the vibrating of sky and clouds

today's teachings, too, are a bit overdue. these are from bhante on march 21st last week...

Once there were two monks who conversed about enlightenment. They corresponded the sky to mind and the clouds to thoughts. The first monk believed that we should look past the clouds to try to see the sky through them; that is, that we should focus only on mind and ignore thoughts. The second rebuked that we should watch the clouds to find the empty spaces in between where we can expand; that is, that we should focus on thoughts to better see and understand the mind. One monk represented the Mahayama tradition of Buddhism. The other represented the Theravada tradition. In the end, both became enlightened -- both were essentially right.

We must remember that the tradition is not the Buddha's teachings. However, it can help us learn it the lessons within the teachings. Expanding our meditation beyond our breathing exercises, ask yourself, as the monks in the story did, ‘how am I thinking right now’? Just observe it how you think. There is no need for judgment, no 'good' and 'bad’; in fact, judgment can hinder how well we can observe our thinking.

If during your observations you see something harmful, acknowledge it and consider avoiding it. If something is helpful, acknowledge it and affirm it. This is the way of cleaning the mind.

bhante then went on to teach us a vocal technique to help us focus our minds and tune in to the moment during our meditations. many of us are familiar with the verbal chant ‘ohm’. in this technique, we work with each of its three syllables: ‘oh’, ‘ah’ and ‘mn’. we begin by taking a deep breath and slowly sounding the ‘oh’ syllable, slowly and all the way through our exhalation. we sound this syllable three times in this way, then carry on to the next one, ‘ah’ three times, and then three ‘mn’s. finally, we chant the full ohm three times, separating as we did each syllable throughout the exhalation: ‘oh-ah-mn’. when you get a whole room of people doing this, each in tune to the other as to when to change the sound and when to end before the next breath, a most awesome chorus seems to vibrate the whole room, and i remember thinking, as i sat in participation, how far the sound seemed from anything human i’ve experienced.