perceptions

Perception

Gill Washington Buddhist Writings, Gill Washington, Meditation, Mindfulness, Practice, Spirituality, Suffering, Thich Nhat Hanh , , , 0 Comment
Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh spoke of perceptions when I went to listen to him in London on my birthday in October 2000, and what he had to say has stuck with me all of these years. He said that we see everything through our perceptions, and they are nearly always wrong.  This was brought home to me again  when reading Byron Katie’s work. The first question she says to ask about anything we are facing is ‘is that true?’ It is amazing how many thoughts can float through our minds each day, and when the question ‘is that true?’ is asked, the answer is ‘no’.

~ gill

The following is from The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching
by Thich Nhat Hanh

Our perceptions are conditioned by the many afflictions that are present in us: ignorance, craving, hatred, anger, jealousy, fear, habit energies, etc. We perceive phenomena on the basis of our lack of insight into the nature of impermanence and interbeing. Practicing mindfulness, concentration, and deep looking, we can discover the errors of our perceptions and free ourselves from fear and clinging. All suffering is born from wrong perceptions. Understanding, the fruit of meditation, can dissolve our wrong perceptions and liberate us. We have to be alert always and never seek refuge in our perceptions.

 

Encouragement to Meditation

Gill Washington Ajahn Sumedho, Buddhist Writings, Meditation, Spirituality , , , , 0 Comment

Excerpted from  Intuitive Awareness

By Ajahn Sumedho

Then there is this encouragement to what we call ‘meditation’. This word ‘meditation’ can mean all kinds of things. It’s a word that includes any kind of mental practices, good or bad. But when I use this word, what I’m mainly using it for is that sense of centring, that sense of establishing, resting in the centre. The only way that one can really do that is not to try and think about it and analyse it; you have to trust in just a simple act of attention, of awareness. It’s so simple and so direct that our complicated minds get very confused.

“What’s he talking about? I’ve never seen any still point. I’ve never found a still point in me. When I sit and meditate, there’s nothing still about it.” But there’s an awareness of that. Even if you think you’ve never had a still point or you’re a confused, messed-up character that really can’t meditate, trust in the awareness of that very perception. That’s why I encourage, whatever you think you are, to think it deliberately; really explore the kind of perceptions you have of yourself, so that they’re not just habitually going through your mind and you’re either believing them or trying to get rid of them. The more we try to get rid of personalities, the more confused we get. If you assume that you’ve got to get rid of your personality in some way because it’s an illusion, then you’re caught in another illusion, that “I’m someone that has a personality that I’ve got to get rid of; I’m the personality that’s got to get rid of my personality.” It doesn’t get anywhere – ridiculous. It’s not a matter of getting rid of, but of knowing.

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