This article is based on something that I have experienced myself.
About 15 to 16 years ago I was doing Vipassana meditation regularly. And I experienced what I can only describe as bliss or ecstasy on some lengths of time. I then suffered an emotional crisis and foolishly quit my meditation practice. And I have been trying in vain ever since for a repeat of those experiences.
But now I have – I think – been able to pinpoint what I did right 16 years ago. And now that I have this information, I can try for a repeat of the bliss I experienced then.
The path to bliss consists of effacing yourself. That is – freeing yourself of the ego. As long as you are present as an ego God cannot enter. This was the message of Rumi. Link to his teaching is below:
And how exactly do you efface the ego. Vipassana – as taught by SN Goenka – teaches us to view our suffering with equanimity and without reacting.
Observe whatever is without reacting. It does not matter whether the sensation is pleasant or unpleasant. Just note the fact that – An unpleasant sensation has arisen within me. The sensation will pass away in due course and by witnessing the sensation without the ego reacting we will have taken steps to efface the ego.
The bliss is contained in the gap between thoughts. One description of meditation by a renown Tibetan Buddhist master was simply this:
“Look, it’s like this. When the past thought has ceased and the future thought has not yet arisen, isn’t there a gap.”
“Yes,” said the student.
“Well prolong it. That is meditation.
(Sourced from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche)
We can spend an entire life in this manner trying to prolong the gap between thoughts and it would not be a wasted life. This attempt can be made during the course of our daily life and not just during our meditation sessions.
Buddhist teachings and mindfulness techniques teach how we can be in touch with the Divine – that is the gap between thoughts – as we go through the day. If you are interested in learning this topic, try the books of the Vietnamese Buddhist master, Thich Nhat Hanh. His book, The Miracle of Mindfulness is particularly good.
I am making good progress in my meditation now after a long time. And what is more I have a goal or purpose to my existence. I can practice mindfulness as I go through the day and I will be happy and free of morbid and negative thoughts.
I am going back to Buddhist teachings after experimenting with other faiths. I had started by spiritual journey with Buddhism. You never quite completely forget your first love.
I’ll end here. Please explore this blog for more articles that will interest you and let me know what you think. Feedback from my readers keeps me going.
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