From Chapter 1: Meditation on a Passage I am going to suppose that your purpose in picking up this book is to learn to meditate; so I will begin straight away with some instructions. I recommend beginning with the Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi. If you already know another passage, such as the Twenty-third Psalm, it will do nicely until you have learned this prayer. But over many years of teaching meditation, I have found that Saint Francis's words have an almost universal appeal. Through them pulses the spiritual wisdom this gentle friar drew upon when he undertook the most awesome task a human being is capable of - the total transformation of character, conduct, and consciousness. The prayer goes like this: Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to console, To be understood as to understand, To be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life. I hope you will understand that the word "Lord" here does not refer to a white-bearded gentleman ruling from a throne somewhere between Neptune and Pluto. When I use words like "Lord" or "God," I mean the very ground of existence, the most profound thing we can conceive of. This supreme reality is not something outside us, something separate from us. It is within, at the core of our being - our real nature, nearer to us than our bodies, dearer to us than our lives. If you prefer a passage from another tradition, here are some other popular choices I recommend: The Whole World Is Your Own I tell you one thing - if you want peace of mind, do not find fault with others. Rather learn to see your own faults. Learn to make the whole world your own. No one is a stranger, my child; this whole world is your own. - Sri Sarada Devi The Best The best, like water, Benefit all and do not compete. They dwell in lowly spots that everyone else scorns. Putting others before themselves, They find themselves in the foremost place And come very near to the Tao. In their dwelling, they love the earth; In their heart, they love what is deep; In personal relationships, they love kindness; In their words, they love truth. In the world, they love peace. In personal affairs, they love what is right. In action, they love choosing the right time. It is because they do not compete with others That they are beyond the reproach of the world. - Lao Tzu Let Nothing Upset You Let nothing upset you; Let nothing frighten you. Everything is changing; God alone is changeless. Patience attains the goal. Who has God lacks nothing; God alone fills every need. - Teresa of Avila Radiant Is the World Soul Radiant is the world soul, Full of splendor and beauty, Full of life, Of souls hidden, Of treasures of the holy spirit, Of fountains of strength, Of greatness and beauty. Proudly I ascend Toward the heights of the world soul That gives life to the universe. How majestic the vision - Come, enjoy, Come, find peace, Embrace delight, Taste and see that God is good. Why spend your substance on what does not nourish And your labor on what cannot satisfy? Listen to me, and you will enjoy what is good, And find delight in what is truly precious. - Abraham Isaac Kook Having memorized the passage, be seated and softly close your eyes. We defeat the purpose of meditation if we look about, admiring the bird on the sill or watching people come and go. The eyes, ears, and other senses are rather like appliances with their cords plugged into the mind. During meditation, we try to pull out the plugs so we can concentrate more fully on the words of the passage. To disconnect the senses - to leave the world of sound behind, for instance - is difficult. We may even believe that it is not possible, that everything has been permanently installed. But the mystics testify that these cords can be disconnected and that when we do this, we experience a serenity beyond words [...] Pace If you have memorized the Prayer, you are ready to go through it word by word, and very, very slowly. Why slowly? I think it is Meher Baba, a modern mystic of India, who explained: A mind that is fast is sick. A mind that is slow is sound. A mind that is still is divine. Think of a car tearing along at ninety miles per hour. The driver may feel exuberant, powerful, but a number of things can suddenly cause him to lose control. When he is moving at thirty miles per hour, his car handles easily; even if somebody else makes a dangerous maneuver, he can probably turn and avoid a collision. So too with the mind. When its desperate whirrings slow down, intentionality and good judgment appear, then love, and finally what the Bible calls "the peace that passeth understanding." Let the words, therefore, proceed slowly. You can cluster the small helper words with a word of substance, like this: Lord . . . make . . . me . . . an instrument . . . of thy . . . peace. The space between words is a matter for each person to work out individually. They should be comfortably spaced with a little elbowroom between. If the words come too close together, you will not be slowing down the mind: Lord.make.me. If the words stand too far apart, they will not be working together: Lord . . . . . . . . . . . make Here "make" has put in its contribution, but "me" simply won't get on with it. Before long some other word or image or idea rushes in to fill the vacuum, and the passage has been lost. With some experimentation, you will find your