Chapter 1 Essence & Core of Meditation

Let's start with the most fundamental question:

What is meditation? Meditation is the greatest adventure the human mind can undertake. But to understand it, we must transcend all common misconceptions.

The definition of meditation, in short, is being rather than doing. It is a state of pure awareness. Meditation is simply being, doing nothing—no action, no thought, no emotion; you are simply there, in a state of utter joy. When you do nothing, where does this joy come from? It comes from nowhere, or perhaps it comes from everywhere; it has no reason, because being is made of the material of joy. When you do nothing—physically, mentally, on any level—when all activity ceases, you simply exist, that is meditation. You cannot do it, you cannot practice it: you can only become aware of it. Whenever you can find simply being, then you let go of all doing. Thinking is doing, focusing is doing, meditating is doing. Even for just a moment, you do nothing, you are simply in your center, completely relaxed—that is meditation. And once you have grasped its knack, you can remain in that state for as long as you want, eventually you can be in that state twenty-four hours a day.

Once you've become aware of how your true nature can remain undisturbed, you can slowly begin to do things and maintain that undisturbed awareness of your true nature. That's the second part of meditation—first, learning how to be, then learning to act a little. Sweep the floor, take a shower, but stay centered, and then you can do more complex things. For example, I might be giving a speech, but my meditation is undisturbed. In my center, there isn't even a ripple; it's just stillness, complete stillness. So, meditation isn't against action; it's not about escaping life. It's about teaching you a new way of life: you become the center of the whirlwind, your life continues—in fact, it continues even more intensely—with more joy, more clarity, more insight, more creativity—but you are detached, merely an observer on a mountaintop, simply watching everything around you unfold.

This is the core of meditation: witnessing. You are not the doer; you are the witness. That is the secret of meditation—you become the witness. "Doing" continues on its own level, which is fine: typing, drinking water, you do anything, but one thing is unacceptable! That is: your center should not be lost. That awareness , that witnessing, should always remain, unobstructed, undisturbed. In Judaism, there is a rebellious mystical school called the Hasidum, whose founder, Bel Shem, was a rare individual. One midnight, he returned from the riverbank. Because the riverbank at night is peaceful and quiet, he often simply sat there, doing nothing—just watching himself, watching the "watcher." That night, on his way back, he passed a wealthy house, where a doorman stood by the gate. The gatekeeper ran out and said, “Please forgive me for disturbing you, but I can’t help being curious. What are you doing day and night? Why do you go to the river? I’ve followed you many times, and there’s nothing there—you just sit there for a few hours, and then you come back at midnight.” Bel Shem said, “I know you’ve followed me many times because the night is quiet, and I can hear your footsteps. I also know you hide behind the door every day, but it’s not just your curiosity about me; I’m curious about you too: what are you doing?” The man said, “What can I do? I’m just a gatekeeper.” Bel Shem said, “My goodness! You’ve given me a ‘keyword,’ which is exactly what I’m doing!” The gatekeeper said, “But I don’t understand. If you’re also a gatekeeper, shouldn’t you be watching a house? What are you looking at while sitting on the beach?” Bel Shem said, “There’s a small difference: you’re watching outside to see if anyone will come into the house; I’m just watching the ‘watcher’—the gatekeeper. Who is the ‘watcher’? That’s my life’s work. I’m watching myself!” The gatekeeper said, “That’s strange. Who pays you?” Bel Shem said, “It’s such happiness, joy, and blessing that it’s the reward itself, just for a moment, but no treasure can compare.” The gatekeeper said, “Strange. I’ve been watching all my life, and I’ve never had such an experience. I’ll go with you tomorrow night, just give me some pointers, because I know how to look—but I need a different direction. Are you looking in a different direction?”

It's just a matter of one step, and that step is about direction and level. We either focus our consciousness outward or close our eyes and focus it inward—and you will know this because you are a knower, you are awareness, you have never lost awareness, you have simply entangled awareness in countless affairs. So, bring awareness back from all places, just let it be within yourself, and you will be home.

Therefore, the most fundamental core, a tranquil soul, is learning how to observe.

“A crow is cawing”… You are listening; this is two-sided—objective and subjective—but you cannot see which is the observer of both. The crow is the listener, but there is someone else observing both; this is a very simple phenomenon. You are looking at a tree: you are there, the tree is there, but can you notice something else? You are looking at the tree, but within you there is another “observation,” observing you as you look at the tree. This “looking” is meditation. You can look at anything; you can look at trees, you can look at a river, you can look at clouds, you can look at children playing around you. Looking is meditation; what you see is not the key, the object is not the key. The quality of the observation, the quality of awareness and alertness—that is meditation. Remember one thing: meditation means awareness. Whatever you do with awareness is meditation. The behavior is not the problem, but the problem is: what quality do you bring to the behavior? If you walk with awareness, then walking can become a form of meditation; if you sit with awareness, then sitting can also become a form of meditation; if you listen with awareness, then listening to birdsong can also become a form of meditation; if you remain alert and mindful, then simply listening to the noise within your own mind can also become a form of meditation. The whole key is: don't act without awareness, then whatever you do is meditation!

The ultimate purpose of meditation is to return to one's true nature and discover one's true self.

It doesn't ask you to become someone else, but rather to uncover the truth that has always existed yet been covered up layer by layer. When the observer becomes the "observed," when the seer returns home, you discover that self—never born, never dead, unchanging and steadfast. This is the core truth of human existence.

The journey of meditation is a deep process that progresses from the outside in, from the coarse to the subtle. It can usually be clearly divided into four levels, like a ladder guiding you from surface consciousness to the core of existence.

