A gradual awakening by Levine Stephen 1937-

Author:Levine, Stephen, 1937-
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Vipasyana (Buddhism), Meditation, Buddhism
Publisher: Garden City, N.Y. : Anchor Press
Published: 1979-07-25T16:00:00+00:00

the woods, I have been only my moment-to-moment experience of being. As my foot touched the ground, the experience was all of reality. As my eye moved to a tree, there was only seeing—that was all of reality. A bird singing: just hearing. The fragrance of cedar: just smelling. It's difficult to describe the precision, the crystal clarity of it. Everything was silhouetted in the moment. Even the thought "Ah, look, everything's silhouetted in the moment" was another clarity silhouetted in the moment. Each thing was precisely as it was. It existed only in that moment of direct perception. It did not depend on the past for support or context—which doesn't mean it was without memory—it wasn't dependent on memory or thought of any kind to interpret the present. Nor was it leaning into the next moment. There was no desire for things to be any other way. It's very difficult to describe such experiences in words because they occur on levels where language does not exist.

As we gradually let go of our complete dependence on the rational mind, we let go of learning how to meditate and just meditate. Of course, the reasonable mind says, "Okay, I'll let go of the rational mind, but I need to know how. Please teach this level of mind to meditate so it can go beyond itself." So the mind absorbs the instructions and acts like a good servant: "Okay, I'll watch the breath to develop concentration."

"And, what do I do when my mind wanders?"

"Ah, I keep coming back to the breath, right?"

"Okay, got that."

"And, what happens when there's a pain in my leg?"

"Right."

"And, now what do I do when the energy is unbalanced?"

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