“Most people think that meditation just involves allowing the mind to rest in a non-conceptual state. But if we simply strive to let the mind relax without having applied methods to transform our habitual patterns, we won’t see much change. If we push the ‘pause’ button on a tape recorder, the sound will stop; when we release the button, the tape will continue to play the same tune. Just because we pause and take a break from our mental habits during resting meditation, this doesn’t mean that we have a erased the tape of habitual mind. To actually do so and record a new one,We don’t force a non-conceptual state but instead engage in effortful meditation - repeatedly bringing the mind back to a spiritual topic or point of concentration, no matter how often we become distracted.
The method of effortful meditation that we use in the Bodhisattva Peace Trainings is contemplation. We repeatedly contemplate the teachings, imprinting them on the tape of the mind. Then when we press the pause button, relax, and release it, what we hear will be different than before. Contemplation has the power to change the mind’s patterns, replacing our negative habits with virtuous thoughts.”
From The Bodhisattva Peace Training of Chagdud Tulku
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