Chapter 14 Meditation Tool-Box

Dynamic meditation is truly a very rare phenomenon. It doesn't belong to any single type; it's suitable for all types of people. It may seem contradictory on the surface, but the laws of nature are almost like banks: if you don't have money, they won't give you money. If you need money, they'll make things difficult; if you don't need money, they'll automatically come to you. If you have enough money, the bank will always have the money you need ready for you. The laws of nature are just like this: when you don't need it, it gives more; when you need it, it gives less; if you have nothing, it leaves you; if you have something, it will give you a thousand and one paths. This is precisely the secret to how dynamic meditation works.

There are roughly three types of energy levels in people. The first type is the lethargic type—sluggish and dull. This type of person doesn't lack energy. They have energy but aren't active. Their energy is dormant. They are nothing, idle and aimless. Lethargic people need more energy, but you can't give them too much because they can't handle it. When that type of person comes to me, you can tell from their face that they are still asleep. They will say, "We don't need these dynamic meditations, let us do some quiet meditations." They are talking about quiet. They want some meditation methods that they can do lying in bed; at most, sitting. Even those methods might not be feasible for them; dynamic meditation seems too difficult for them. However, dynamic meditation is like an alarm clock; it transforms sluggishness into activity, gets energy moving, and pulls the lethargic person out of their sluggish state. If a lethargic person is ready to do dynamic meditation, the results will be incredible. Once they become active, they become the second type—the impulsive type. At best, it could pull him out of his daze and into the second stage, which is only possible if he participates. Even deciding whether to do it or not is difficult for him. If they do do it, it will be very helpful to them; though not as obviously as to Type Two individuals.

The second type, the impulsive type, is extremely active, in fact, too active to find an outlet for their energy. Their energy is suppressed in many dimensions; it's overactive energy. This overactive energy has more potential. In fact, if energy doesn't flow, nothing can happen, but the impulsive type's energy becomes extremely frantic. Because too much activity causes them to lose a lot of energy, they don't know what to do or not to do. They constantly do contradictory things: doing one thing while simultaneously destroying it. They are almost going crazy. The excessive excitement that constantly plagues them in life will subside. Some of their tangled energy will dissolve. Dynamic meditation can help them release their heavy burden. After dynamic meditation, they will feel much lighter. It will be more advantageous than the lethargic type, because the lethargic type must first get themselves moving; their energy is at the bottom of the ladder, but once they become active, everything becomes possible. The impulsive type is already on the second level. They already have some foundation, and dynamic meditation will be even more helpful. Through meditation techniques, they will become more relaxed, burden-free, and light. Gradually, he will begin to move towards the highest level.

The third type is the compassionate type. They are not dull, so they don't need to boost their energy. They also don't have hyperactive energy; they don't need any outlet. Their energy is more balanced, simple, joyful, and light than the first two types. When the lethargic and impulsive types return to balanced energy, they may become compassionate. When you know when to work, when to rest, what to do in the office and not bring home, and leave work-related matters at the office when you go home, then you are a compassionate type. Balance and stability. So how does dynamic meditation help them? For them, it becomes a celebration, singing, dancing, and being with the whole. Dynamic meditation is very helpful for compassionate types; they will be among the most benefited. Because balance brings stillness and tranquility. But tranquility is too passive; unless it becomes dancing, singing, and vitality, it's not enough. Tranquility is good, but don't be too satisfied with it; there's much more waiting for you. Tranquility is like a doctor finding no symptoms in you. But that doesn't mean you're healthy. You may not have any disease, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're healthy. Health is different; it has a different kind of vitality. The absence of disease does not mean you are healthy. Health is a positive phenomenon. Vitality and radiance are not proof of the absence of disease. Health is not the opposite of disease; health is simply health. A tranquil person, of the compassionate type, is already tranquil; he lives a quiet life. Quiet, yet without laughter. Quiet, yet without overflowing energy, without radiance. Quiet, yet in darkness, the light has not yet penetrated him. He can be completely tranquil, but within that tranquility, the sublime, the divine, has not yet pierced through. For the compassionate type, dynamic meditation is exceptionally helpful because it brings tranquility and joy into life. Dynamic meditation can help him enter into dance, let dance enter his heart, let song permeate every cell of his being.

