Meditation which is culture

There is Meditation
     which is culture of the mind
(bhāvanā).

There is Concentration
     which aims at mind control
(samatha).

There is Contemplation
     when the mind is still
and that is insight
     (vipassanā).

A Meditative Mind

A meditative mind
     which does not select,
which does not exclude,
     which does not search
for a solution,
     for satisfaction,
for achievement,—

Such a meditative mind
     need not concentrate,
need not focus its thought
     on an ideal,
on a concept,
     on a goal.

For,
there is contemplation
     in seeing what is as it is:
the false as false,
     action as reaction, the “self” as void.

And that is truth.

Can the Self be Destroyed?

Can the “self” be destroyed
     when there is no “self”?

Meditation which is contemplation
of this “self” in action
     makes all reaction cease.

Then, action is free and pure,
without motive or purpose,
     without projection of the “self”.

Such action comes from seeing
and understanding what is:
     the goalless search,
the delusion of conflict,
     the void of “self”.

Concentration Aims

Concentration aims
     at fulfilment
in satisfaction.

Contemplation has no aim;
     it is fulfilment
without desire.

Concentration wants
     to see the “self” as God.

Contemplation sees God
as the thought of self.

Concentration on an object
     creates the arising of a subject.

Contemplation of action
is the cessation of reaction.

Concentration is Exclusive

Concentration is an exclusion
     of the unwanted.

Thus, it is a resistance
which is conflict.

A concentrated mind
     cannot contemplate,
cannot see what is.

Only contemplation is meditation,
     when the mind is still.

Concentration is Effort

Concentration is effort
     in compelling the mind
to think in patterns.

Contemplation is
     the effortless freedom
to see,
     to live,
to experience.

contemplation is
     seeing without reflection,
living without projection,
     being without becoming.

Concentration is Keeping

Concentration is
     keeping the known alive,
as thought cannot live
     to see the unknown.

A search for the unknown
is a search for self,
     for and ideal,
for an image.

Contemplation does not pursue
     an image or a concept.
It sees the image and the ideal
     for what they are:
projections of desire.

And in thus seeing
     it is free from all.

Meditation is the dying to the known,
is the silence of thought.

Concentration is Will-to-Become

Concentration is the will-to-become,
     the desire to continue,
the fear of the void.

Concentration is craving,
     is clinging,
is escaping.

In making thought,
     the mind is not still.
In pursuing ideals,
     the mind knows no rest.
In striving for attainment,
     the goal is but a thought.

Thought reflects the past as memory.
Thought deflects the present to continue.
     Thought escapes the present in delusion.

For the mind to be at rest,
thought must be silent
     without reflection
without deflection
     without projection
without inspection.

Contemplation is Meditation

Contemplation is
     meditation without concentration.

Any attempt at contemplation
is not meditation,
     but an effort at concentration,
an effort to achieve,
     to become,
to be the “I”.

Contemplation is effortless,
     seeing the “I” in action,
seeing the actor in wanting,
     seeing the delusion of the “I”,
seeing what is.

When the “I” is seen in action,
     it is seen as delusion,
and there is no conflict.

Fear is Always in Conflict

Fear is always
     in the conflict of “self”.

There is no conflict
when one is alone.

There is no “self”
     when one is alone.

The ecstasy of being alone,
of being no one,
     comes when there is no fear.

In fear, one is never alone,
when there is thought
     of the past,
when there is thought
     for the future.

To be truly alone,
there should be no “self”.

If the Mind is not Silent

If the mind is not silent,
     it cannot become silent.

If the mind does not know silence,
it cannot search for silence,
     it cannot become silent.

But, if I know conflict
and know that “I” an conflict,
     there is no more search,
for the search is conflict.

And if there is no more conflict,
     because there is no more search,
because there is no more “I”,
     then there is silence
in seeing what is,
     in seeing what is not.

In the Fulness of Self

In the fulness of “self”
     there is desire,
there is opposition,
     there is conflict.

In the void of “self”
there is love,
     which is non-selective,
which is universal,
     which is without conflict.

Love Which is Selective

Love which is selective
     is but self-love;
For, in selection
     there is only “self”
and the reaction to “self”.