own best pace. I remember that when I learned to drive many years ago, my instructor kept trying patiently to teach me to use the clutch. I was not a terribly apt pupil. After a number of chugging stops and dying engines, I asked him how I was ever going to master those pedals. He said, "You get a feeling for it." That is the way with the words too: you will know intuitively when not enough space lies between them and when there is too much. Concentrate on one word at a time, and let the words slip one after another into your consciousness like pearls falling into a clear pond. Let them all drop inwards one at a time. Of course, we learn this skill gradually. For some time we drop a word and it floats on the surface, bumped around by distractions, irrelevant imagery, fantasies, worries, regrets, and negative emotions. At least we see just how far we are from being able to give the mind a simple order that it will carry out. Later on, after assiduous practice, the words will fall inward; you will see them going in and hitting the very bottom. This takes time, though. Don't expect it to happen next week. Nothing really worth having comes quickly and easily; if it did, I doubt that we would ever grow. Excerpt from Frequently Asked Questions on Meditation, answered by Eknath Easwaran What about unusual experiences in meditation, such as strange thoughts or sensations? Knowing the mind, I can assure you that it has a number of aces up its sleeve. The day you start to meditate seriously, the mind knows it is going to be told to listen to you, and the mind doesn't like that at all. It may do its best to distract you with sensations such as nausea or an overwhelming urge to cough or other, more outrageous phenomena. In such cases, the very best strategy is to give more attention to the inspirational passage. When you give more attention to the words, you will not pay attention to these distractions. That's the answer. The inspirational passage, let me keep repeating to you, is your safety net. Never let go of the inspirational passage whatever the temptation or the difficulty. Ignore all distracting phenomena and keep your mind on the passage. On a deeper level of consciousness there is a kind of Alice's Wonderland on either side where you cannot distinguish between fancy and fiction. This can be quite harmful, so it is best to be scrupulous about holding on to the passage right from the beginning. One reason we may find lights and sounds and so on intriguing is that we take them for evidence of progress. Something is happening! Beneath my gentle ways, however, I am a very hard-nosed mystic. I'm not impressed by supernatural experiences; I look for changes in character and conduct. How selfless can you be? Can you restrain your senses when necessary? Can you go against your self-will when it benefits those around you? How long is your span of attention? These are the signs of progress in meditation. How about overwhelming emotions that come up during meditation? We should never forget that meditation is a superb discipline - and the emphasis is always not on superb, but on discipline. Even in the early years of meditation, there are many times when waves of emotion can sweep over us. That is the time to concentrate more and not to observe the emotion or analyze it, either during meditation or during the day. Don't try to bask in the emotion or wallow in it. I think it is Catherine of Siena who warns that in such cases we can be like a bee that is caught in its own honey. When you are able to concentrate even more on the passage during a wave of emotion, it becomes a valuable aid. You are able to harness it - not consciously, but because it is absorbed into your concentration. Instead of letting it act as a deterrent, it becomes a valuable factor in your progress. Even after meditation, some of the backlog of such experiences may follow you into the day. Don't dwell on them, don't describe them to others, don't write about them. Every time that wave of emotion comes up, repeat the mantram. Recently I've become much more sensitive to the suffering in the world. Does our meditation really help others? I'm beginning to doubt it. Nobody suffers like the lovers of God, because they are one with others in their suffering. But they are granted an equal measure of joy, too, because God gives them the capacity to help. I keep in close touch with what happens in the world. I read a wide assortment of periodicals each week just to do so. And there are times when I feel deeply grieved by the suffering I read about, and I wonder why life has to be this way. But I never despair. At those times I go deep, deep into meditation until I reach the very source of love and wisdom that exists in each of us. When I do, I am reassured that all is well. This is not merely some sentimental notion. I return from this awareness charged with the energy and vision I need to continue to try to alleviate this suffering. So what I would tell all of you is this: meditate every day, throw yourself into some form of selfless work, and use your sense of suffering as a powerful motivation to help relieve the suffering of others. It is a wonderful gift to be able to give. Excerpted from Passage Meditation - a Complete Spiritual Practice: Train Your Mind and Find a Life That Fulfills by Eknath Easwaran All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
