cultivating attention

attentive awareness

the practice of meditation is the study of what is going on. what’s going on is very important.

Thich Nhat Hahn

when we look into how meditation is described in the Buddhist traditions, we notice a pattern. in all the descriptions there are two aspects, a stabilizing aspect and a clarifying aspect. in other words, an open resting mind, and alertness. Buddhism calls this shamatha-vipashyana. an appropriate translation, in terms of what we are discussing here, would be attentive-awareness, or mindful-awareness. from this we can see that two functions of mind are being trained. the first consists of the mental functions around focusing and holding the object of meditation (mindfulness or attentiveness). the second entails clarifying and expanding awareness. we stabilize our mind by holding our meditation object in attention, and when we expand awareness, insight emerges.

the metaphor of a glass of water with mud at the bottom, that we looked at in why meditate and how, is a good way of thinking about the emergence of insight. if you stir the water, it will become cloudy and mud-colored. if you leave it to settle, the water and mud will slowly separate, and two colors will appear: that of the mud at the bottom, and the clear water above. when the mind is churned and full of thought, threat, strong desire, strong emotion, or rumination, the awareness is muddy and reactive. things cannot be seen for what they are because there is too much expectation and interpretation. the mind is in a cloud of activity, need, and fear. we are training to hold the mind stable, so that it can settle, and we are training our awareness to be deeply refined in noticing, seeing more clearly, or “seeing into”.

whereas in daily life mindfulness hones sensitivity and interpersonal skill, in meditation mindfulness increases the capacity to hold an object (e.g. the breath) in attention and clarify mental processes. in meditation, mindfulness attends, and awareness knows-experiences such attending. what we are training is the stability of attending (holding the object of meditation without distraction) and the clarity of attention (increasing depth of knowing-experiencing).

abiding with

the word “shamatha” (from shamatha-vipashyana) literally means “abiding with.” at its heart, attention is abiding or becoming familiar with its object. whatever our object is, that is what we become familiar with. initially, this object is our breathing; its movement/flow and sensation. later, it becomes mind itself. we abide with our experience as it is. we become familiar with ourselves, as we are.

in terms of thought and feeling, meditation is a reset tool. we generally tend to follow our thinking or feeling. we let it lead us to where it seeks to go and our emotions exaggerate or minimize experience. meditation brings us back to here and now, undistracted by thought or feeling; just the full experience of now. whatever thought or feeling arises in this now space, we become familiar with. the content of the thought or feeling is not important, but what is important is what the process can tell us about ourselves. we see, right now, who we are and how we respond to our circumstance, again and again. we are paying attention to our self.

attention is energy, in the same way that emotion is energy. our practice is to bring this attentive energy to what is happening in our experience. attention is not thinking. if we try to think our way into attention we just end up analyzing. we have to feel-know attention. we are feeling and noticing what is happening in our current experience, and at the same time keeping the energy of attention alive in order to feel-know the next experience. as we do this, we become aware of our habitual patterns. if we notice, again and again, what we do to ourselves and others as a result of our habitual patterns, change will come naturally.

the present moment, you will find, is limitless. it seems paradoxical that expansion and settledness can happen as we learn to return to the present moment, especially when what comes up in the present moment is anger or sadness or fear. but it is precisely through this act of coming back to the present that we can open to love and joy and dynamism of life. in other words, meditation brings us the blessing of equanimity, or emotional balance.

Pema Chödrön

Ken McCleod reminds us that cultivating attention is like cultivating a flower. we don’t need to make the flower grow, we need only supply the right conditions and the growth will happen naturally. he gives us a beautiful formula for supplying the right conditions.

"return to what is already there and rest."

we notice the level of relaxation already available to attention, and we rest in it. when we get distracted, we simply return to this sense of resting in the breath. we may be able to reach this level of attentiveness one day, and not the following day, leading to feelings of frustration. here we can simply apply the formula again: find the deepest sense of resting in this very moment, and rest there. the formula holds whether the attentive abidance is limited or deepening. whatever abidance is available, in this moment, rest there. whatever form of peace can be reached, rest there.

return to the natural awareness of breath and rest. don’t think of meditation as holding attention on the breath. think of it as placing attention on the breath and resting, over and over again. three qualities will serve you well: patience as you realize that you keep falling into distraction, gentleness as you realize that you can’t avoid some distraction, and a sense of humor as you observe that the mind is like a monkey.