Meditation which is contemplation,
     which is not concentration
and hence not selective,
     is a silent attention
to all that acts
     and which reacts.

To see the “self” as a reaction
gives freedom without selection,
     which is universal love
without a lover.

Meditation without an Actor

Meditation is
     action without and actor,
action without a purpose.

It is action which does not project.
     It is action which acts
through understanding
     the need to act.

Such meditation
does not concentrate on a goal,
     does not provide for a future.

Such meditation
can only contemplate,
     in seeing what is,
in understanding what acts,
     free from the reaction
which is the projection of “self”.

Meditation is Listening

Meditation is the art of listening,
     the art of listening to silence.

And out of that silence
there comes a crisis
     in which one either acts
or tries to escape.
     Concentration which is selection,
which is focusing,
     which is searching,
is an escape in cultured living,
     an escape from living free,
from seeing straight,
     which alone is insight.

In the silence of meditation
which is contemplation,
     there is just silence.

And in the listening to that silence
there is no escape.

From what? Whereto?

When there is no escape,
     there is pure action—
and no actor.

Our Problem is that We Know

Our problem is that we know.

But, I know only
     what I think I know.
And, I know only my thought,
     which is but a reflection
in my mind
     of my memories,
of my desires,
     of my clinging.

To know my mind
as a reflection of “self”
     brings silence to that mind,
when thought does not project.

Such is the silence of the mind
     which does not concentrate.

That is meditation,
that is contemplation, that is insight.

Silence is not to be Found

Silence is not to be found
     in the suppression of sound,
in the renunciation of contact,
     in the escape from relationship.

There is silence in understanding
which does not depend on faith,
     which does not search for truth,
which does not live in the future.

There is a silence,
     when there is no striving to achieve,
no will to become,
     no opposition,
no “I” in conflict.

The Desire for Peace

The desire for peace of mind
     is an ideal
pursued by thought.

The desire for an ideal
     in the pursuit of thought
is not a mind at rest.

The mind seeks rest and peace
     in concentration on its ideal.

Thus, concentration leads
to further search.

To see this action of the mind
     is a release from search
for an ideal concept.

To see this, is contemplation
     without effort or desire,
when thought is still,
     when will is not,
and mind is free.

The Ecstasy of Truth

The ecstasy of truth
     lies in the freedom from thought,
in the stillness of volition.

Any striving for truth
     is striving for an ideal,
striving for continuity,
     striving for an escape.

In striving, there is no truth,
no ecstasy, no freedom.

The Enquiry about the Absolute

The enquiry about God,
     the absolute,
the soul,
     is the work of the mind in thought,
striving for an ideal,
     escaping from the actual,
wanting to be
     and to become.

The search is the birth of “self”
the birth of conflict.

When the search ceases,
     there is fulfilment in silence,
which is truth.

The Wanting of Security

The wanting of security
     is the disturbance
which is conflict.

Conflict ceases
     in the cessation of desire
for security.

The need for security arises
     with the wish for continuance.

Continuance is the ideal concept,
a living death,
     in which alone can live
the delusion of the “I”.

To be Awake is to be Free

To be awake is to be free,
     to be without imaginings,
without faith or dogma,
     without hope of fear,
without love of self.

To be awake is to see
     that all action is reaction,
that all effort is desire,
     that all thought is memory,
that all will-to-become
     is an escape from what is.

To be awake is to see oneself
with all one’s reactions
     as “no-self”.

Truth Ceases to Be

Truth ceases to be an abstraction
     when the mind is silent
in space and in time.

As long as space and time are used
     to continue and to project
an image of an ideal “self”
     so long will that image obscure
the truth which is.

What is the Need for Silence?

“What is the need for silence?” ...

Now, silence is the goal
     and the goal is a thought,
and thought is not silence.

When silence, just as peace,
     becomes an end in itself,
there is no silence,
     only striving for silence.

Then, silence, just as peace,
becomes an ideal and a thought,
     thought moving to the ideal.
And that is not silence.

Silence is when the goal,
     when there is no thought,
when there is no “self”.

Only in silence there is meditation,
     which is insight
to be seen
     by each one for himself,
if one would only see.

(paccattam veditabbo vinññūhi )