Mindful questions, mindful answers

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Living Meditation, Living Insight
Dr. Thynn Thynn
Sae Taw Win II (PDF, 271 KB, www.saetawwin2.org)

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Peace is with us every single moment of our life, but we do not recognize it. This is because we are ignorant about peace — most of the time we are too preoccupied with the external world and our own running thoughts and emotions to be aware of it. We have lost touch with our inner selves, with what is the best in us. We frantically try to find the answer outside when all the time peace is sitting there, silently waiting until we come home to it.

The quest for mindfulness, of turning one's mind "inside out" as the author of this book, Dr. Thynn Thynn puts it, can prove tricky and elusive. It is an integral part of meditation, so, all Buddhist masters talk about practice, practice and more practice.

And in this Dr Thynn is no different. But with her, meditation and daily living are enmeshed and the focus is on ordinary people living ordinary lives. It is meditation day to day, and moment to moment, amid the ups and downs of daily living that she talks about. "The popular notion is that you need to set aside a special time or place to meditate. In actuality, if meditation is to help you acquire peace of mind as you function in your life, then it must be a dynamic activity, part and parcel of your daily experience. Meditation is here and now, moment-to-moment, amid the ups and downs of life, amid conflicts, disappointments and heartaches," she says.

It was its "simplicity, directness and practicality in daily life" that drew her to this path, she says early on in the book, when she refers to her teachers and their teachings.

The path seems too simple and much within effortless reach to be true. But she explains precisely why we should not think that way. "The path to inner peace is quite simple. You complicate it by thinking that the method should be difficult," she says.

But where does it all begin. Here. In mindfulness.

And how do you begin? Simple!

"Try being mindful of whatever you are doing at the moment —
walking, sitting, bathing, cleaning, looking at a flower. You can do this at any time and in any place. As you train your mind to focus, you will find you are less distracted. Later, as you go on, you can be mindful of your thoughts and emotions as they arise."

But she has to answer questions that have everything to do with balancing the practice of meditation with the humdrum tasks of everyday living. "Sometimes it’s a luxury to be mindful of a task with undivided attention. I only get frustrated if I try to be mindful of a task when my young children demand my attention," a practitioner says. "Don’t compete with yourself. What you choose to pay attention to is entirely circumstantial. If the children need you, focus on them," advises Dr Thynn.

As Dr Thyn proceeds, step by step, to explain the intricacies of meditation she also takes care to relate these to the fundamental tenets of Buddhism. Her way is described as "unorthodox", having influences of Zen, Krishnamurti, and involving a "liberal interpretation Theravada Buddishm". But her explanations are accessible, and even if you do not know much about Buddhism, she gives you as much of the basics you need to know on the way.

She also explains how the meditation she talks about differs from the form it is usually associated with in Buddhism - sitting meditation. With her, the emphasis is on “looking directly within and practicing mindfulness in everyday life.”
At its core, mindfulness enables one to attain a kind of "split-second samadhi," one that leads to pure heightened consciousness (Panna).

But one could get lost along the way. That is why the questions are centered around certain basic themes. The answers too explore different dimensions of a basic question. That is why this book makes it easy for a beginner to understand meditation. It almost seems that Dr Thynn is guiding you by hand as one chapter after another of questions and answers unfold.

The questions can be profoundly simple and so too the answers:
To this fundamental question: If “I” is an illusion and not reality, how can “I” get rid of the “I”?....... she replies, "How can you get rid of something that never was?"