I studied meditation with a variety of Catholic and Buddhist teachers. Catholic Centering Prayer and Buddhist Vipassana meditation are the forms of meditation I studied the most.To a lessor extent I am familiar with Hindu, Greek Orthodox, and Sufi traditions as well. I have also known quite a few people in various recovery or 12 step programs who had strong views on spirituality.

Most of the teachers and lay people who had developed their views on spirituality had at least one trait in common. They tended, not so surprisingly, to believe that their beliefs were correct and they were not interested much one way or the other in my doubts or questions.

For example those following traditional or Orthodox Christianity would invariably say that the suffering and violence of the world was not God’s fault. When faced with the inevitable question, “How could an all powerful, all seeing, all knowing God allow the violence, suffering and natural disasters in the world?” They would say, ” God created the world and humanity perfectly. Humans defied God’s will and law out of sin and rebellious disobedience. It is this sin and rebellion that caused the fall of man and ushered in evil, violence, suffering, disease and the rest.

Indeed this view permeates all of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim views on this most important question, ” What is the relationship between divine love and power and human suffering?”

When I consistently voice my concerns that this core teaching never made any sense to me, most would add something like, ” God has a plan for every life, we often cannot see what that plan is?”  So I thought if a woman is raped and murdered this is somehow part of God’s plan for her life?

What I never felt happened regardless of who I was speaking to is this: my views, my questions, my doubts, were not important or somehow missed the point. In short if I did not agree with them the fault was with me not in their teachings.

What I learned from these countless experiences is this. Find out what are the most important doubts and unanswered questions a person who is studying meditation may have. Help them to articulate their doubts and questions more clearly and to refine their questions.

Assuming that a person is asking their questions not as some intellectual game or some way or avoiding any real searching, help them to honor their doubts and give them ways to explore how they can find answers they are looking for.

Honor your doubts and unanswered questions. They are among the most important resouces you have to work with.

The same goes for your truths. Honor your truths with the integrity with which you live your life.

By honoring the truths you have found and the doubts and unasnwered questions you have, this is a powerful set of tools that will help you find the way forward to whatever is the next level of understanding and peace that is available to you.

What is important in all of this, is to resist the temptation to try to control the answers people will come to in their search. Rather, the work as a meditation teachers is to help people search for truth, in ways that are true for them.

It is to support this approach to teaching meditation that I wrote, “The Simple Path of Holiness.”

Will Raymond  will@meditationpractice.com

In the old style of meditation the teacher says: “This is what we believe. If you think carefully about these matters you will come to believe as we do. This is our sacred book, and most important commentaries on truth and liberation. Read these books carefully and you too will come to understand that our sacred books are true.”

In the new style of meditation the teacher begins by asking questions: “What do you believe?” Are there any beliefs about whether God exists or not that you are completely sure are true? If so what are those beliefs? How do you know they are true?”

“If there are no beliefs that you are sure are true, are there any spiritual, philosophical, or ethical beliefs you feel may be true, which you are willing to explore further? If so what beliefs about spirituality, atheism, or ethics are you willing to explore more carefully to see if they are true for you?

In the new style of meditation the teacher is seeking to help the student find out what is their vision of life, truth, love, and ethics by asking some very basic questions:

1) “Do you believe God exists, or do you believe there is no God, or are you really not sure one way or the other?

2) “In such matters what are your most important doubts and unanswered questions?”

3) “What is the center of your moral compass?”

4) “What changes do you wish to make in your life?”

5) “From where can you find the inner strength needed to make the changes in your life that you have been unable to make so far?

Depending how the student answers these question, will determine what manner of meditation practice is best suited for them. For meditation can be of great benefit to those who believe in God, those who do not, and those who are not sure what to believe.

It needs to be added that for this approach to meditation to work, the student must freely choose to embrace high standards of sincerity, honesty, open-mindedness, and personal integrity in their search and in their dealings with all other people. Assuming a person freely embraces these high standards and demonstrates an ongoing commitment to them, they are a good candidate for meditation practice. If a person has no interest in such a commitment then there probably is no need for them to spend much time thinking about meditation one way or the other.

The teacher’s responsibility is to have a wide range of knowledge of many different meditation practices and beliefs so they can help the student find the style and resources that work best for them.

Peace,
Will

First Installment 2-7-13

Jomo decided he wanted to study meditation. So he went to speak with one of the monks who lived in a hut in the hills above the village fields.

Upon reaching one of the elders he asked, “Please sir, would you be kind enough to give me some instruction in the basics of meditation?”

The Elder replied: “Jomo I have not known your family well, but I know you are already familiar with the basics of meditation.  The first step is to set aside a place in your home that is your place to meditate.  If you want, you can decorate this area with some painting or statue that evokes for you a quiet and reflective mood. Then sit quietly either cross legged or in a chair with your back up right in silence and stillness for 20 or 30 minutes at the beginning of the day and in the early evening.

The Elder continued, “Many of the monks and nuns prefer to use a sacred word that they repeat over and over again as they seek to quiet the mind. Others prefer to use the breath as it passes in and out of the nose. In either case,when the mind wanders very gently bring your attention back to the breath of sacred word. What is most important is to bring the attention back to the breath without any condemnation or self-reproach.

These are the basics of sitting practice. But there is something else I suggest.

Please find 6 buckets in your father’s barn and bring them up here to the hills and stay in one of the empty huts for a day or two when you have the time to do so.

In the first bucket place every teaching of spirituality that you are sure is completely true.

In the second bucket place every teaching of spirituality that you are not sure is true but which you think may be true and which you are willing to study further.

In the third bucket place whatever you feel are your most important doubts and unanswered questions about spirituality or philosophy.

In the fourth bucket place every teaching of spirituality you have said you believe but which upon closer scrutiny you realize you either do not really understand or feel it may not actually be true.

In the fifth bucket place every teaching you really do not understand at all and cannot see any way to ever find out if it is true or false.

In the sixth bucket place every teaching which you feel is just plain wrong even if many other people tell you forcefully that it is true.

Once you have sorted these different teachings out and placed them in the different buckets this is what I suggest that you do. Spend as much time as you wish reflecting on the teachings or doubts in the first three buckets. Then take the other three buckets and empty them out and set them aside. You can always fill them again later if you feel it is important to do so.

With that the Elder smiled and Jomo did as well for he understood clearly what the Elder had said.

Taking the time to understand what beliefs you are sure are true and what are your most significant unanswered questions is an important discernment to make as you begin serious studies and meditation practice.

For the beliefs we hold to be most true shape the nature and tone of our approach to silent meditation.