Parable of the Levitating Monk
A long time ago, a young man who was wanting to increase his spiritual abilities had heard of a monk that had mastered the art of levitation. He spent countless hours and traveled hundreds of miles trying to find this monk – whom he did eventually find. The monk was found hovering in a cross-legged position, over the middle of an active creek, over the stream of water.
Amazed, the young man asked the monk for lessons, he enthusiastically begged for the monk to teach him this levitation ability. The monk reluctantly agreed.
The monk stated, “All that you need to do is to go home and meditate! Just 20 minutes a day for two weeks, then come back to see me in two weeks, and then I will give you the magic words and you will be right up here – levitating with me!” Also bring me 10 gold coins.
The young man responded, “That’s it? That is all that I have to do?”
The monk then proclaimed, “Yep, that is all.” However, as the man started to walk away, the monk stated, “Oh yeah, just one more thing. Do not think about monkeys! Don’t think about me telling you not to think about monkeys, don’t visualize monkeys, nor bananas, nor anything that has to do with monkeys – that will mess up your whole meditation and prevent you from progress!”
The young man said, “Got it!”, and proceeded on the long journey home.
After the man arrived home, he sold most of his possessions to gain the money for the gold coins. Then he tried to meditate, but the voice of the monk talking about not thinking of monkeys came up. He spent many hours over the next two weeks trying to meditate without thinking about monkeys. It came to the point where the young man could barely sit down without the thought, or the image of a monkey coming up.
Yet, he figured that during all those hours of mediation each day, there must have been at least 20 minutes in there, per day, where he was able to accomplish his task of meditation without being distracted by monkeys.
He made his long trek to the monk, returning after two weeks, to find the monk in the same exact spot levitating above the creek. The monk said, “Did you do your meditation assignment?” The young man stated that he had. The young man then paid the monk the 10 gold coins. The monk had the man sit in the creek cross-legged and then chant “Om”. After an hour of sitting, the monk said, “Sorry, it appears that you can’t levitate!” The young man became very angry and demanded his money back, which the monk refused. The man cursed at the monk, calling him a fraud and con man. The monk calmly asked, “Did you think about monkey’s these past two weeks?”
The man responded to the question in rage, telling the monk, “To be honest, because of you that’s pretty much all that I have thought about these past two weeks! Why could you be so cruel as to deceive me?”
The monk calmly stated, “How did you think that you could accomplish something so difficult as levitation, if you can’t sit for 20 minutes and not think about monkeys?”.
Fortunately there are other ways to meditate, such as mindful meditation, therefore blocking out all distracting thoughts is not required. Furthermore, like I mentioned before, the more we try to push something away, the stronger it becomes!
A Brief Overview on Meditation / Types of Meditation
I want to be as brief and simple as I can when describing meditation.
Focused meditation:
In this type of meditation, one can use a word, phrase, or an object (a mantra, word, phrase, candle, the breath, a mental image). Typically, a person is seated comfortably. However, some practice sitting with legs folding underneath themselves, or in positions that can be uncomfortable for the beginner starting out.
Some traditions have instructions for breathing such as breathing slowly in through the nose and then breathing slowly out through the mouth. Some traditions have someone breath from their hara (a point near the belly button) and have the practitioner visualize opening his or her chakras (spiritual energy points on the spine).
Some traditions do a practice to try to cultivate spiritual energy and open what’s called the “third eye”, which is a gateway to a spiritual dimension of awareness. There are even traditions to which someone would try to learn to block out the senses or control involuntary bodily functions.
If you find that your mind wanders, which it will, the goal is to pull it back to the object of focus – as one would if a little puppy was being leash trained and went off the sidewalk to smell the fire hydrant. You would then pull the puppy back and continue the walk. In the same way, your mind is like a restless puppy that wonders, and you allow the mind to wonder but then pull it back to the focus point.
Over time, you find you have greater control over keeping your mind in check.
Moving meditation:
In this form of meditation, instead of sitting, a person gets to move. This can take the form of bodily positions (as in Hatha Yoga), or in martial art like poses (as in Tai Chi, Qigong, etc.). This is good for someone who has great challenge with sitting still or those who have problems with focusing attention.
This is a way to of Wu Wei in action. You can do the moves or postures and with repetition also be in a different state of consciousness.
Awareness meditation:
In awareness meditation, the goal is not to focus on a single point, but instead to have awareness of everything around you including your thoughts, your breathing, your emotions, your environment. This is often combined with some form of breath regulation, such as breathing slowly. This form can either be practiced sitting as in the focused meditation, or it can be practiced in postures and movements as in the moving meditations.
Mindfulness, as I described earlier, and as I practice it, is an awareness meditation, which can be done in line at the grocery store or while in a tense situation. You view your mind as a commentator and observe your thoughts and emotions. You view the situation around you as you would watching a movie and being a witness to yourself as if you were a character within the movie. It is a cross between the focused meditation of focusing on certain things (breathing) and some level of a detachment from thoughts, while maintaining an open awareness of that which is going on around you.
Keep in mind that I really simplified the various forms of mediations out there and the spectrum is vast. There are guided visual meditations, tension and relaxation of body part meditations, eve movement meditations, etc.
What I want to emphasize is that many believe that the only way to meditate is to “clear my mind of all thoughts” and sit for long periods of time. This is not how meditation has to be for you.
There are probably those of you listening that have a good knowledge about meditation. If you do not, there are many good books devoted to the topic.
However, if you are new to mediation, I would start by sitting and doing the following:
Focus on your breathing. I would be in comfortable clothes in a dark or bland room if possible. I would then take slow deep breathes, in through your nose – hold for a few seconds, and then breathe out through your mouth. Try to breathe from your diaphragm, place your hand(s) cupped on your belly to see if you can get it to move up and down.
After you have the breathing part down, then relax your body starting with your feet up to your head.
Once you are relaxed and breathing as described, you can continue focusing on your breathing or on a neutral word such as “Oh”. You can say it if you want or do that mentally.
As you have thoughts, notice them come and go. Just make sure your body stays as relaxed as possible and that your breathing is slow and deep. With eyes closed, notice anything that you see or hear as well. Allow all thoughts, noises, sounds, smells, images, etc. to come and go.
End at a point when you feel comfortable. Over time and practice you may decide to increase the amount of time that you meditate.
Many meditate, in the above manner. At night. I would start out during the morning. After you are dressed and prepared for your day, meditate and then after the meditation practice, continue to be mindfully aware as your day progresses. Begin the day in a state of mindful awareness and then, when faced with an opportunity, practice being mindfully aware in situations throughout the day. Observe your thoughts, feelings, and actions as if you were an outside observer. Practice the four “L”’s: Look, Listen, Label, and Let it Be!
Assignment: Start doing a meditation routine, even if it is just 3-5 minutes a day. Keep in mind that it may take a few weeks before you notice results or life changes.
Commitment: I will do a meditation routine, additionally in the real world, I will practice the “Look, Listen, Label, and Let it Be increasingly to cultivate mindful awareness.
When you do your meditation routine, just remember – don’t think about monkeys!