Samadhi in Action
Samadhi defined as stillness or silence of mind is an important feature of our training, but we must be careful not to misunderstand that this is where our training finishes. To create the samadhi of silent openness through passive awareness is really only the beginning. From this place of steadfastness you now turn yourself to insightful cultivation in two distinctive ways in order to see into the relationship with yourself, life and the attachments that you create. One aspect of samadhi is sitting still in awareness on the cushion and the other is taking that stillness into the activities of daily life to become samadhi in action, which then reveals the true dynamic spirit of our understanding of this important concept.
Comments:
rob grant:
So, discovering stillness is not the whole story: true liberation requires using that stillness to gain insight into myself. I now see that this a lifetime quest! It’s a challenge, but the alternative (staying as I am) is certainly unappealing!
Karen Piggin:
This talk really helped me to understand the apparent contradiction of stillness and activity required by our practice. And presents me with the challenge of trying to bring stillness into everyday life. Learning to face into my barriers and fears is what Āloka calls “tasting the ice cream”, and means accepting full responsibility for the world I have created and hopefully starting the process of change.