..续本文上一页 all, no religiosity. Don”t hold any notions about it, not even, "Oh, meditation is meant to be completely natural; you just sit down, relax the mind, and be cool."

　　We have a lot of ideas about what”s good meditation, what”s bad meditation. The notion here is that we sit down with no expectations of ourselves and no expectations of what the practice is. We simply follow the instructions, without imagining that meditation is supposed to be this way or that way. We can continuously let go of any solid views on the meditator or the meditation, any caught-upness. That”s the whole training—to let go and observe without judgment, without bias. We can just let go.

　　So you think, "That”s the meditation. I”m supposed to observe and let go. But I can”t observe and I can”t let go, and my meditation is a mess. On the other hand, I did observe a little bit, and that”s good. If I have a chance to tell my meditation instructor about this, she”ll be pleased." We have a habitual tendency to solidify, but remember these instructions: no Expectations. It is as it is. You don”t have to add something extra.

　　The third quality of threefold purity is "No result." Give up all hope of fruition. Practice without hope of anything beyond right now. That”s all there is; there”s no later. Being on the spot is the only way any transformation of your being occurs. If you practice with hope and fear, if you practice in order to become what you think you should be—even a calmer, more loving, more compassionate person—you”re just setting yourself up for disappointment. You can”t get there from here. Being fully here for each moment—that”s the point, from now until you die.

　　After you”ve meditated, if you notice something that feels like a result—for example, your mind feels rested, or you feel completely one-pointed, or you feel a lot of compassion or kindness—simply observe it and let it go. Trungpa Rinpoche often used the word "disown." It”s not that there”s anything wrong with results. But when we cling to results, they”re of no use at all. One of the mahamudra texts says, "Even the qualities of clarity, non-dwelling, and bliss are obstacles if you cling to them."

　　So that”s threefold purity. It provides good directions for practicing meditation—or any other activity, for that matter. Have no expectation about who you are—the generous one or the mean one or whoever—no expectation of your activity or process, no expectation of fruition. This is how we go from living by concept, freezing ourselves in time and space, to relaxing into the fluid spaciousness with which we were born.

　　Pema Chödrön is the director of Gampo Abbey in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and author of The Wisdom of No Escape, Start Where You Are and When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times.

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