Ken McCleod

the recognition that the mind is like a monkey is mindfulness. in other words, mindfulness is being able to observe the mind monkeying around without getting lost in the monkeying. we notice what is happening, and then we let it go. the experience of mindfulness, no matter how brief, has consequences. the more you access it, the more you begin to know the experience of mindfulness, and the more your confidence that you can access (allow) it grows. more importantly, gradually you realize that thinking is not so necessary or important. in fact, it mostly gets in the way. you may also slowly begin to notice that if you try to cling to the experience of mindfulness, it disappears. at this stage, mindfulness is the result of your practice, and not yet the method. for the moment, the method is to return the attention to the sensation of breathing. with regular practice attention will naturally begin to increase in daily activity, and we will become aware of the difference between being in thinking and being in attention. our practice has to ripen and deepen in order to become more stabilized in presence and being.

we are here to find that dimension within ourselves that is deeper than thought.

Eckhart Tolle

unconditional friendliness

you’ll remember from our discussion on mindfulness that the nature of mindfulness is non-judgment. notice how this is continually changing in your experience. one moment you accept, or even become attached to your experience, and the next moment you are resistant and pushing the experience away. when you can see the reality of this, you may also sense the need for a practice that stabilizes the mind and increases awareness; a mind that sees more because it is peaceful.

people describe their experience of meditation in all kinds of ways. sometimes they see it as a refuge, and at other times as a threat. some even find it oppressive. whatever your description is, it gives you an idea of the level of friendliness you bring to the experience. in the end, meditation is simply a state of mind with no emotional qualities. whatever you bring to the situation is what you will find there. what meditation reveals over time is that the more unconditional friendliness we can bring to the situation, the deeper will be the settledness of mind that can be accessed. meditation teaches us that there is so much to become friendly with, so much to fully allow ourselves to experience and accept as part of reality.

in meditation we discover that we are sometimes wise and sometimes confused. we come to know both as states of mind, rather than an indication of a “right” or a “wrong.” gradually our desire increases to be free of the influence of aggression, desire, hope, fear, anxiety, jealousy, or any other kind of afflicted emotion.

our steadfastness in giving ourselves to this practice is the very willingness to stay with our experience, rather than trying to judge it or change it; being open rather than grasping or pushing away.

meditation accepts us just as we are – in both our tantrums and our bad habits, in our love and commitments and happiness. it allows us to have a more flexible identity because we learn to accept ourselves and all of our human experience with more tenderness and openness. we learn to accept the present moment with an open heart. every moment is incredibly unique and fresh, and when we drop into the moment, as meditation allows us to do, we learn how to truly taste this tender and mysterious life that we share together.”

Pema Chödrön

awareness

whenever we focus our attention on something, it dominates our conscious experience. at the same time, however, we can be more generally aware of things in the background. for example, right now your attention is focused on what you’re reading. at the same time you’re also aware of other sights, sounds, smells, and sensations in the periphery.

Culdasa

remember that attention has two qualities, stability and clarity. stability in attention is called mindfulness and clarity in attention is called awareness (shamatha-vipashyana). “awareness" is the usual translation of vipashyana, though sometimes it is translated as “insight”. the deeper the stillness of our mind, the more likely it will be that we notice or see what we could not before. this is the root of insight.

McCleod writes: “awareness has an inclusive quality that is essential to opening to the mystery of being. to generate the feeling of inclusive awareness, put a small object such as a pen in front of you. rest your attention on it. without taking your eyes or attention away from the pen, let your field of vision expand to include what is near it – the top of the desk and the objects on it. let your field of vision continue to expand without taking your eyes away from the pen until you can see everything in your field of vision.”

to expand on the practice above, repeat the steps, and then include awareness of the breathing cycle in addition to awareness of the visual field. feel the quality of the mind as you begin, and then again when awareness is most quiet and expanded. if you notice any difference in the two states, you may grasp why Buddhism regards the mind as flexible and workable. we are all already trained to grasp, to be anxious, to be sad, to be greedy, to react angrily to what we find provocative. through meditation, we can train the mind to be present, to see more deeply into experience, and to come home to itself; to accept its experience and stay with such experience.

the more often you listen to your discriminating awareness, the more easily you will be able to change your negative moods yourself, see through them, and even laugh at them for the absurd dramas and ridiculous illusions that they are.
gradually you will find yourself able to free yourself more and more quickly from the dark emotions that have ruled your life, and this ability to do so is the greatest miracle of all. 

