Some meditation techniques, especially the Zazen in Zen Buddhism, work towards a state of nothingness. A state of the mind in which no thoughts circulate, nothing pops up or in, there is just serene silence of thought.
One can compare it in the following way. Imagine a choppy sea, with white foaming waves crashing into each other noisily. Everything is in turmoil, up or down. The little boat of the mind is thrust back and forth, a clear path denied by buffeting winds. This is the normal mind, working and mulling over thoughts and inspirations.
In comparison the empty mind is a clear lake, not a ripple curles across the water. In its middle lies the boat of the mind, peacefully at ease, with no need to move, drifting along without care. The drifting clouds reflect in the still water and an absolute silence lies over the scene.
This state may seem absolutely unachievable if you think you know your mind as popping up with random thoughts here and there taking you on to long and winding journeys. However if you have managed to master to extract language from your thinking for a while and then even the imagery of concepts you may be closer than you think.
Entering the mind into this state of nothingness is admittedly a difficult task. Worries may lay on it. You may be in a hurry. Or any other matter may be bothering you. And yet with practice you will achieve the sense of nothingness. Give yourself a specific amount of time. Don't hurry. Eliminate all distractions. And start concentrating. Consciously feel your breath move in and out of your lungs. Feel your chest move in and out. If a thought enters and steals your mind away, notice it and return to concentration again. And move on, cutting back on thoughtprocesses.
Cut back on language, and finally on ideas until finally you reach the point where nothing is in your mind. No idea of nothingness, no image of nothingness, just nothing. There are days when you may hardly ever achieve this, on others it could be the easiest thing in the world. Like all things the only way to reach that point of stripping away the self is by trying.
And what use is this you could ask?
If you are stressed, worried or under pressure, returning to the state of clarity, emptiness simply stops everything. It interrupts thought processes, it lifts anything off your mind and may allow you to see it for a clearer viewpoint when you start afresh.
Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
- John Lennon.
One can compare it in the following way. Imagine a choppy sea, with white foaming waves crashing into each other noisily. Everything is in turmoil, up or down. The little boat of the mind is thrust back and forth, a clear path denied by buffeting winds. This is the normal mind, working and mulling over thoughts and inspirations.
In comparison the empty mind is a clear lake, not a ripple curles across the water. In its middle lies the boat of the mind, peacefully at ease, with no need to move, drifting along without care. The drifting clouds reflect in the still water and an absolute silence lies over the scene.
This state may seem absolutely unachievable if you think you know your mind as popping up with random thoughts here and there taking you on to long and winding journeys. However if you have managed to master to extract language from your thinking for a while and then even the imagery of concepts you may be closer than you think.
Entering the mind into this state of nothingness is admittedly a difficult task. Worries may lay on it. You may be in a hurry. Or any other matter may be bothering you. And yet with practice you will achieve the sense of nothingness. Give yourself a specific amount of time. Don't hurry. Eliminate all distractions. And start concentrating. Consciously feel your breath move in and out of your lungs. Feel your chest move in and out. If a thought enters and steals your mind away, notice it and return to concentration again. And move on, cutting back on thoughtprocesses.
Cut back on language, and finally on ideas until finally you reach the point where nothing is in your mind. No idea of nothingness, no image of nothingness, just nothing. There are days when you may hardly ever achieve this, on others it could be the easiest thing in the world. Like all things the only way to reach that point of stripping away the self is by trying.
And what use is this you could ask?
If you are stressed, worried or under pressure, returning to the state of clarity, emptiness simply stops everything. It interrupts thought processes, it lifts anything off your mind and may allow you to see it for a clearer viewpoint when you start afresh.
Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
- John Lennon.
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