Tergar Asia 8 Days Retreat in Thailand (2018) - 2

【2018泰國八日禪明就仁波切 ・第二日開示摘要】

■只是放鬆vs.開放的覺知
有多少人沒上過「開心禪」，是以「每天禪修超過五年」的資格，來參加「解脫道」課程？

那你可能不知道什麼是「開放的覺知」，我要先說一下，因為這對心性教法很重要。

開放的覺知，就是讓你的心處於原本的狀態（Be as it is）。

我們來做兩個練習，一個是「只是放鬆」，一個是「開放的覺知」：

首先，是「就這樣待著」，這不是「開放的覺知」哦，只是放鬆。

打個比方，那就像我們做完運動，那種驟然放鬆的感覺。

或者是上了一天班，還要擠巴士回家，好不容易回到家，呼，往沙發上一坐，終於放輕鬆了。

或者像你們做功課，每次做一小時，覺得好久啊，叮！聽到計時鐘響起來，時間終於到了，覺得好輕鬆啊。

這時終於感受到禪修典籍裡所說的：「放下禪修，比禪修還輕鬆」。

接著我們來練習這種「只是放鬆」：

兩手這樣交握著，緊緊握著。
深吸一口氣，然後屏住呼吸一會兒。

呼，手放開，自然呼吸，
放鬆，這樣休息幾秒，
心是怎樣就怎樣的和它待在一起。
不用禪修，多好啊。

再練習一次。
緊握雙手，深呼吸，屏住氣，停一會兒。

放手，自然呼吸。

怎麼樣，覺得很放鬆？有多少人覺得「這比禪修更放鬆」？我也這樣覺得。

接下來第二種練習，是「開放的覺知」，現在要教大家了。

這裡有個大秘密，是什麼？那就是我「已經」教完「開放覺知」了。

剛才「只是放鬆」就是「開放覺知」，這就是我們常說的「無修，就是最好的禪修」。

心性教法裡常說：「無散，無修，無造作」。

只要不丟失，就不需要刻意禪修；不散亂，也不禪修。

接著是第三句「無造作」，心是怎樣就怎樣的跟它在一起，心清明也可以、不清明也可以，有念頭也可以、沒念頭也可以，只是和它待在一起。

■內在的電視

開心禪很重要的部分，是如何去看情緒和念頭。

如果你沒參加過開心禪，但有超過五年以上的禪修經驗，通常你會用觀呼吸或觀佛像的方法，當我們觀呼吸時，心知道自己在吸氣、呼氣，專注在呼吸上；

看念頭就像觀呼吸一樣，把心專注在念頭上，看看起了什麼念頭，比如「有披薩」、「沒披薩」、「我愛披薩」、「我不愛披薩」等等，現在你們多少人有念頭？

大家都舉手了，「知道自己有念頭」就是念頭禪修。

保持禪修坐姿，
把心安住在開放覺知。

現在，就像觀呼吸那樣，
請看著你的念頭。

怎麼樣？有多少人一看念頭，念頭就消失了，出現了一個空隙？

有多少人看得見念頭？看得見、看不見都一樣，禪修的精華是覺知，

看不見就有個空隙，那就是開放的覺知。

那很好，不用特別找念頭，沒有念頭，就跟「沒有念頭」在一起。這個經驗就像等巴士，沒有巴士就沒有巴士，你看念頭但沒念頭，很好，這時你沒念頭但也沒忘失。

有些人看念頭、也看見念頭了，那也很好，就像看電視、電影一樣，你看著一個360度大螢幕，而且是3D的，當你看著電影，你就不在電影裡了，你看著情緒念頭，你就不在情緒念頭裡了，這就像我們以前說過很多次的「看得見河流，你已經不在河流裡了」。雖然你不在河流中，但可以讓河繼續流，只要看著，不必阻擋它們發生。

現在情緒和念頭，就成了覺知、專注、正念的對境，所以不需要阻擋它們。

我稱它們是「內在的電視」，還是免費的，有個大螢幕，而且是3D的，小偷也偷不走你內在的電視──只不過有個小問題，一再重播的都是老掉牙的舊片，一播再播，「要吃披薩」，「不吃披薩」，「醫生告訴我別吃披薩」……但把覺知帶進來之後，這樣無聊的節目即使一看再看，結果卻是大不相同。

我們要再做練習。這裡最重要的是覺知，看得見念頭、看不見念頭都沒關係，重點是覺知。

2019.09.10

https://www.facebook.com/TergarAsia/posts/647848932277239

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■Just relax versus Open awareness

How many of you have never attended the Joy of Living course, but you have fulfilled the requirement for joining the Path of Liberation retreat by having a daily meditation practice for a minimum of five years?

