Mindful Happiness

Anthony Quintiliani, Ph.D, LADC

  • Home
  • Dr. Anthony Quintiliani
    • About
  • Mindful Happiness
  • Mindful Expressions Meditation CD
  • Contact

November 8, 2017 By Admin

Tibetan Tantric Meditation on Selflessness

Tibetan Tantric Meditation on Selflessness

Mahamudra meditations tend to unify emptiness and bliss, and represent many core principles of Tibetan Buddhism. Nagarjuna’s text on The Middle Way played an important and influential role in these practices. Selflessness of persons and selflessness of phenomena are highly represented in noted meditation practices. Therefore,, this can be considered an advanced post on the topic. The following general steps will note aspects of the meditation sequence. We begin with the idea that all realness related to perceptions of I/Me/Mine are imputed through thoughts and the projections of the mind. Humans tend to experience I/Me/Mine and objects of awareness as real, concrete, substantial, and permanent entities.  This is one reason why we cherish human life so, so much. To open up awareness and experience to  the opposites of these characteristics, we need to focus meditative practice within a series of specific steps. These modified steps are noted below.

  1. First decide what the object of negation is.  All will be related to emptiness of persons and objects. For our practice now, we will focus on the I/Me/Mine of “your” breath as our object of negation (selflessness and emptiness). Your breath is not permanent or self-originated; it contains properties of emptiness.
  2. Using our mind, body, breath and object awareness as the sources of negation is quite difficult, and may require years of practice to achieve.  This is due to the reality of using our mind and body in experiencing the perceived situations and negating their inherent existence at the same time. This can be confusing.
  3. Defining inherent existence is a problem in and of itself. This depends on key Buddhist principles like impermanence, dependent origination, no-self, and ultimate emptiness of all things. I/Me/Mine ego perceptions of self, phenomena, and breath meet none of these listed Buddhist requirements.
  4. Use of logic is important at first. Since the I/Me/Mine of self, mind, body, phenomena, and breath have never existed as permanent, self-originating, substantial entities the use of logic is a starting point. So now just focus strongly on how the breath is impermanent, not self-originating, and ephemeral. Tangle with your mind and body experience on this while you breath slowly and deeply in and out, in and out.
  5. Realize it is your “self-grasping” mind (p. 189) that makes you “think” the breath is real in ultimate terms not simply in contemporary terms. Just because we mind-body experience breath does not mean it is ultimately real and ever-lasting. We all know that when we die, so does our breath.
  6. Remember a time when you were insulted or harmed by the words and/or actions of others. Notice how quickly your mind-body system can produce that unpleasant emotional reactions – a temporary emotional reaction.  You probably felt flattened, but for a short time related to your lifetime!
  7. Now recall a time when you were joyous or happy by the words or actions of others, and how that pleasant emotional reactions was also quite temporary  – not ever-lasting. You probably felt inflated but for such a short time.
  8. Our pleasure-seeking and suffering-avoiding self does not bring us happiness; in fact this brings us more suffering exactly because of the core principles of impermanence and dissatisfaction with whatever we now experience. We always want more and more! We attach to and grasp at anything that we believe may make us happier. We do the same thing for suffering; we hope in vain to avoid, reduce or end it.
  9. The I/Me/Mine of your breath is not part of the aggregates or it may be. If you are ill, it is not YOU who are ill but part of the body or mind that is ill. If the experience is and is not part of the aggregates then it cannot exist inherently, ultimately. It is only our contemporary experience that is being mind-body registered. It is the working of the “mistaken minds” (p. 194).
  10. Recall that the aggregates (also named skandhas) of form, feeling, perception, volitional acts,  and consciousness are the “heaps” related to attachment and desire. Each one upholds impermanence, self-suffering, and no-self. Our endless seeking desires and behaviors cause suffering due to general dissatisfaction with what is, and imply no underlying soul or self in this endless samsaric process.
  11. If nothing exists concretely and permanently in ultimate time and space, what is there to fear and what is there to seek?  Have you experienced anything like emptiness in your meditative being here now? Before you answer to yourself, note that emptiness experiences come is various forms.
  12. Now slowly and with discernment, take a few more deep, slow, calming breaths. Be with yourself!

For more information on this complex process refer to Geshe Kelsang Gyatso (1982, 2014 end.). Clear Light of Bliss: Tantric Meditation Manual. London, UK: Tharpa Publications, pp. 187-204.

Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, VermontChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness  

Mindful Happiness cover designs.indd

New Edition of Mindful Happiness in Production…Coming soon!

