Meditation Beyond Practice
Seeing the teachings, tools and measures for what they are
The Buddha’s Raft Parable
A man travelling along a path came across a vast flowing river.
As he stood at the edge of the river bank, he felt fear and discomfort. But the other side appeared safe and inviting, so he decided to find a way across.
The traveller searched up and down the river bank for a boat or a bridge. He found neither.
The difficulty did not deter or dismay him, though. The desire to cross was strong. The sincerity alive in him.
So with great effort, he gathered grass, twigs, sticks and branches and bound them together to make a simple raft.
With complete trust in the raft to keep himself afloat, the travelling man paddled across the river and met the safety of the other side, to continue his journey on dry land.
But now, what would he do with the makeshift raft he so carefully crafted?
Would he drag the raft along with him as he continued his path on dry land or leave it behind?
He would leave the raft he created behind.
Skilful Means, Not Skilful Ends
There are many ways to make sense of Buddha’s raft parable, but the interpretation that resonates with me relates to a fixation on skills, teachings and measures. Absorption to the point that I turn the means into ends in themselves and as a result, continue dragging my rafts along unnecessarily.
Goodhart’s Law
The raft problem reminds me of a concept from behavioural psychology called Goodhart’s Law. The adage reminds us that ‘when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure’.
This isn’t to say that instruments of measure aren’t necessary. They can be very effective in helping me focus and make progress. But too often, I find my attention captured by the instruments themselves. Absorbed—because they are more visible, controllable and easier to discuss. And as a result, I lose sight of the path.
Some examples of Goodhart-like measures related to meditation:
1. Time on the Cushion
Spending time sitting on the cushion in silence is necessary for meditative insight. I have found that tracking one’s duration and frequency can be an extremely effective tool in opening the door to meditation. I’ve seen many others benefit from these sorts of measures too. The 100 Days of Sitting group is a demonstrative example of this.
And yet, at times, I find myself fixating on the number or duration of sits, to the point where the measurement instrument becomes an end in itself. Which is, of course complete nonsense. No one gets a prize at the end of life for having sat for the longest amount of time. It’s a status game created by my mind acting out of ignorance, separation and a sense of lack. I see that, and yet it is so easy to get caught up in the games of measures, numbers and comparisons.
2. Focusing on the Breath
I see so many people caught in this one. I was for a long time too. What began as an instrumental teaching for helping me see beyond the clutches of captured thought eventually became a success measure in itself that held me back from deeper understanding.
I started putting effort into maintaining my focus on the feeling of breathing for as long as possible. I viewed my sits as successful when I could pay attention to my breath for a longer period than the reference point I held in mind.
Again, turning attention to my breathing is a powerful instrument in service of liberation. BUT, it isn’t the goal in itself. My life’s purpose isn’t to keep my attention on my breath for as long as possible. It sounds silly to even entertain that possibility. And yet when I reflect, it is clear that I was caught in a fixation on the successful breathe-focus for a while as if it was an end in itself.
I also see the same sort of thing happening in yoga (pose perfection), the Jhana’s (fixation on reaching certain mental states) and dharma teachings (clinging to spiritual concepts well beyond their use).
Don’t get trapped by the skilful means. Leave the raft on the river bank once it has fulfilled its use, and carry on along the path.
Meditation Beyond Measurable Practice
Concentration exercises (like focusing on the breath) are a helpful first stage on the meditative path. The problem is that their popularity and positioning have painted a picture of meditation as a practice rather than an effect (or a felt understanding or a way of being). This is one of the main reasons, so many people get stuck trying to tirelessly get better at ‘meditation’.
To be clear:
Meditation is ‘being’, but because of its association with practice, it turns into ‘doing’.
The truth is that no amount of doing (on its own) will ever lead to being. Doing (sitting, concentrating, praying, allowing) can open the door to being, but you cannot walk through. To walk through ‘effortless non-action’ is required. A felt understanding of one’s true nature is required. Sincere and genuine desire is required.
As Krishnamurti said:
I am afraid the word meditation has been so misused. There are so many systems of meditation—the Tibetan, the Chinese, the Hindu, the Buddhist—I don’t know what you mean by meditation. To me, meditation is something that cannot be cultivated or practised, following a system. It must come naturally, like a flower that blooms. You cannot force it.
Mindless Meditation
Seeing this, it becomes clear that meditation is more like mindlessness than mindfulness. It is more similar to an effortlessly permeating state of flow than an effortful state of single-pointed concentration. More like water, less like a rock. An opening up, rather than closing down.
This opening up arrives when there is understanding. Not conceptual understanding in the form of particular linear streams of discursive thought, perceptions or other sorts of mental objects. Real understanding. Understanding felt in the bones of being.
Nama Rupa Sat-Chit-Ananda, friends.
Being
Don’t do to try be,
Do to understand,
Understand to be,
Be to do-be-do 🕺
Take care,
David
Art by me (with a little help from my AI friends over at Midjourney)
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Fantastic insight. I love this distinction: “meditation is more like mindlessness than mindfulness”!