Quote from Meditation for Life

Meditation for Life

written by Martine Batchelor, photography by Stephen Batchelor

Wisdom Publications, Boston, Massachusetts, 2001.     168 pp.

"Non-attachment does not mean that you do not care. Non-attachment means that you do not grasp. We have a tendency to grasp at and then stick to everything we come in contact with, through hearing, tasting, seeing, touching, smelling and thinking. This grasping is at the root of much suffering. Let's imagine that I am holding an object made of gold. Is is so precious and it is mine -- I feel I must hold on to it. I grasp it, curling my fingers so as not to drop it, so that nobody can take it away from me. What happens after a while? Not only do my hand and arm get cramp but I cannot use my hand for anything else. When you grip something, you create tension and you limit yourself.

Dropping the golden object is not the solution. Non-attachment means learning to relax, to uncurl the fingers and gently open the hand. When my hand is wide open and there is no tension, the precious object can rest lightly on my palm. I can still value the object and take care of it; I can put it down and pick it up; I can use my hand for doing something else."  (p. 96)

"Guided meditation: equanimity.  If you can, sit outside on the grass. Remember to keep your back straight and relaxed. Your intention is to cultivate equanimity and non-grasping.

In this moment, what are you grasping at? If you are grasping at thoughts or opinions, see their unsubstantiality. Let them go. Rest in a spacious mind where thoughts and opinions are as light as bubbles.

If you are grasping at a sensation, look deeply within it. It is not fixed and solid. It cannot be grasped.

If you are grasping at a feeling, notice how fleeting and changeable it is. You cannot reduce yourself to it."  (p. 107)

-- quotes submitted by Jennifer Knight

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