.
To be experienced.
So,
In summary,
The key components of mental clarity.
Require,
Involve and consist of these states of consciousness or states of awareness.
States of mind that are a state of mind that is open,
Awakened,
Present,
Aware,
Attentive,
Free,
Selfless,
Spacious,
Still,
Bright,
Non-attached,
Sharp.
And let me just add compassionate.
Because that's the lovely thing.
So.
.
.
There's seven minutes left.
And perhaps we can use this time for some meditation practice.
To settle.
Our body and mind in its natural state.
A process of non-doing.
Of surrender,
Release.
Stepping out of the doing mode for a few minutes and dropping into pure being.
Allowing the mind to settle.
Into a state of ease and stillness.
Not by effort.
But by relinquishing all effort.
So just sitting.
And being present to all that occurs.
Within this space.
Just experiencing.
Naturally the mind rests in the immediacy of the present moment experience.
Naturally the mind Set rules.
Into A state of ease.
And stillness.
That naturally creates a bright wakeful clarity Noticing your momentary experience.
And by that I include noticing your state of consciousness.
And state of awareness in any given moment.
Noticing what it feels like to be present.
Awake,
Alert.
Aware.
Noticing the clarity of your perception and experience.
Okay,
So.
.
.
Coming to the close of this episode on clarity in meditation,
Thank you for listening.
So I look forward to.
.
.
Teaching you again in the next episode.
Bye for now.
