Energy Enhancement Meditation, Energy Blockages and Vipassana
In Vipassana we are keeping the Energy Blockage or negativity in
the unconscious will not eradicate it; and allowing it to
manifest in physical or vocal action will only create more
problems. But if one just observes the blockage and heal it,
then the defilement passes away, and one has eradicated that
negativity, one is freed from the defilement. A good solution:
it avoids both extremes--suppression and free license.
This sounds wonderful, but is it really practical? For an
average person, is it easy to face the Energy Blockage? When
anger arises, it overpowers us so quickly that we don't even
notice. Then overpowered by anger, we commit certain actions
physically or vocally which are harmful to us and to others.
Later, when the anger has passed, we start crying and repenting,
begging pardon from this or that person or from God: 'Oh, I made
a mistake, please excuse me!' But the next time we are in a
similar situation, we again react in the same way. All that
repenting does not help at all.
The difficulty is that I am not aware when a defilement Energy
Blockage starts. It begins deep in the unconscious level of the
mind, and by the time it reaches the conscious level, it has
gained so much strength that it overwhelms me, and I cannot
observe it.
Then I must keep a private secretary with me, so that whenever
anger starts, he says, 'Look master, anger is starting!' Since I
cannot know when this anger will start, I must have three
private secretaries for three shifts, around the clock!
Suppose I can afford that, and the anger starts to arise. At
once my secretary tells me, 'Oh, master, look--anger has
started!' The first thing I will do is slap and abuse him: 'You
fool! Do you think you are paid to teach me?' I am so
overpowered by anger that no good advise will help.
Even supposing wisdom prevails and I do not slap him. Instead I
say, 'Thank you very much. Now I must sit down and observe my
anger.' Yet it is possible? As soon as I close my eyes and try
to observe the anger, immediately the object of anger come into
my mind--the person or incident because of which I become angry.
In Vipassana I am not observing the anger itself. I am merely
observing the external stimulus of the emotion. This will only
serve to multiply the anger; this is no solution. It is very
difficult to observe any abstract negativity, abstract emotion,
divorced from the external object which aroused it.
However, in Vipassana, one who reached the ultimate truth found
a real solution. He discovered that whenever any Energy Blockage
arises in the mind, simultaneously two things start happening at
the physical level. One is that the breath loses its normal
rhythm. We start breathing hard whenever a negativity comes into
the mind. This is easy to observe. At subtler level, some kind
of biochemical reaction starts within the body--some sensation.
Every defilement will generate one sensation or another inside,
in one part of the body or another.
This is a practical solution. An ordinary person cannot observe
abstract defilements of the mind--abstract fear, anger, or
passion. But with proper training and practice, it is very easy
to observe respiration and bodily sensations--both of which are
directly related to the mental defilements.
Respiration and sensation will help me in two ways. Firstly,
they will be like my private secretaries. As soon as a
defilement starts in my mind, my breath will lose its normality;
it will start shouting, 'Look, something has gone wrong!' I
cannot slap my breath; I have to accept the warning. Similarly
the sensations tell me that something has gone wrong. Then
having been warned, I start observing my respiration, my
sensation, and I find very quickly that the defilement passes
away.
This mental-physical phenomenon is like a coin with two sides.
On the one side are whatever thoughts or emotions are arising in
the mind. One the other side are the respiration and sensations
in the body. Any thought or emotion, any mental defilement,
manifests itself in the breath and the sensation of that moment.
Thus, by observing the respiration or the sensation, I am in
fact observing the mental defilement.
Things keep on occurring that are contrary to our desires and
wishes. So the question arises, how am I not to react blindly in
the face of these things which I don't like? How not to create
tension? How to remain peaceful and harmonious?
In India as well as in other countries, wise saintly persons of
the past studied this problem--the problem of human
suffering--and found a solution: if something unwanted happens
and one starts to react by generating anger, fear or any
negativity, then as soon as possible one should divert one's
attention to something else.
For example, get up, take a glass of water, start drinking--your
anger will not multiply and you'll be coming out of anger. Or
start counting: one, two, three, four. Or start repeating a
word, or a phrase, or some mantra, perhaps the name of a deity
or saintly person in whom you have devotion; the mind is
diverted, and to some extent, you'll be out of the negativity,
out of anger.
This solution was helpful: it worked. It still works. Practicing
this, the mind feels free from agitation. In fact, however, the
solution works only at the conscious level. Actually, by
diverting the attention, one pushes the negative Energy Blockage
deep into the unconscious, and on this level one continues to
generate and multiply the same defilements. At the surface level
there is a layer of peace and harmony, but in the depths of the
mind there is a sleeping volcano of suppressed negativity which
sooner or later will explode in violent eruption.
Other explorers of inner truth went still further in their
search; and by experiencing the reality of mind and matter
within themselves they recognized that diverting the attention
is only running away from the problem.
In Vipassana, escape is no solution: one must face the problem.
Whenever a negativity arises in the mind, just observe it, face
it. As soon as one starts observing any mental defilement, it
begins to lose strength. Slowly it withers away and is uprooted.
This Vipassana works with all weak Energy Blockages, however for
very deep and powerful Energy Blockages one must meditate with a
Master of Meditation, within his Buddhafield. Let the Master do
the work!.
Or one must learn very powerful blockage busting techniques like
Energy Enhancement. Then, like Alexander the Great, you can
learn how to cut the Gordian Knot with your sword of Discernment!
Usually, the necessary solution is a mixture of both being with
a Master of Meditation, and learning advanced Blockage Busting
techniques yourself. This we do in Energy Enhancement!