Sogyal Rinpoche

as much as we are naturally aware, not many of us are aware of what is happening in our awareness. the shift into awareness of awareness comes naturally when the mind becomes deeply settled. we experience a sense of shifting into a more expansive or three-dimensional space. this shift marks our stepping into awareness with stable attention. mindfulness remains with its object, and awareness expands, enabling us to know what is happening in our experience.

so, what does awareness expand into?

the four foundations of mindfulness

though we usually begin our practice by focusing on the breath (part of body awareness), our meditation state needs to expand to include all four foundations of mindfulness. each is a realm of experience all by itself. gradually, we incorporate these into awareness.

mindfulness of body

the body grounds us in experience. we are informed by the five senses, and aware of bodily sensations and perceptions. mindfulness of the body entails openness to experience. many people who begin to practice are amazed by how unaware they are of their body they have been, and some may even struggle to bring awareness to certain regions of the body. we can gradually deepen this awareness, and by doing so, expand our openness. awareness of the breath is already part of body awareness. we can also become aware of the inner body and physical sensations like tightness, pain, and relaxation. we allow ourselves to rest in whatever we find, relaxing with pain or discomfort.

it is an openness that has a base, a foundation. a quality of expansive awareness develops through mindfulness of body — a sense of being settled and of therefore being able to afford to open out.

Chögyam Trungpa

mindfulness of feeling

the second foundation of mindfulness is the mindfulness of feeling. feeling is not the same as emotion in this context. we are basically interested in three rudimentary feelings: attraction to what we experience as pleasant, aversion or resistance to what we experience as unpleasant, and neutrality or indifference to experience. we are interested in our attitude to the present experience. we acknowledge our experience, and our attitude towards it, and at the same time, let it go. we develop willingness to bring awareness to the next moment of experience, willingness to be with our experience and familiarize ourselves.

you keep your eyes open and simply let yourself be where you are. there are no imaginations involved with this approach. you just go through with your situation as it is… you are tuning in simply and directly to your process of life. this practice is the essence of here and now.

Chögyam Trungpa

mindfulness of mental activity

now we’re getting to thought and feeling (emotion). in meditation we allow ourselves to be aware of the processes happening in mind, including thought, feeling, perception, and sensation. can you stay aware of the breathing sensation as thought and feelings appear? can you take note of what the thought/feeling communicates, and then let go again? we don’t need to force our mind towards a particular object, we simply bring it back from its dreamworld into now-reality, again and again. we are continually returning to resting with our current reality. what is your mood, or attitude? is there strong emotion? what does it tell you about how to manage this moment? what does the thought process tell you about this moment and your relationship to yourself? we explore these questions by watching or witnessing our mental activity, staying self-aware, curious, and open to experience, from moment to moment.

the intelligence of the fourth foundation is a sense of light-handedness. if you open the windows and doors of a room the right amount, you can maintain the interior feeling of roominess and, at the same time, have freshness from outside.

Chögyam Trungpa

now we simply continue our wakefulness, maintaining the discipline of not being lost in daydreaming, and not stalking ourselves with anxious vigilance. we maintain a balance between accuracy and freedom. Shunryu Suzuki says the mind is like an open field, and our object is like a cow in the field. he suggests that we give this cow a wide pasture. this describes a light-handed approach to attending to specifics. mindfulness of experience means being with our bodymind as a whole, maintaining awareness of now to see the truth of this current moment. in doing so, we begin to see what nowness really means and feels like.

it is not necessary to concentrate on the breath, or later, the mind. give the breath about one quarter of your attention, with the other three quarters quietly and spaciously relaxed, aware of all the information reaching bodymind. you can attain the feeling of this state by imagining that you are walking up some stairs whilst balancing a tray on your hand. you’re giving about a quarter of your attention to balancing the objects on the tray, and about three quarters of your attention to moving the body up the stairs. your environmental awareness is sharp and clear. as you become more mindful of your experience, you will find that you become more and more present, and feel energized by the meditation.

stay present, and continue to be the observer of what’s happening inside you. become aware not only of the emotional pain but also of ‘the one who observes,’ the silent watcher. this is the power of Now, the power of your conscious presence.

Eckhart Tolle

the big thought

so, you’re meditating, and suddenly “the big thought” arises; the one you break the rule for and make a note of in the note pad lying next to you. soon enough there will be another big thought, the one you must not forget, the one this session has bestowed upon you. can you see what is happening here? it happens to all of us, and it illustrates something about the power of this practice. what happens if you fail to write down all those big important thoughts? some you may forget. some you may remember later during the day and feel grateful for. some you may remember and be astonished that you ever considered them important. but slowly, a truth dawns. as you keep letting go of all the big important thoughts, life seems easier, and more spacious. you are starting to discover the power of not-knowing, the power of letting be.

if you want to taste deep silence, then open all of your senses. feeling everything all at once is a deeper mindfulness than specific and focused attention.

