Meditation.

Yesterday I woke up early (after my hellish-tour of Mysore) to join Feline and As’il at a meditation class. Meditation is officially one of the most difficult things I’ve done since I’ve been here. We arrived at the Choe Khor Sum Ling Center and mingled with the monk. After a few minutes, he began the class with a “simple” meditation which lasted about 30 minutes, where we were to visualize the Buddha. By visualizing Buddha, you are attempting to conjure all positive aspects of a person. Similarly to a diver who visualizes executing his dive before the actual event, by visualizing positive aspects of a person, you are becoming closer to enlightenment.

You begin by sitting crisscross, hands clasped, right over left and resting in your lap. Your back is straight, but not strained. Chin is tilted down and eyes either gaze at the floor in front of you, or remain closed. The visualization has variations. You may think of a person who, in your mind, represents all positive aspects of humanity, a ball of light, or Buddha himself. The monk talked us through the description of Buddha. “Imagine a golden throne. On each corner rests a white marble lion. The chair is encapsulated in jewels: diamonds, rubies, turquoise, sapphires…Now imagine a lotus flower sitting on the chair. It has 1,000 petals. On top of the flower is a crescent moon cushion and on top of that rests a radiant and glowing orb. Buddha rests upon this orb. He sits with his right hand resting on his right knee, his left holding a bowl of nectar….” The monk then goes on to describe Buddha’s features, from the tone of his skin to the expression of his lips.

During this description, I am able to concentrate pretty well. I get into the design of the chair, and the intricacies of Buddha’s features. But then, my mind can’t help but wander. “I wonder how much a Thanka costs…I hope we go to the silk shop today after this class…no…Buddha….nectar….glowing light….I should really work-out, sitting like this is killing me….wisdom, compassion, patience….I need to practice more patience….Shit! My foot is asleep!!” Clearly, I need more practice.

After the initial meditation, the Monk taught us about Bodhicitta, or the wish to attain complete enlightenment in order to be of benefit to all conscious beings in existence who have not reached Buddhahood yet. To reach Bodhicitta is to bring happiness to others and relieve them from suffering. We read from a Buddhist prayer book, chanted a mantra slowly, 21 times, (…om mone mone maha mone…) and then went into our second meditation.

I hate to say it, but I definitely dozed of one or two times in my second meditation and when it was over, I couldn’t move my leg.

I think it is definitely something I’ll do again, but I cannot stress how difficult it was to concentrate. They say that when you first start, you should start in minute-increments, so perhaps the three hour training was a little over-zealous. But, it was a good experience. When in India, right?!

Peace. Love. Buddha.