Meditation practice awakens our trust that the wisdom and compassion that we need are already within us. It helps us to know ourselves: our rough parts and our smooth parts, our passion, aggression, ignorance, and wisdom.
The reason that people harm other people, the reason that the planet is polluted and people and animals are not doing so well these days is that individuals don’t know or trust or love themselves enough.
Sitting meditation is like a golden key that helps us to know ourselves. We sit upright with legs crossed and eyes open,
hands resting on our thighs. Then we simply become aware of our breath as it goes out.
Being aware of the breath as it goes out, we may also be aware of sounds on the street, the light on the walls. These things capture our attention slightly, but they don’t need to draw us off. We can continue to sit right here, aware of the breath going out.
Being with the breath is only part of the technique. These thoughts that run through our minds continually are the other part.
We sit here talking to ourselves. When you realize you’ve been thinking you label it “thinking.” When your mind wanders off, you say to yourself, “thinking.”
Be gentle. Use the labeling part of the technique as an opportunity to develop softness and compassion for yourself and make friends with whatever comes up.
Although it is embarrassing and painful, it is very healing to stop hiding from yourself. It is healing to know all the ways that you’re sneaky, all the ways that you hide out, shut down, deny, close off, criticize people, all your weird little ways. You can know all of that with some sense of humor and kindness.
By knowing yourself, you’re coming to know humanness altogether. We are all up against these things. so let your way be compassionate and gentle and humorous. Then you’ll be changing old stuck patterns that are shared by the whole human race.
Start Where you are: a Guide to Compassionate living by Pema Chödrön,
which is available fromShambhala Publications.