Despite what considerations and engagements we might be occupied with, sitting contemplation and meditation is of immense benefit. We sit to generate stillness, calm and insight. When we sit to contemplate, we realize two things. One is how important it actually is to be still and the other how difficult it can be. Just sitting is immensely important. We come to see that when we sit to contemplate or meditate. A few moments and we see that all our time is spent in veritable frenzy. Flitting from one thing to the next, from one thought or feeling to the next, without reprieve. And our lives become crowded and noisy and we end up confused and trapped within a web of our own making. A web that has no breathing space, no room for freedom.
No matter what tradition we follow, at first, sitting unmasks this noise. The momentum of our usual daily lives makes acquiring stillness difficult. Thoughts come in, as do plans and memories and impulses, urges and sensations. With a little bit of sensitization however, these distractions usually lessen and we might be surprised to experience moments of silence and a deep knowing. A knowing that people, places and things are ephemeral and that our experiencing and our impressions are our actual reality. When we tune in to the fact of experiencing, we see clearly that the desire for sense impressions, the longing for things to be a certain way or to not be a certain way is pervasive. This craving for sense pleasures, becoming or not becoming was what the Buddha said was the cause for all our suffering.
Upon attempting to contemplate in silence, this craving to do, to become, to change or stop becomes very prominent. This is an important event in contemplation. Identifying this craving is vital in moving towards freedom. Most of the time, we are oblivious to it and it rules all our moments and drives all our actions, thoughts and behavior. Only with stillness and silence can we apprehend the magnitude of the influence craving has in all that we do.
Contemplation has a way of generating its own momentum. As we sit with craving, at least during practice, it lessens and we experience ease and comfort. Even though this ease is momentary, it brings into focus the mechanisms of our distress. So it is important not to get discouraged by distractions. We sit with them, allow them to be. With the repeated knowing of the centrality of craving might come a readiness to let it arise and cease. This is possible with sitting contemplation. And if we can learn to pause during our daily lives and spot this dissatisfaction with what is, we’d have come a long way in our journey towards freedom.