The first time I experienced deep silence was in the company of my teacher. For some years after that first experience, the only time I encountered deep silence was in proximity to my teacher. So it was only natural, I suppose, that I learned to associate profound silence as being something I got from my teacher, and not something that arose within me.
Good evening and welcome to Monday Group Meditation. We will be sitting from 7:30 to 10:00 PM EST. It is not necessary to sit for the entire extended time, which is set up to make it convenient for people in four North American Time Zones; sit for as long as you like and when it is most convenient for you. Monday Group Meditation is open to everyone, believers and non-believers, who are interested in gathering in silence. If you are new to meditation and would like to try it for yourself, Mindful Nature gave a good description of one way to meditate in an earlier diary, copied and pasted below:
"It is a matter of focusing attention mostly. In many traditions, the idea is to sit and focus on the rising and falling of the breath. Not controlling it, but sitting in a relaxed fashion and merely observing experiences of breathing, sounds, etc. Be aware of your thoughts, but don't engage in them. When your mind wanders (it will, often), then return to focus on breath and repeat."
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While there has been plenty of study and book learning on my spiritual path it seems as I age, I learn much differently. So in hindsight it appears my greatest spiritual learning has come through sitting with my teacher. This is more of a devotional or heart centered path rather than one of deep philosophical study. The following is an account of how the Trungpa lineage started which illustrates this type of teaching from the book Chogyam Trungpa, His Life and Vision, by Fabrice Midal:
The Trungpa lineage was founded by one of the disciples of a great Tibetan teacher named Trung Ma-se. Trung Ma-se had 11 heart disciples, called the “eight realized ones” and the “three idiots.” The “idiots” were his closest disciples because they provided personal service. They were known for their devotion rather than their learnedness; thus they were called idiots. Among the three idiots was the first Trungpa, Kunga Gyaltsen. As he was Trung Ma-se’s attendant he received the title “Trungpa,” an honorific term meaning “he who is close to the teacher.” By staying close to the teacher, the first Trungpa actually received a high level of instruction in that realm of learning that lies beyond words and is above all a direct experience.
The history of my relationship with deep silence, and my understanding that it came from my teacher is one that included geography, a good deal of travel, the practice of Guru Yoga and all manner of projection, until I finally started catching on that it was within me. And folks, it hasn’t actually been that long since I started to get it. So just in case there is any doubt, and even though I am not my teacher's personal attendant, I still really am an “idiot.” (The kinder name for this type of student is a Bhakti, or devotional practitioner, but I'm really OK with Idiot.) Even though I now know that deep silence is within me, I still have not realized it to any where near the degree my teacher has. I know this, you’ve probably already guessed this, from sitting with my teacher.
So this evening I'd like to share a short video of Adyashanti with a very helpful 3 minute teaching on Silence. I should have watched it years ago! Unfortunately embedding is turned off so you will have to follow the link:
https://www.youtube.com/...