 

Filed Under: Featured, Mahamudra, Meditation, MIndfulness, Selflessness, Tantric Tagged With: MAHAMUDRA, MINDFUL MEDITATION, MINDFULNESS, TANTRIC MEDITATION ON SELFLESSNESS

November 4, 2017 By Admin

Tantric Meditation on Emptiness of Self

Tantric Meditation on Emptiness of Self

Mind training on emptiness of self requires single-pointed attention and concentration on space, empty space. Emptiness awareness in

equipoise of meditation appears as the empty of space. When we practice this repeatedly with calm abiding we can attain direct experience of non-conceptual realization – true emptiness. Awareness of emptiness experience may occur as a quick glimpse or as an extended experience. Some people note it as if floating in endless, boundless space, while others experience trance-like nothingness. These are only two of many possible experiences. Once we achieve this condition we are ready to see ultimate truth. The conventional experience of I/Me/Mine will challenge us via attachment and grasping. Much practice is necessary to overcome this trap. Keep in mind the huge differences between conventional and ultimate reality.

  1. Begin meditating on the expectation of experiencing some form of non-conceptual emptiness.
  2. Then become acutely aware of the re-experiencing relapse into I/Me/Mine norms of conventional, solid, substantial  human existence. Note how your thoughts and emotions make it all seem so, so real. When this occurs, note it and move back to expecting emptiness.
  3. While meditating in this manner, when your mind reminds you of your past pain and suffering, work at not reacting strongly. Recognize that in ultimate reality the suffering self is somewhat of an illusion.
  4. Now we are ready to focus on the self as the object of negation. Accept for now that you can attain selflessness of the I-phenomenon. Even in the conventional reality of time-space it is possible to be in emptiness. Do not fear it, but if your “gut” tells you strongly to stay away – do it.
  5. Contemplate that form is empty, and that the “I” of self-grasping is also empty. Recall a time when you experienced fear. Notice the strong tendency to defend and protect the self. Notice how/where the fear imparted you. Remember what parts of the mind and body reacted, and that the whole is NOT the sum of its parts. Collective parts of the body and mind do not constitute the whole of the person. Here, again, we confront the most difficult understanding of ultimate reality – that the self is impermanent, insubstantial, dependent on causes and effects, a projection of mind, and an illusion – it is empty.
  6. Contemplate how the mind-body of humans, even the entire universe of form, is ultimately space, time, sensory awareness, thoughts, emotions, consciousness, and flowing energies. The particle is part as is the wave, but neither constitute the existence of a permanent, independent, lasting, substantial self.
  7. Now try to track your sensation of inner flowing energies. We could do the same for thoughts, feelings(sensations), and emotions. Notice it is all about flow – nothing substantial, fixed, hard, stationary, etc. All our self-oriented experiences are imputed by conception and perception in empty time and space. This is the mind at work. This is the mind doing its work.
  8. Does your personal experience of self exist in the past?  In the present? Or in the future? We note that all three are associated with the self. However, we can only exist ultimately in the present moment of experience, so why suffer so much from the past and dread so much about the future. If we exist ultimately in the present, what happened to the conception/perception of self in the past and future?
  9. Yes, it disappeared even if we have memory or projections of its experiences. See how impermanent the self is! See how the flowing of what we experience as conventional concrete events is also somewhat empty. We may remember events, but the self is here now and nowhere else. This elusive self is empty.
  10. Work harder on this meditative experience of the self here now in ultimate emptiness. Then breathe and  rest! Sit quietly and contemplate your experience, where you have been, and where you are right now.

For more information refer to Geshe Kelsang Gyatso (1982, 2014). Clear Light of Bliss: Tantric Meditation Manual. London, UK: Tharpa Publications, pp. 187-204.

Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, VermontChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness  

Mindful Happiness cover designs.indd

New Edition of Mindful Happiness in Production…Coming soon!

Filed Under: Featured, Meditation, Mindful Awareness, Self Care, Tantric Tagged With: EMPTINESS, MINDFULNESS, PRACTICE, SELF, TANTRIC MEDITATION

Twitter

Mindful Happiness -Currently in Production

Mindful Happiness Posts

Insights – Vipassana Mediation There will be future, more advanced vipassana meditations posted on the site. For now, however, we will end this series with a final post about the insights often experienced via vipassana meditation. We learn via experience about impermanence, suffering and its causes, no-self, emptiness and many other things – or, perhaps, […]

Mindfulness and Concentration –  Experience Differences In this post I will explain some basic differences between mindfulness and concentration, both of which are required for effective meditation practice.  This will be the first of three posts dealing with what mindfulness and concentration are, how to experience them briefly in a body-based activity, and how to […]

Happiness Characteristics – Post #2 Below I will note a few key characteristics of experiences and attitudes associated with happiness. Do your best to experience some of these each day – as much as is possible. Here is the first list. Being Fully Alive to Experiences – Do your best to be fully involved in […]

Relapse Prevention Plans – The Basics T. T. Gorski, Anthony R. Quintiliani, Ph.D., LADC The following information about how to develop effective relapse prevention plans has been paraphrased from the Work of Terrence T. Gorski.  It is highly practical and a concrete way to develop your skills in relapse prevention interventions. Intermediate (Marlatt and Gordon) […]

