Practical note
on Intention and Awareness
This
topic has been discussed in this blog at Modes
of Intention, Attention and Awareness.
The
practice discussed here is found on this YouTube-video:
Daniel
- san:
Hi
Kim,
It's
an interesting technique, I tried it because I'm either dark nighting
or just in general gloomyness. I think I felt some positive effect, I
will play with it some more though. Questions. Would you consider
this an energy practice? In my view I guess everything conscious or
movement-based could be considered an energy practice, but do you see
this technique as something in line with aerobic exercise or chi
gong, that moves heavy energies through the system? Something
supportive prior to sitting practice?
Kim:
This technique is based on the shamatha/shamatta-principle. Quick
contraction, a sharp sting and immediate release, repeated many times
if necessary. After the immediate release a different vista of the
mind can be found, the natural state of clarity and emptiness.
As
you know from your training at the Miyagi Dojo, all martial artists
contract their muscles and clench their teeth when delivering a kick
or a punch. A kick (like the Crane Kick that you did in the first
film) or a punch doesn't have the same power if jaws are separate.
Test it. Combining the muscle contraction with teeth makes it a
comprehensive technique that works really well in cutting through
depression, monkey mind, anxiety or any stubborn emotion. Plus that
it makes the muscles of your body firm.
In
real time the action of sharp concentration (here applied thought
muscle contraction, there are other ways) lasts for 0.5 to 1 second.
If we time-stretch this to last 10 seconds or more, we can realise
that this simple action is based on the same principle as
concentration practices that are more commonly known, it's just
condensed to a short moment. And because of that it has a sharper
cutting edge, "more juice" or will power to cut through
anything that can be cut down. By anything I refer to any dualistic
mind content be it depression, busy mind or whatever. When it is
applied with commitment to the specific details of this instruction,
you end up in the natural state. And this is achieved in minutes, not
in days or weeks of retreat. Simple and direct. It's a splendid way
to chop down that gloominess of yours.
As
the natural state becomes familiar through applying this principle,
whether through a muscle and teeth contraction or through a sudden
sharp shout, this makes us see our sitting practice or moments in
action in a different light. But, in short, yes I think it is very
useful to apply this whether you are going to sit down for meditation
after it or not.
Most
shamatha-meditation techniques are based on the time-streched version
of concentration which makes it a lot more difficult because you keep
getting distracted all the time. The nonphysical "muscle"
of mental concentration can also be applied sharply but to know how
to apply this, requires different skills. Simplest way to get to this
principle, momentary concentration applied to it's maximum, is to
contract the muscles and teeth or shout.
When
you do it like this you can quite easily come to understand the
relationship of concentration and awareness, the natural state. But
if you cannot get glimpses of the natural state and yet do
concentration practices of very mild intensity, you will probably
spend years trying to enhance your skill of one-pointed concentration
while knowing close to nothing about the natural state. This
dichotomy and ignorance can be shattered by getting to know the
natural state of which dynamic extension concentration is.
Kim