Of course, compassionate people can offer the most help, but there's nothing you can do; that's the law of nature. If you have it, you'll receive more; if you don't, even what you have will be taken away. I liken dull-witted people to the poor. So, shouldn't wealthy, compassionate people, give nothing? But that's not the case. When you have a certain level of wealth, you'll have a magnetic pull that attracts riches to you. Dynamic meditation is such a magnetic force, open to everyone, waiting to guide every kind of energy towards its fulfillment.

Breath meditation is a meditation technique that focuses primarily on the breath. Vipassana, in particular, is a meditation that has enlightened many people worldwide. It is more enlightening than any other meditation because it is the most fundamental. All other meditations are equally fundamental, just in different forms; something non-fundamental is also present within them. But Vipassana is purely fundamental—you cannot discard any part of it, nor can you add anything to enhance it.

Whetcha is so simple that even a child can do it. In fact, even the smallest child can do it better than you because their mind isn't cluttered with junk; they are pure and innocent. Whetcha can be done in three ways; you can choose the one that suits you best.

Walk, you should walk with awareness; swing your arms, you should swing with awareness; be fully aware of the arms you are swinging. You can swing them without any awareness, like a machine… When you walk in the morning, you can walk without awareness of your feet. Be alert to the movements of your body. When eating, be alert to any actions required for eating; when bathing, be alert to the coolness that comes with it, to the water splashing on you and the immense pleasure within it—as long as you are alert, it shouldn't be constantly in a state of unconsciousness. The same applies to your mind. On the screen of your mind, whatever thoughts appear, simply be an observer; on the screen of your heart, whatever emotions appear, simply maintain a state of awareness—do not engage, do not seek approval, do not judge what is good or bad. That is not part of your meditation.

When you inhale, your abdomen begins to rise, and when you exhale, it begins to return to its original position. So the second method is to be aware of your abdomen: its rise and fall, simply be very aware of it rising and falling. The abdomen is close to the source of life, because a child is connected to their mother's life through the navel, and behind the navel lies the source of their life. Therefore, when the abdomen rises, this is true life energy; each breath, rising and falling, is the vitality of life. It's not difficult, perhaps even easier, because it's just a technique. In the first method, you must be aware of your body, you must be aware of your mind, you must be aware of your emotions, so there are already three steps. The second method has only one step: simply be aware of your abdomen, its rise and fall. And the result is the same. When you become more aware of your abdomen, your mind will become calm, your heart will become calm, and your emotions will disappear.

Here, it's important to pay attention to the natural way you breathe. At night, when you sleep, you don't breathe from your chest; you breathe from your abdomen. That's why the nighttime experience is so relaxing, and why you feel so refreshed and young when you wake up in the morning—because you've been breathing naturally all night… And you're in Japan! But a misconception about physique prevails worldwide: that a high chest and almost nonexistent abdomen constitute a more aesthetically pleasing physique. Men have chosen to breathe only up to their chest, so their chests have become larger and larger, while their abdomens have shrunk, making them appear more athletic. Athletes and sports coaches worldwide, except in Japan, emphasize breathing to fill the lungs, expanding the chest, and shrinking the abdomen; their ideal is to be like a lion, with a large chest and a very small abdomen. So, to be like a lion has become the rule for gymnasts and those training their physiques. Japan is the only exception; they don't care whether the chest should be broad or the abdomen should be tucked in—shrinking the abdomen requires some kind of training, it's not natural. Japan has chosen the natural method, which is why you'll be surprised when you see Buddhist statues in Japan. This method allows you to immediately distinguish between an Indian and a Japanese Buddha statue. Indian Shakyamuni Buddha statues have a very well-proportioned body, with a small abdomen and a broad chest, while Japanese Buddha statues are quite different; their chests are almost flat because they breathe from the abdomen, which is relatively large. This isn't considered aesthetically pleasing—because this prevailing view has been prevalent for a long time—but breathing from the abdomen is more natural and relaxing.

When you breathe in through your nostrils, feel at that point—the other point is your abdomen—feel your nose, the air inhaling gives your nostrils a cool sensation, and then the air exhales…inhale, exhale. That's also possible. It's easier for men than for women, who are more aware of their abdomen. Most men don't even breathe that deep into their abdomen; their chest rises and falls with each breath. So, if you're afraid to breathe from your abdomen and constantly watch its rise and fall, which will ruin your physique—and men may be more interested in physiques—then it's easier for them to observe the inhalation point, the nostrils. Observe, observe as you exhale.