Vipassana Meditation and Introduction Vipassana meditation, as taught by S. N. Goenka, has been practiced in India, Europe, the United States and in many other parts of the world. There are various claims for effectiveness when used as a form of meditative treatment with various populations (often correctional and substance using populations); however, there is […]

Laughter to Support you in Suffering As we all know life is filled with joy, suffering, and neutrality or boredom. This is THE WAY IT IS! Or, as a very good old friend often reminded me: “It is what it is!”  In Buddhism we preach a middle way in various areas of practice; the same […]

Pathways for Coping with Loss and Grief Jeanne Cacciatore, a Zen priest and bereavement specialist, offer sound advice on the process of loss and grieving.  In her book, Bearing the Unbearable: Love and the Heart Breaking Path of Grief (2016), she presents the process as a series of contractions and expansions; contractions are the inward path of […]

Introducing Your Clients to Brief Meditations Psychotherapists often ask  about ways to introduce mindfulness and meditation to clients.  There are other posts on this Blog that offer basic introductory information on both content and process. Here I will simply introduce you to four brief, basic meditations for clients suffering from anxiety and/or depression, along with […]

From The Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation, Monkton, Vermont – Five Breathing and Meditation Practices – Attention and concentration on the breath are common practices to attune meditation capacity. We use the breath as an object of attention in our mind training.   The better your quality of attention and concentration, the better […]

Vipassana Meditation – Emptiness One of the great insights from regular, long-term vipassana practice is the experience of emptiness. The actual knowing of it by the experience of it. This is not your typical conceptual emptiness of the West; it is not total void, negative beings, or nihilistic pit, or suffering in endlessness.  It is […]

Looking at Early Judeo-Chrsitian Meditation Practice An early description of enlightened liberation in Buddhist meditation practice reads like this: Birth is destroyed, the spiritual life has been lived, what had to be done has been done. There is no more coming back to any state of being.  Ignorance was banished and true knowledge arose, darkness […]

Quintiliani’s Whole Person Recovery Planning To me the “whole person recovery planning” includes biological, psychological, social, spiritual, and self components and changes. To simplify – it is not simple or quick – I will simply list the core components of this comprehensive form of recovery process.  I may add more details to this process in […]

Making Boundless Space for Your Emotional Dragons In the past I have offered posts about radical acceptance and ways of dealing with your personal dragons or demons.  Here I will offer a more advanced perspective on how directly engaging your emotional dragons is a very important part of your spiritual path – your spiritual journey […]

Vipassana Meditation Practice – Introductory Journey 1 This is the first of a series of posts on vipassana-based meditation practices.  The introductory journey set will not be pure vipassana; rather this set of meditations will be about practice with core principles and learning experiences in regular vipassana meditation. Rather than explain background information, I will […]

Amitabha Buddha – Pure Land Meditation The following meditation had been modified by me to make it a more specific self-healing meditation and to better fit the time we now live in. Sit quietly and complete 3-4 deep, calming breaths. Pay attention to the quality and density of the light you see outside of your […]

Facing Addiction in America On November 17,  2016 The Surgeon General of The United States (Dr. Vivik Murthy) issued THE FIRST Surgeon General Report on our addictions problems. Since addictions in America may well be the single most threatening condition facing the nation’s health and economy, as well as casting strong doubt about a good […]

Using Your Compassionate Mind in Psychotherapy For you to become a more compassionate therapist, follow the details noted below. These preconditions, skills, and practices are required as a baseline for  compassionate practice. You need the ability to access calmness in an environment of emotional suffering, chaos, or conflict.  Most people do this by breathing in […]

Showing Deep Love & Respect Loved Ones Lost This is a very brief post about love and respect for “lost loved ones” – those special people who have left their human body and mind behind. Two Rituals 1) Loving Kindness Meditation for Lost Loved Ones After breathing slowly and deeply for a few minutes in silence, […]

Mindfulness Training  From The Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton,Vermont The Problem:   Many people become stuck in the suffering of their past, and they continue to re-experience an event in the futile hope to better understand it, or to find an escape from it.  Many of the same people become fixated fearfully […]

“The Other Shore” to Happiness and Enlightenment Thich Nhat Hanh’s book, The Other Shore: A New Translation of The Heart Sutra…Berkeley, CA: Palm Leaves Press brings us on an inner journey toward a happier, more peaceful and enlightened life. Wisdom implies that we understand that life is made up of mental formations, no-self (more clarifications later), […]

Mindful Categories

Mindful Happiness Pages

  • About
  • Contact
  • Dr. Anthony Quintiliani
  • Mindful Expressions Meditation CD
  • Mindful Happiness
  • Site Map

Copyright © 2023 · Mindful Happiness