Re: Meditating with eyes half open
Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 11:57 pm
It seems then that you don't generate Bodhicitta until after you have taken Refuge. Is this true?
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Hm? Do mean, should you recite a refuge prayer before generating bodhicitta?sangyey wrote:It seems then that you don't generate Bodhicitta until after you have taken Refuge. Is this true?
Hey Sangyey,sangyey wrote:Hey Catmoon.....I was just asking if you first take Refuge yourself first and then go on to cultivate Bodhicitta before engaging in the deed whatever it is.
Catmoon, by his words "before engaging in the deed whatever it is" I assumed what he wanted to know was not whether initially one must take refuge before giving rise to bodhicitta but rather what the proper order is when preparing to perform meritorious acts, so I answered accordingly. In any case, I think to generate bodhicitta according to what that means in Mahayana Buddhism, one would be taking refuge by default when generating bodhicitta because, in the relative sense of bodhicitta, that is the intention to practice Dharma in order to attain buddhahood in order to lead all other beings to enlightenment as well. That of course entails taking the Buddha as one's ultimate teacher, taking the Dharma as the ultimate teaching, and the arya sangha as the ultimate companions on the path. This is of course the meaning of refuge. So the answer would be the same either way, although not necessarily in the sense of taking refuge formally in a ceremony before generating bodhicitta. Neither refuge nor bodhicitta is dependent upon a ritual; they are merely reinforced with one.catmoon wrote:Gee here Sangyey is acting like his question is all answered and I'm still trying to figure out what the question was.
lol you're not allowed to talk like that, Mister! I'm sure you could have contributed something very worthwhile had you understood what Sangyey meant.catmoon wrote:Oh well, I probably could not have answered it anyhow!
There is no "bad doctrine" that says you're only allowed to meditate with open eyes/closed eyes. In terms of more fundamental meditation techniques like shamatha, there are natural pros and cons to each way, though, depending on circumstances. For instance, for a beginner, if doing shamatha with open eyes is uncomfortable or distracting, it would be a pro to close your eyes until you get more proficient. But eventually, keeping the eyes closed would be a limitation - you'll eventually want to overcome your aversion to opening your eyes and being totally open to external phenomena; you'll want to gradually get accustomed to letting arise freely whatever experience may arise. That would be optimal.nirmal wrote:It is a bad doctrine where rules are a hard and fast certainty.Students of yoga must distinguish this matter by their own wisdom and by their own self examination use whatever is beneficial and that which brings comfort to them in meditation.
When practicing the samapatti on Mahamudra where one wishes to abide in the Enlightened Entity, then closed eyes are never recommended because the inner light, the channels of which are two special nerves coming to the eyes and the outer light of the sun together with the light of the samapatti of voidness - all these three lights must be identified in voidness.In this practice, open eyes are essential. In the torga practice of Mahamudra, eyes must first be kept opened and later kept closed.But for us, do whatever makes us comfortablePema Rigdzin wrote:There is no "bad doctrine" that says you're only allowed to meditate with open eyes/closed eyes. In terms of more fundamental meditation techniques like shamatha, there are natural pros and cons to each way, though, depending on circumstances. For instance, for a beginner, if doing shamatha with open eyes is uncomfortable or distracting, it would be a pro to close your eyes until you get more proficient. But eventually, keeping the eyes closed would be a limitation - you'll eventually want to overcome your aversion to opening your eyes and being totally open to external phenomena; you'll want to gradually get accustomed to letting arise freely whatever experience may arise. That would be optimal.nirmal wrote:It is a bad doctrine where rules are a hard and fast certainty.Students of yoga must distinguish this matter by their own wisdom and by their own self examination use whatever is beneficial and that which brings comfort to them in meditation.