The first step is the fundamental physical level: awareness of posture and movement. The first step in awareness is observing your body. Slowly, you will become aware of every posture and every movement. And when you become aware, a miracle begins to happen: many things you used to do suddenly disappear; your body becomes more relaxed and more coordinated; a deep peace begins to emerge within you, and a beautiful music pulsates within you. When you maintain continuous, non-judgmental awareness of your body's movements and sensations, you begin to detach yourself from identification with the body and become the "observant" of the body's sensations.

The second step is at the mental level: observing the flow of "thoughts. Begin to be aware of your thoughts. You must do the same for your thoughts; they are more subtle than the body, and of course, more dangerous. When you become aware of your thoughts, you will be amazed by what is happening within you. If you were to record everything that is happening at any time, you would be astonished—this is what is happening within you. After ten minutes, read it—you will see a mad mind inside! Because we are not aware, the whole madness is constantly surging, like an undercurrent. Whatever you are doing, or whatever you are not doing, it affects you; it affects everything, and its entire sum is your entire life! So this inner madness must be changed. And the miracle of awareness is that you don't need to do anything except become aware. It is through observation that you change it. Slowly, slowly, the madness disappears, and gradually thoughts begin to fall into another form. The chaos is gone; they become orderly, and then a deeper peace emerges.

As your awareness of your body and mind becomes more stable, you'll find that they begin to coexist harmoniously. And when your body and mind are at peace, you'll see that they are also in harmony with each other; there's a bridge there, and they no longer run in different directions, no longer ride their own separate horses. For the first time, they are in harmony, and that harmony greatly helps in the subsequent third step of the work.

The third step is the emotional level: awareness of feelings and emotions. That is becoming aware of your feelings, emotions, and moods. That is the most subtle level, and also the most difficult level, but if you can be aware of your thoughts, it is actually just a step further , just requiring a little higher awareness. Thus, awareness begins to reflect your mood, your emotions, and your feelings.

Once you can simultaneously perceive all three—body, mind, and emotion—a greater integration occurs. Once you perceive all three, they can all connect into one phenomenon, and when all three become one—acting completely together, humming together—you can feel the music of all three; they become an orchestra—and then the fourth step happens naturally, and this time, you are powerless to stop it; it happens as it is, it is a gift from the whole! It is a reward for those who have completed the three steps!

This is the fourth step! It's the level of awareness: being aware of one's own awareness. The fourth step is the ultimate awareness that awakens one! A person becomes aware of their own awareness—that is the fourth. It can create an awakened Buddha, and only in awakening can one understand what joy is. The body knows pleasure, the mind knows happiness, the heart knows bliss, and the fourth step is knowing joy! Joy is the goal of disciples or seekers, and awareness is the path to that goal. The important thing is that you are observing, you don't forget to observe, you are always watching…watching…and slowly, as that observer becomes more and more unified, more and more stable, less and less fluctuating, a new change occurs, and everything you were watching disappears. The observer becomes the observed for the first time, the one who observes becomes the observed. You have returned home.

Based on the above discussion, we can summarize several of the most core essential characteristics of meditation.

First, meditation is not a technique, but growth. Meditation is not a particular method, nor is it merely a skill that you can never fully master. It is growth: it is the growth of your entire life; it originates from your whole being. It is your inner potential, like the natural unfolding of a flower, which cannot be forcibly instilled from the outside.

Secondly, meditation is not something externally imposed, but rather an inner blossoming. Meditation is not something that can be added to you; it can only come to you through a fundamental change, a transformation. It is a blossoming, a growth, and growth always comes from the whole; it is not something imposed from within. Just like love, it cannot be forced upon you. Its growth comes from you, from your whole being. You must grow towards meditation.

Finally, and most importantly, meditation is a quality of being, not an action! As we emphasized at the beginning, the core of meditation is "being," not "doing." It is a state of being, a quality of consciousness. In this state, actions can occur, but they no longer originate from a tense "doer," but from the tranquil and aware being itself.

There are deeper insights into meditation, awareness, and awakening. Awakening and awareness are very different. Awareness is still an action; you are doing it, there is a ego. Therefore, the phenomenon of awareness is divided into subject and object. Awareness is a relationship between subject and object. Awakening, however, has absolutely no subjectivity or objectivity. In awakening, there is no one who is aware, nor is there someone who is being aware. Awakening is a holistic, complete action; subject and object are irrelevant to it, they dissolve. Therefore, awakening does not mean "someone is awakened," nor does it mean "something" is noticed. Awakening is holistic—the whole of subjectivity and the whole of objectivity as a phenomenon, whereas in awareness, there is a dichotomy between subject and object. Awakening is non-action, while awareness implies an action. But awakening is possible only through awareness. Awareness means it is a conscious action; it is an action, but conscious. You can do something without being aware of it—our everyday activities are unconscious, but if you become conscious of it, then it becomes awareness.

Therefore, there is a gap between ordinary unconscious activity and awakening, and this gap can be filled with awareness. Awareness is a technique, a method, toward awakening; it is not awakening itself, but it is a higher step than ordinary, unconscious action. Something has changed: action is now conscious; the unconscious has been replaced by consciousness. But something else must also change: action! It must also be replaced by inaction. That will be the second step. Jumping from ordinary unconscious action to awakening is difficult, but possible, though arduous. Therefore, adding a step of "awareness" between the two is helpful. If one begins with conscious, deliberate action, then the leap becomes easier—that is: a leap to awakening without any conscious subject or object, without any conscious activity whatsoever!

Awakening is also consciousness, but it is the purest form of consciousness, beyond the awareness of anyone else. Therefore, in our journey from unconscious action to ultimate awakening, awareness (or "observation") is the core of our meditation practice; it is the crucial bridge. When awareness becomes complete, without the separation of subject and object, it merges into awakening, and that is the ultimate blossoming of the flower of meditation.