GATEWAY TO THE PROFOUND MIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT

GATEWAY TO THE PROFOUND MIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT

Absence of sound is not the end of hearing, and presence of sound is not its beginning. The faculty of hearing is unborn, undying and one with the Truth. Even when thoughts stop, hearing does not end. For hearing is beyond all thought, beyond both mind and body....By clinging to sound one falls into Samsara. By non-clinging one attains Nirvana. Excerpt from Avalokitesvara's meditation on hearing from the Surangama Sutra.

Meditation is not about sitting like a bump on a log, dropping into a void. It is a dynamic, active state of inquiry. When done properly, time literally flies by. With a combination of sitting, standing, walking, and lying postures, it becomes easy to meditate for periods of two or more hours without drudgery. This retreat sets an intention to practice in this way. It is especially appropriate for meditators who have reached a plateau in their practice and have a genuine desire for progress.

To initiate a deep Samatha/Vipassana practice, initial attention will be focused on a chant or mantra and mudra. Sustained concentration on a mantra or sound/vibration can heighten spiritual experience by opening the heart, allowing movement beyond ordinary mind and conceptualization to a space of inspired and sustained presence. Here the hindrances fall away, and we enter the Brahma Viharas. With practice, we can learn to use meditation on a mantra to return quickly to these mental states at will.

Firmly established in the Brahma Viharas, we shall take up our second meditation object—intermittent natural sounds. After some time of immersion, the organ of hearing detaches from its object. Both disturbance and stillness then become non-existent, and equanimity is established. This shift in consciousness allows access into the first three Jhanas and beyond simply as the fruit of right concentration. By mastering the technique of dropping of sound "identification," we can learn to reenter previously attained sublime states at will.

Ven. Dr. Pannavati-Karuna (also known as Abhayaprajna) is Co-Abbot of Embracing Simplicity Hermitage and a founding circle director of Women of Compassionate Wisdom, a 21st-century, trans-lineage, international, Buddhist Order and Sisterhood. Ordained in both the Theravada and Mahayana traditions with Vajrayana empowerments and transmission from Roshi Bernie Glassman of Zen Peacemakers, she is a contemplative engaged in compassionate action and an international teacher engaged in advancing humanitarian causes globally. She was a 2008 recipient of the international Outstanding Buddhist Women's Award, received special commendation from the Princess of Thailand for Humanitarian Acts in 2009, and established the first Thai and Cambodian ordination platforms for women in 2009 and 2011, respectively.