Image courtesy santmat!
I was the first person to arrive. I took a seat in the second row towards the right hand side of the brightly lit room, facing a small table laden with a candle, a glass of water, a bell and a picture of a happy, old, bald man (who I would soon learn was the Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, founder of the New Kadampa Buddhist Tradition) wrapped in what looked like a maroon and yellow travelling cloak. There was a single chair next to the table, with a mic stand to the right hand side. There was a table loaded up with tea, coffee and cake.
It was already shaping up to be a great morning!
As fellow meditation novices started to trickle in and take their seats, my incredulity mounted. They were all very normal and friendly! There were people of all ages- guys and girls, husbands, wives, grandparents and grandaughters- even two strapping young blokes barely older than me sat in the row in front of me! It seems meditation knows no bounds when it comes to who is willing and able to learn to practise it!
The last person to enter the room was our teacher. I nearly fell off my chair. A lady! A real life, walking, talking, Buddhist nun! I could barely contain my excitement! I had been expecting a Dalai Lama-esque shrivelled old prune with a big grin and poor English. And yet in walked Kelsang Norjin (Norjin)- a seemingly middle-aged Australian woman in traditional Buddhist dress.
Norjin!
Image courtesy Maitreya Kadampa Buddhist Centre
Norjin's voice was so calming and soothing as we all settled down, gazing at her extectantly. Her big, lovely smile had a reassuring affect on me as she began the explain that the class was to be divided into three components- what is meditation and why do we practise it, how to meditate effectively, and techniques for concentration. In between sessions, there was to be two half hour coffee and cake breaks. Sweet!
Meditation and it's principals can be applied to everyday life, to make us happier, healthier and more peaceful. How good does that sound?! And so, without any further gilding of the lily, and the most miniscule further attempts at ado...
. . . . .
Image courtesy Indigo Children!
To put it very simply, the focus of meditation is 'single pointedness'- to learn to concentrate solely on one thing. Meditation can help to adjust the way that your unconcious mind thinks. You can learn to re-order your most instictive compulsions through meditation (I've already talked about the necessity of doing this, to train our thoughts to be born from love and gratitude- check out this article I wrote a recently!).
It's also really important to remember that meditation takes hard work! It is a long term goal, and you can't expect to achieve single-pointed thinking in your first or second sitting! It can take months, and requires a great deal of patience.
Meditation is really the process by which we learn inner peace. Here's a cool fact, my lovelies- if we can practise effective meditation, we can hook into inner peace on demand! Can you imagine feeling such an amazing state of contentment just because?! Whenever you want? How much better would your life be if you could choose to be peaceful?
The good news is- ready? brace for it!- the deepest state of your natural mind is ecstatic happiness! What really causes us suffering is what our mind is thinking. The problem is that our minds lose their manouverability when they become full of niggly, unhelpful things. But, don't despair! The fact that we are already peaceful in the deepest state of our natural minds is an encouraging thought. It means we already have the capacity to achieve inner peace through meditation!
I am going to experiment with these ideas over the next few months. I really enjoyed the meditation we did in class- I found myself feeling very relaxed and very content. I wasn't able to achieve single-pointedness (hey! It was my first go, give me a break!) but Norjin was very encouraging. She explained that it can take months to achieve even a flicker of single pointedness, and that mediation is a strict discipline.
Training your mind doesn't come easy- but how great would it be if we could all access inner peace and true happiness?! I really believe that meditation can make our lives better.
Here are some links to some great info and articles about meditation and it's benefits!
- Learn a bit more about the The Maitreya Kadampa Buddhist Centre (Adelaide)
- ABC's Fact File- Meditation
- This '10 Important Tips' guide is great for beginners!
- This article by Jim Hudson outlines his experience of meditation helping him through depression
- This is an amazing clip from an interview Oprah did with Dr Oz, where she dicusses transcendental meditation and how she has encouraged her staff to incorporate meditation in their lives
Give it a go with me!
Free carrot cake and glorious inner peace,
MJ x