 As such, you may not have heard of "open awareness", which I am going to explain to you now because this is a very important practice for receiving the nature of mind teachings.

Open awareness is allowing your mind to "be as it is".

Let's try two practices. One is "just relax" and the other one is " open awareness".

First, you allow yourself to be "just as it is". Please note this is not the "open awareness" meditation, and so you just relax.

Let me give you some examples. 

The first one is, it is that kind of deep relaxation you feel just after physical exercise. 

Another one is "You've worked for a long hard day, and you have to squeeze into a jam-packed bus in order to go home. Eventually when you reach home, you lie onto the sofa and at last, you can finally relax."

The third example is "You need to complete your one-hour meditation homework. It lasts so long... Ding! When you hear the bell rings, you know the practice is finally over and you feel so relaxed! Now you can really taste the meaning of a teaching in the classical meditation doctrine "Letting go of the meditation is more relaxing than the meditation itself."

Now, we shall practice "just relax" :

First, interlock your fingers forcefully and tightly together to make a fist. Then inhale deeply and hold your breath for a while.

Exhale, release your hands and breathe naturally. Relax and rest just like this for a few seconds. Just let your mind be as it is and be with it. You don't have to meditate. How nice!

Let's practice this one more time. Interlock your fingers tightly together, then inhale deeply and hold your breath for a while.

Release your hands, then breathe naturally.

How was it? Do you feel very relaxed? How many of you feel that this is more relaxing than meditation? I feel the same way too!

Next, let's practice "open awareness", which I am going to teach you now.

Actually, there is a big secret here. What is the big secret? 

It is "I've already taught you open awareness!" 

The "just relax" we did earlier is the "open awareness". 

This is what we have always said, that "Non meditation is the best meditation."

In the nature of mind teaching, it always says "Not lost, not meditating, and uncontrived." 

If you are not lost, then you don't need to meditate - Non distracted and non meditation. 

The third point is "uncontrived". 

Whatever the state of your mind, just be with that state - clarity is okay, non-clarity is okay; having thoughts is okay, not having thoughts is also okay. Just be with your mind.

■Inner Television

A very important part of the Joy of Living course is to learn how to watch thoughts and emotions. 

If you have not attended the Joy of Living course, but you have a meditation practice for over five years, then most likely you practice meditation by watching your breath or visualizing a buddha statue. 

When we watch our breath, our mind knows we are breathing in, breathing out, and we place our focus on the breath. 

Watching your thoughts is similar to watching your breath - allow your mind to focus on your thoughts, and watch what thoughts have arisen. 

For example, "pizza" , "no pizza", "I love pizza", "I don't love pizza"...etc. Now, how many of you have thoughts? All of you have raised your hands.

 "To know you have thoughts" - that is the meditation on thoughts.

Keep your meditation posture, and rest your mind in open awareness. Just like watching your breath, now watch your thoughts.

How was it? How many of you experienced that as soon as you tried to watch your thoughts, your thoughts disappeared and you noticed there was a gap? How many of you could watch your thoughts?

Whether you can watch your thoughts or not, it is the same. 

The essence of meditation is awareness. When you cannot see any thoughts and there is a gap, that is open awareness. That's very good - you don't have to look specially for thoughts.

 If you don't have thoughts, then stay with "no thoughts". 

This experience is similar to waiting for a bus - if there is no bus, there is no bus. 

When you look for thoughts but there are no thoughts, that's very good. That means you don't have thoughts but you are not lost.

For some people, when they look for thoughts and they can see thoughts. That's very good too.

It's like watching the television or a movie - you are looking at a huge, 360-degree screen, and it's 3D too.

When you are watching the movie, you are out of the movie. When you are watching your thoughts or emotions, you are not in the thought or emotion. 

This is the same as what we have talked about many times: "When you can see the river, you are out of the river." You are not in the river, and you can allow the river to continue to flow. You just have to look, so there is no need to block thoughts and emotions from arising.

As such, thoughts and emotions become the support for awareness, concentration and mindfulness. 

Therefore, there is no need to block them. I call this the "inner television", and it's free of charge! 

It has a huge screen, it's 3D, and no thief can steal your inner television from you! 

But, there is a small problem - it plays those old movies over and over, again and again... 

"I want pizza", "I won't eat pizza", "The doctor told me to stop eating pizza"... Yet if you bring in awareness, even though you watch these stale old movies again and again, the result will be totally different.

We have to practice once more. 

The most important thing in this practice is awareness. Whether you can see thoughts or not, it doesn't matter. Awareness is the most important.

(Excerpt from Mingyur Rinpoche's teachings on 10 Sep 2018 during the Tergar Asia 8 Days Retreat)

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