Milarepa was a well-known Tibetan meditation practitioner and Buddhist trainer who lived from 1052 to 1135. He stated, “Once you run after your ideas, you might be like a canine chasing a stick: each time a stick is thrown, you run after it. As a substitute, be like a lion who, moderately than chasing after the stick, turns to face the thrower. One only throws a stick at a lion once.”
What a beautiful picture!
Your Thoughts Like a Canine
First, the thoughts being like a canine. Isn’t that so acquainted? Canine aren’t very reflective. Neither are we, more often than not. A thought seems in our minds, and our consideration goes chasing after it mechanically. Like a canine chasing a stick, we pursue the thought, take it up, and chew it over.
In meditation, ideas come up very often, as a result of despite the fact that a part of you intends to meditate and quiet the thoughts, different elements of your mind are scanning your expertise to see if there are any threats to your well-being that should be handled.
If, as is normally the case, there’s nothing threatening occurring in your rapid expertise, these elements of your mind will comb by reminiscences of issues that occurred prior to now, or have a look at your future itinerary, and search for issues that is perhaps of concern. And so, for instance, you would possibly dredge up an encounter the place your emotions obtained damage, and also you replay the occasions, usually in a number of methods, “workshopping” varied eventualities. Otherwise you would possibly take into consideration one thing developing that’s possibly a bit scary, and begin imagining all of the issues which may go improper.
You extra from a easy thought — possibly only a snippet of a dialog, or a snapshot picture — to a full-on drama.
Buddhism talks about this as prapañca, or “proliferation.”
Your Thoughts Like a Lion
However then there’s the lion. Your thoughts is sort of a lion when it sees the stick of a thought flying by, and as a substitute of chasing the stick, it turns towards the stick thrower. It lets the thought cross. It acknowledges that an try has been made to distract it. It isn’t taken in by that try. It’s interested by what this entity is that’s making an attempt to govern it. And so it turns and appears.
The Stick Thrower
Who’s throwing the stick? In Buddhist phrases we’re again to Māra. Māra is a mythological personification of distraction. He’s the psychological trickster who needs us to be distracted and reactive. He needs us to chase the sticks he throws. Māra is that a part of us that’s at all times making an attempt to throw us off-balance.
The best way to Do This
Possibly turning to face the stick-thrower isn’t one thing you’ve ever accomplished. So how you can we get began?
It will possibly assist to really feel the lion high quality of your thoughts. Consider a lion’s regular eyes. Its low growl. Its power. Its fearlessness. Let these qualities fill your thoughts and your physique. Strive it proper now, as you observe the area of your thoughts. Should you’re something like me, it most likely feels fairly good.
So typically once I’ve seen my thoughts go chasing sticks in my meditation just a few occasions, I’ll flip towards the place the place ideas come from. And I’ll observe it, ready to see what occurs.
However then I’m going additional, and dare Māra to tempt me.
See additionally:
Calling Out the Satan
I’ll say one thing like “Come on, Māra. Present me what you bought. Present me what you’re fabricated from.” After which I’ll simply watch, like a lion, and see what he comes up with. The watching is imbued with lion power — a way of power, confidence, and braveness. I really feel this power in my physique as nicely.
I can remind myself that the sticks, or ideas, are actually illusions. They’re not actual occasions that I’ve to cope with. They’re psychological fabrications.
Often after just a few of Māra’s sticks have flown previous me, my inside canine will make an look once more. And so I’ve to maintain on summoning the inside lion, and turning again to face the stick thrower.
And so I’ll say, as soon as once more, “Good one, Māra! Intelligent trick. Your phantasm fooled me that point. For some time. So, what else do you’ve gotten?”
