The Stillness Sessions 3: It's A Simple Recognition

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00:30

The Stillness Sessions 3: It's A Simple Recognition

by Suryacitta (The Happy Buddha)

Rated

4

Type

talks

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Experienced

Plays

2

A simple recognition of stillness is noticing what is already here before the next thought arrives. It is not something you create, but something revealed when effort falls away. In that quiet, there is a natural ease—nothing to fix, nothing to become. Stillness is not distant; it is the silent backdrop of every moment.

Stillness Silence Presence Meditation Direct Experience Ego Observation Thought Observation Koan Mind Quieting Silence Awareness Formless Meditation

Meet your Teacher

Suryacitta (The Happy Buddha)

Leicester, UK

Meet your Teacher

Suryacitta (The Happy Buddha)

Leicester, UK

Transcript

So hello and welcome back to the stillness sessions. Stillness, Silence, Aware space. Take your pick. Although don't take your picture, Let's not get too close. Hooked into one word description. That's what mind does. So as ever we're going to get practical here So I want to Sure. What stillness is. We have an idea of it, Don't we? And we've all had an experience of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying anybody hasn't had an experience of stillness or silence. But what needs to happen, It needs to be recognized. There needs to be a recognition of what it is in our direct experience. So that it can be a lived thing, It can be a lived experience. Stillness isn't a creation. You don't develop it or cultivate it. I'll make it. Now we are hardwired to do, To create, To cultivate, To develop. Stillness I'm pointing to, The presence that is being being pointed at. Is between the words, The gaps between the words, Before the word, After the word. Is before the word stillness. It's what the word stillness appears in. So let's choose play. Do your best just to drop all expectations, All. Ideas about what stillness is. What silence is. Just go into this fresh and alive Like our pet dog, Those of you who have pet dogs. Dogs and very young children. They're just alive. They don't bring the past moment into the present moment. Or an idea of the past moment, A memory of the past moment into this moment. And memories restored. Before the word stillness, What's here? Don't think about it. Before the word silence. Is uttered. What's here? A mind may come up with a concept like stillness or space or. . . Presence. Yes. Now just put that word to one side. Being the wordless. This is true meditation. It's not a destination guys. Are already here. We've already arrived. But what do we do? Keep looking elsewhere. Next. Must be in the next. When I quiet my mind, Then I'll have some stillness. It's right here now. What's that before the word presence? What's there before the thought? Silence. What's there after the word? Aware space. Be light don't take this too seriously. Don't look for a big experience. Just here. What's between and go to the direct experience here, Don't think about it. What's between here and not here? Does not just quieten the mind because it can't be answered. It's a koan. He is just a word, Not he is just a word. Show me your face before your parents were born. The sea. What we're doing. Just bring the mind to a gentle hold just for a few moments just so We get a taste of this, We marinate in it. It's like apparently the time of the Buddha. And dye their rags. They used to get mud and water and put the rags in. The mud and water would die in effect and they'd put it out in the sun to dry and they'd keep doing that the dip and repeat, Dip and repeat, Dip and repeat, And at some point. . . I was. Cold enough. Fast enough. Be the colour they want. I think it was Oka. That's what we do. We're just dipping back into it. Dip back. And you can see the thoughts doing their thing. How to meet thoughts? How do we meet thoughts? Believing thoughts. Is the obstacle. Because we keep going there. For the drama. For the solution to this maybe I can think my way, Work out what silence or stillness is. Use the word happiness. It's the same thing. What between happiness and stillness? It's meaningless, Isn't it? It doesn't have to mean anything. Psycho! Clap of a hand. Someone does that loud enough. Or clinks the glass when they give him the speech. Boom. People turn around. This is not an exercise for the ego. This is not ego work. Ego is just a pattern of thoughts. That's what it is. Believed to be who we are or what we have. Can we just play a little bit more? Don't take what I'm saying too seriously. Don't take the words too seriously. I can't. I can only point, I can't tell you what this really is. Cause all I do is use words. Words are just pointers. To describe. Or the description rather isn't the described. If you want to taste an apple, You wouldn't read a book on it, Would you? Look at the words. What's it say? Taste of an apple. Did you see it here? Distaste it. Then no words are needed. There's a direct experience of it. That's all I'm doing here. The words I'm using is just the vehicle, Just the. . . Or like, Um. . . The apples might arrive in a van, On a truck, In a car, In quite a way. Carry a bag. So the words are just the vehicle. To bring you into. And when we do find ourselves lost in thought, Believing all the thoughts. . . Meet them in silence. What's between thought and no thought? Then the mind scratches around trying to This is checkmate for the mind. Take away all language. What are you? Now some people say it seems to be just existence or just presence. Yes. Now, Keep playing. Just take that away. Just being the wordless. And what's missing. If you're wordless, What's missing? So we're just dipping, Dipping, Dipping in. Tipping in. Out and out. Marinate in there. You won't work this out with thought. It's impossible, That thought can't go there. Believe thoughts. See the problem with the human problem is that we've taken what thought says to be reality. That's why we're in a mess. Nor the being does it. Yes, You can see, Can't you? There's only the human, Too, Son. It's a gift and a curse. We find it tricky because it is so simple. Because the ego is redundant. Hang on, Hang on, You're not making me redundant. I've got a job and I'm going to do it. My job is to keep you confused. Keep you on the track. The merry-go-round. I want to keep you seeking. I wanna tell you it's this, That and the other. You'll never find it. But I'm gonna tell you that's what it is. I'm gonna keep you busy. One last one. What's between the colour blue? And a frog. There's no answer to, So don't search for one. Stillness, Silence. Listen to the silence. Feel our peacefulness. Okay. Thank you very much guys. Bye bye.