These are the three ways. You can do it any one way, and if you want to do two ways together, do both; the effort will be stronger. If you want to do all three ways together, then do all three; those possibilities will come true faster. But it's all up to you, just do what feels comfortable. Remember: comfort is key. When you are calm and still, your mind is at peace, the ego disappears. You will be there, but there is no feeling of "I," and the door opens. Just wait with a longing for love, with a welcoming heart, for that great moment—the greatest moment in anyone's life—the moment of enlightenment. It will come…it will definitely come; it never delays. Once you are on the right track, it will suddenly erupt within you, transforming you. The old person dies, and a new person is born.

In the process of deep awareness of breath, there is a subtle level worth noting: observing the gaps in the breath. Shiva says, "The luminous thing, this experience can occur between breaths, after inhalation and before exhalation —this is a gift." When your breath comes in, observe it, for just a moment, or a fraction of a moment, there is no breath—just before the air rises, before it is exhaled. A person inhales, then there is a point where the breath stops, then exhales, and as the air is exhaled, there is again a moment, or a very small fraction of a moment, where the breath stops, then inhales again. Before the air is inhaled or exhaled, there is a moment when you are not breathing. That moment is possible because when you are not breathing, you are no longer in this world. Understand this: when you are not breathing, you are dead. You are still, but you are dead, but this moment is so brief that you never observe it. Inhalation is rebirth, exhalation is death; the exhaled air is synonymous with death, the inhaled air is synonymous with life. So with each breath, you die and then are reborn. The interval between the two is very brief, but keen, close observation and attention will make you feel that interval. Then nothing more is needed, and you are lucky; you have realized that it has already happened.

Don't practice breathing; let it be. Why such a simple technique? It seems so simple. To grasp the truth with such a simple technique? To grasp the truth means to grasp the state of neither birth nor death, the eternal element that is always present. You can know the exhalation, you can know the inhalation, but you never know the space between the two. Try it, and suddenly you will reach that point—you can reach it: it's already there. Nothing can be added to you, or to your structure: it's already there, everything is already there, except for a certain awareness. So, how do you do this? First, be aware of the inhalation, observe it, forget everything: just observe the inhalation—that process. When the air touches your nostrils, feel it there, then let the air in, let the air in fully consciously. As you go in with the air, go in, don't leave the air, don't run ahead, don't fall behind, just go in with it. Remember this: don't run ahead, don't fall behind like a shadow, be in sync with it. Breath and consciousness should become one. When the breath enters, you enter too. Only in this way is it possible to reach that point between inhalation and exhalation, which is not easy. As the breath enters, and then as the breath exits: in and out, in and out. The Buddha particularly favored this method, so it has become the Buddhist method. In Buddhist terminology, it is "Anapana-sati Yoga," and the Buddha's enlightenment was based on this technique—only this. If you continuously practice the awareness of your breath, the awareness of your breath, suddenly, one day, without you even realizing it, you will arrive at that gap. Because your awareness will become sharp, profound, and intense, because your awareness will become one with the breath—and the whole world will be disregarded. Only the inhalation and exhalation of your breath will be your world, the entire stage for your conscious activity—suddenly, you will definitely feel that gap without breath. When you move closely with your breath, when there is no more breath, how can you still not be aware? You will suddenly become aware that there is no air there, and that moment will come when you will feel that the air is neither coming out nor coming in; breathing has completely stopped. In that pause, there is the "gift".

The use of breath is not only about observation and awareness; it is also a powerful tool for directly regulating the state of mind and body, involving the holding of inhalation and exhalation, and the release of emotions through breathing. Patanjali said, "As the inhalation and exhalation alternate and the holding of breaths alternate, the mind also becomes calm." When you feel your mind is not calm—tense, anxious , chattering, worried, constantly dreaming—do one thing: First, exhale deeply, always starting with exhalation, exhale deeply, as deeply as possible, throwing the air out. Throwing out the air, emotions will also be thrown out, because breathing is everything. Then exhale as much as possible, contracting your abdomen, hold for a few seconds, do not inhale, let the air stay outside, do not inhale for a few seconds. Then let your body inhale, inhale deeply—as much as you can, hold for a few more seconds, that gap should be the same as when you exhale—if the gap is three seconds when you exhale, then the gap when you inhale is also three seconds. Exhale completely, then hold for three seconds; inhale completely, then hold for three seconds; but the air must be completely exhaled and completely inhaled, making it a rhythm: inhale, stop; exhale, stop; inhale, stop; exhale, stop. Immediately, you will feel a change entering your entire nature. Emotions will go away, and a new climate will enter you.