#32 NEW YORK

I zoomed in to Dharma Refuge in Rochester, NY, a Sangha affiliated with Anam Thubten, and under the supervision of Sue Kochan who herself was inspired by Garchen Rinpoche.  A dharma talk was cancelled as two senior teachers were experiencing life; a bike accident and a sick pet.    I thought momentarily, 'should I stay on?' perhaps returning next week.   But I also thought, I have rarely been disappointed by letting go of expectation and just being.   It all worked out. 

Basically, it was a 45 minute meditation with some intro prayers.   A guided meditation was expertly handled by Corinne Dempsey,  also a professor of religious studies from Nazareth College in Rochester and author of the recent book Bridges between Worlds: Spirits and Spirit Work in Northern Iceland.  A previous book of hers was The Goddess Lives in Upstate New York: Breaking Convention and Making Home at a North American Hindu Temple, about a Hindu temple in the town of Rush, New York, dedicated to the great south Indian goddess Rājarājeśwarī.

I enjoyed the warm, precise and optimistic instructions to 'relax into the continuity of awareness,' after monitoring breathing, without the need to change anything.  This was followed by instructions to rest in the natural state, similar to Anam Thubten's instructions from the book 'No Self, No Problem.'

We think that we know how to rest. However, when we meditate we discover that the mind has a tendency to work constantly, to constantly exert effort and to constantly attempt to gain control over reality. Mind is not completely peaceful and relaxed. We find different layers of mind’s effort. This is quite amazing to notice when we sit. At first we think, “Oh, my mind is completely serene and peaceful.” But if we keep paying attention to our consciousness we see that there is a very subtle effort. This is the mind exerting effort, trying to have control over reality. Maybe mind is seeking enlightenment. Maybe mind is trying to transcend the ego. Or we might think, “I don’t like what I am experiencing right now. There is pain in my joints.” Maybe mind is trying to . . . whatever . . . finish the meditation session. Mind is always making up stories. It’s always writing this cosmic script. Therefore the idea of resting completely involves letting go of all of this. Let go of all thought. Let go of all of mind’s effort and completely be in that natural state of your mind, the truth, the “what is,” and then realization is already there.