Adyashanti

thinking is not necessary, and neither is concentration. all you have to do is rest and feel the breath going in and out. later, you can rest in observing the mind. mindfulness gives us the first degree of presence. we’ve discovered the ability of being in attention. though it may not even be a minute, you will know how different the state feels from confused reactive thinking. now we want to extend this experience, or return to it, again and again.

in pristine awareness, awareness and experience are not separate. gone is the sense of separation, of internal emptiness, or of not being quite present. we are awake and present. we may not be able to say exactly what we are or what the experience is — hence, the mystery of being — but in the moment of presence, questions about origin, meaning, value, and purpose do not arise. we know, and that’s it.

Ken McCleod

the effort

the only effort we need to bring to this process, continually, is to simply come back to direct experience. difficulties like sleepiness, strong emotion, or anxious thought will arise, and we can simply invite ourselves back to watching all of it; looking into it, not in an analyzing way, but simply recognizing the process that is taking place and responding to it. gradually, we strengthen the capacity to stay present no matter what. this process underlies all transformation: mind gradually adjusts to difficult experience, allowing it to be there, and simultaneously returning to calm and stable attention.

just listen to thought, recognize its process without following it. just register feeling, become warm and inviting to it. when we really do this, it is impossible to become bored. everything changes continually, like clouds in the sky. yet, the meditation state itself remains vastly open. we come to recognize this “vastly open” and receptive state and simply rest in it.

being here now is our objective, but this is not something we can do by sheer effort or force of will. we are not trying to make something happen, or change what is happening, as that would be “not here now.” quite the opposite. the paradoxical effort we make is to relax, rest with, and get out of the way, so that the vastly open space can manifest. in Zen this is known as “wei-wu-wei”: the action of nonaction. as an experiment, notice all the things you think you should do in order to get to “here now.” do those things. notice how they invariably take you further away from being here now.

in the case of meditation, trying to develop an inspiration that is based on wanting to forget one’s pain and on trying to make one’s practice thrive on a sense of continual accomplishment is quite immature. on the other hand, too much solemnity and dutifulness creates a lifeless and narrow outlook and a stale psychological environment.

Chögyam Trungpa

maturing in practice

there are different systems of stages associated with the cultivation of deeper attention. the traditional Buddhist teachings outline nine stages. Ken McCleod identifies five stages, shown underneath. the number of stages is not important, what is important is that is that there is an observable progression in meditative practice. all the Buddhist schools indicate that, with practice, attention becomes gradually more continuous, and awareness gradually clarifies or penetrates. our ability to stay present in the movement of feeling and thought grows and deepens. the need to apply effort gradually decreases, and finally we’re able to bring the state into our daily activities. this is a life-long process, and although we may be aware of an increase in skill, the serious student will at no point feel that they’ve reached some kind of destination. rather, an increase in being present to the journey of life continually unfolds.

in the first stage, where we might need to forcefully apply ourselves to the practice, we may find mental processes in conflict, blocked energy, and emotional clinging (wanting or not wanting experience). we will be looking more deeply into these difficulties in the next program. by the middle stage, our practice has become quite stable, and we find more enjoyment in it. we may notice that it helps to increase energy, and it becomes easier to access and stabilize the mind.

in the beginning it is usually wise to stick to a single method. the temptation is to feel that your “method” is not working, and then find another, skipping from one teacher or practice to another looking for what basically amounts to a shortcut that does not exist. bare attention (we’ve discussed this under practicing mindfulness) is an age-old, tried and tested practice. meditation is not about making ourselves feel better, or creating a bubble of safety from difficult experience. the effort of meditation is to have the mind stable and clear in all circumstance. our practice, therefore, is not about changing the externals when we don’t feel well, but to change our relationship towards that very “not well” feeling. we are not escaping from experience into a cocoon, but bringing ourselves more deeply into experience, and learning to be with it, whether it is easy or not.

competence in meditation is not measured by how much you sit, or what practices you are doing, but rather simply by your capacity to keep presence going when things are rough and reactive, whether the reactivity is happening in you or in another. once you begin to feel this competence, your practice becomes even more powerful and self-regulating. it then becomes obvious that, though there is no need to look for difficulty, when it inevitably arrives at your doorstep, it is meant for you. we begin to notice how much we turn away, and we become curious about turning towards. we become true to this longing to relate with reality, just as it is, right now. we become present.

meditation practice is not a matter of trying to produce a hypnotic state of mind or create a sense of restfulness. trying to achieve a restful state of mind reflects a mentality of poverty. seeking a restful state of mind, one is on guard against restlessness. there is a constant sense of paranoia and limitations. we feel a need to be on guard against the sudden fits of passion or aggression which might take us over, make us lose control. this guarding process limits the scope of the mind by not accepting whatever comes. instead, meditation should reflect a mentality of richness in the sense of using everything that occurs in the state of mind. 

Chögyam Trungpa

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