Beyond the Supermarket of the Mind: What is Meditation Really?

We often find ourselves wandering through a spiritual supermarket, picking up various tools and techniques like children in a playground. We try one method, find it doesn't "work," and then move on to the next, hoping for a breakthrough that will finally change everything. But who is this "we" that is looking for a result? And what if the very act of looking is what creates the illusion of distance? When we ask **what is meditation**, we are usually asking for a way to get from "here" to "there." We want a ladder to climb out of our confusion and into a state of permanent grace. But there is no ladder, and more importantly, there is no "there." The separate self is essentially a movement of resistance to the present. It is the constant effort to stretch out the pleasant moments and push away the painful ones. We think that by sitting in silence, we can manufacture a mind that is always calm, like a sky without a single cloud. But the nature of the body-mind is change. Sometimes the sky is clear, and sometimes it is heavy with rain. To demand a mind that is always quiet is an illusion, a struggle against windmills. Why do we believe that a specific state of mind is more "spiritual" than another? If you look at a valley on a clear day, the eye sees the trees and houses. If you look on a foggy day, the eye sees the fog. The eye’s capacity to see is never compromised by what it looks at. In the same way, the aware presence that notices your confusion is not itself confused. The presence that notices your tension is not tensed. This brings us to a radical realization regarding **what is meditation** in the context of our daily lives. Meditation can certainly be a tool to achieve specific goals. If you want a quieter mind or a more relaxed body, certain practices will maintain what they promise. You can spend years refining your energy or focusing on a single point to enter states of deep quiet. These are experiences, and like all experiences, they have a beginning and an end. Anything that is "attained" will eventually be lost. This is a universal rule. If you didn't have it, then you got it, you will surely lose it. But what you already are—this absolute totality—cannot be gained or lost. It is the silence that underlies the noise, the screen upon which the film of your life is projected. The film can be a tragedy or a comedy, but the screen remains untouched. We often talk about liberation, but liberation is never *of* the separate self; it is liberation *from* the separate self. It is the realization that the one seeking the donkey is actually sitting on the donkey’s back. We are so distracted by the search that we fail to notice the very ground we are standing on. People often ask if meditation helps us reach this understanding, but how can a practice lead you to where you already are? You might use meditation to feel better right now, to find a bit of comfort in a stressful world, and that is perfectly fine.