Posts in the “zen” category

A great Zen quote from Zen Master Seung Sahn: “If you want Satori, Satori is far, far away.”

(Satori is a Japanese Buddhist term that means enlightenment, awakening, liberation, or self-realization.)

After finishing the book, I Am That ^(#ad), by Nisargadatta Maharaj, I have collected many of this quotes related to enlightenment. Note that he never uses the word “enlightenment,” but instead at least occasionally uses the word “gnani,” which is defined in the glossary as “the knower,” or one who understands “the realization of the unity of all things.”

Nisargadatta Maharaj enlightenment quotes

To get the ball rolling, here are some descriptions of enlightenment from Nisargadatta Maharaj:

I’ve been researching the work of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, and per my research and a couple of AI tools, I believe that he gave very practical guidance for using “I am” types of mantras in different situations. Here’s how he suggested using these practices:

During physical sensations/pain

For example, during times when you have pain:

• When you feel pain or physical discomfort, first acknowledge it’s there
• Then remind yourself “I am not this body feeling pain”
• Ask “What am I who is aware of this pain?”
• Notice that you are the awareness in which pain appears, not the pain itself

“The riddle of life gets solved by following my promise, ‘your form is God’, and by living by these words:

I am not the body. I am formless, pure, and spotless. I am formless, unblemished. I have no birth and death. My light is so bright it outshines the clarity of the Moon and the Sun. How holy and pure we are as Atma ... All objects are animated by the light of the Self. Self is formless and luminous, clearer and purer than any light.

I assure you, again, your consciousness is manifest, Brahman; it is God Hari. Its expressions are many, yet it is ultimately formless. Many have to try to express it with words, yet it is beyond description. What is prior to the sense of being? It is pure Being without the sense of being. It is the eternal existence without beingness. It is untinged, stainless, Parabrahman. The Supreme Absolute.”

~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am Not The Body ^(#ad), pp. 110-111

“The person merges into the witness, the witness into awareness, awareness into pure being, yet identity is not lost, only its limitations are lost.”

~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am Not The Body ^(#ad)

“Some may engage in (chanting, singing, and mantras), but the (words) are both the one who sings and listens.”

~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, page 75 of I Am Not The Body ^(#ad)

“Meditation is necessary to maintain consciousness without thoughts. Meditation is to give attention to attention.”

~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am Not The Body ^(#ad)

A monk was anxious to learn Zen and said, “I have been newly initiated into the Brotherhood. Will you be gracious enough to show me the Way?”

The Master said, “Do you hear the murmuring sound of the mountain stream?”

The monk said, “Yes, I do.”

The Master said, “Here is the entrance.”

~~~

“Listening intently” is a simple, fun meditation practice. Just sit, relax, and listen to your environment like a dog, cat — or a squirrel in the wild, where your life depends on your listening. At work I used to have fun by listening to as many conversations as I could simultaneously.

One of my favorite mindfulness/meditation videos is this Shinzen Young video, Six Common Traps on the Path to Enlightenment.

If you struggle with any form of addiction AND are also interested in mindfulness and meditation — to the point of being interested in enlightenment/awakening — this quote from Daniel Ingram may be a helpful motivator:

“Stagnation is guaranteed if you cling to pleasant sensations.”

In other words, you won’t make any progress on the enlightenment path until you get past the clinging to pleasant sensations — i.e., the pleasant sensations that you are addicted to.

Ram Dass offered a quote that’s in the same ballpark: “One way to get free of attachment is to cultivate the witness consciousness, to become a neutral observer of your own life.”

(A friend of mine dealt with addiction for as long as I knew her, and I know she was also looking for any motivation to quit, so I try to share anything I learn that might be helpful.)

I know that I may never get to any “final” stages of enlightenment, but IMHO and as near as I can tell from my current meditation practice level, the last steps leading up to enlightenment/awakening/liberation are:

This is a page of quotes from Daniel Ingram, mostly from two versions of his book, Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha ^(#ad).

On a personal note, there are maybe five great books I have read about meditation, and this book is one of the Top 5, maybe #1.

All of the following quotes come from Mr. Ingram.

The quotes from Daniel Ingram

• Until you gain access concentration, you ain’t got squat.
   
• ... if we can simply know our sensate experience clearly enough, we will arrive at fundamental wisdom.
   
• Insight practice is all about ... grounding attention in our six sense doors and their true nature.
   
• There are six sense doors. Sensations arise and vanish. Notice this for every sensation.
   
• The gold standard for training in concentration is how quickly we can enter into specific, skillful, altered states of consciousness...
   
• The gold standard for training in wisdom ... is that we can quickly and consistently perceive the true nature of the countless quick sensations that make up our whole reality...

Mindfulness/meditation FAQ: What are the reasons, purposes, or motivations to practice mindfulness and meditation?

The motivations to meditate

I just took a little time to share some old notes from my meditation practice about “The purpose of mindfulness.” (This is also stated in other ways, like “Why bother being mindful?”, or, “What are the motivations for practicing mindfulness and meditation?”)

In the following sections I describe the purposes and motivations for practicing both mindfulness and meditation.

Before getting into my notes, I don’t know how many people know Ram Dass or have read his writings, but I updated the first motivation here based on his work, because if you really get into mindfulness and meditation, what he states is the end goal.

I have no idea if mindfulness meditation helps with ADHD, but I just thought about that when I read this:

“Researchers report that mindfulness meditation reduced chaotic activity in the brain and the heart ... ‘Activities of the brain and heart became more coordinated during MBSR training,’ reported the authors. ‘Mindfulness training may increase the entrainment between mind and body.’”

From this LionsRoar.com article

“If we do not practice mindfulness while carrying a bucket of water, it is a waste of time to seclude ourselves in a monastery.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human existence.”

“The whole essence of Zen consists in walking along the razor’s edge of Now.”

~ Eckhart Tolle ^(#ad)

Daniel Ingram was the first meditation teacher I ever heard who said that we should make meditation fun. He said something to the effect that when we sit down to meditate, we should try to sense vibrations as fast as possible — like playing a video game — and said, “Let’s bust some vibrations!”

Famous meditation teachers on staying mindful 24x7

As I think about trying to make meditation fun — and the use of mantras — I recall meditation teachers who have talked about the importance of staying mindful all day — 24x7 — to achieve enlightenment. For instance, here are just a few quotes:

While many people use the word “enlightenment,” people who have made it there often prefer the words “awakening” or “liberation.” This is a faux painting in an impressionist style inspired by liberation.

While many people think that Zen Masters live solitary lives in caves or monasteries, Bernie Glassman fed the poor, created a multi-million dollar bread company to employ the poor (and supply baked goods to Ben & Jerrys), raised $35M to home the homeless, and was a teacher to Jeff Bridges (“The Dude”). He also started his career as a mathematician and engineer. You can read more here, if you’re interested.