..續本文上一頁a and vicara, then rapture. There won”t be any of the hindrances (nivarana: desire, anger, restlessness and agitation, sloth and torpor, doubt), and the mind will be unstained. Whatever takes place, never mind; you don”t need to doubt about any experiences you may have, be they of light, of bliss, or whatever. Don”t entertain doubts about these conditions of mind. If the mind is dark, if the mind is illumined, don”t fixate on these conditions, don”t be attached to them. Let go, discard them. Keep walking, keep noting what is taking place, without getting bound or infatuated. Don”t suffer over these conditions of mind. Don”t have doubts about them. They are just what they are, following the way of mental phenomena. Sometimes the mind will be joyful. Sometimes it will be sorrowful. There can be happiness or suffering, there can be obstruction. Rather than doubting, understand that conditions of mind are like this, and that whatever manifests is coming about due to causes ripening. At this moment, this condition is manifesting—that”s what you should recognize. Even if the mind is dark, you don”t need to be upset over that. If it becomes bright, don”t be excessively gladdened by that. Don”t have doubts about these conditions of mind, or about your reactions to them.
Do your walking meditation until you are really tired, then sit. When you sit, determine your mind to do it; don”t just be playing around. If you get sleepy, open your eyes and focus on some object. Walk until the mind separates itself from thoughts and is still, then sit. If you are clear and awake, you can close your eyes. If you get sleepy again, open your eyes and look at an object.
Don”t try to do this all day and all night. When you”re in need of sleep, let yourself sleep. Just as with our food: once a day we eat. The time comes, and we give food to the body. The need for sleep is the same. When the time comes, give it some rest. When you”ve had an appropriate rest, get up. Don”t let the mind languish in dullness, but get up and get to work--start practicing. Do a lot of walking meditation. If you walk slowly and the mind becomes dull, then walk fast. Learn to find the right pace for yourself.
Q: Are vitakka and vicara the same
AC: You”re sitting and suddenly the thought of someone pops into your head—that”s vitaka, the initial thought. Then you take that idea of the person and start thinking about them (in detail). Vitakka is picking it up, vicara is investigating it. For example, we pick up the idea of death, and then we start considering it: “I will die, others will die, every living being will die, when they die where will they go…
“ Then, stop! Stop and bring it up again. When it gets running like that, stop it again, then go back to mindfulness of the breath. Sometimes the discursive thought will wander off and not come back, so you have to stop it. Keep at it until the mind is bright and clear.
If you practice vicara with an object that you are suited to, you may experience the hairs of your body standing on end, tears pouring from your eyes, a state of extreme delight, many different things as rapture comes.
Q: Can this happen with any kind of thinking, or is it in a state of tranquility that it happens
AC: It”s when the mind is tranquil. It”s not ordinary mental proliferation. You sit with a calm mind and then the initial thought comes. For example, I think of my brother who just passed away. Or I might think of some other relatives. This is when the mind is tranquil—the tranquility isn”t something certain, but for the moment the mind is tranquil. After this initial thought comes, then I go into discursive thought. If it”s a line of thinking that”s skillful and wholesome, it leads to ease of mind and happiness, and then there is rapture, with its …
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