Taming the Elephant Mind
Mindfulness and meditation are two aspects of the Eight Fold Noble Path taught by the Buddha in 500 BC. Buddhists have been practising these for many centuries and have made a valid contribution to create peace in people’s lives. Today people think Buddhist teachings are scientific, logical, practical and sensible. Buddhism does not need science to prove the authenticity of its teachings. It only needs people to engage in meditation and promote it as such, without watering it down for the purposes of mere stress reduction and performance enhancement. A large number of people have taken on what is known as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Therapy and it has been promoted as if it was developed by someone in recent years, without giving credit to the teachings of the Buddha. Elsewhere, others try to promote the same by calling it Compassion Based Stress Reduction Therapy. The form of meditation the Buddha taught and practiced is called ‘Calm Abiding Meditation’ and it is the remedy for all 84,000 afflictions - not just stress. The teaching of the Buddha is wisdom based reduction and elimination of all afflictions and sufferings.
This handbook consists of notes compiled primarily to accompany the 8-Week Course on Calm Abiding Meditation that I conduct for students of Buddhism and the general public. I have been conducting these courses for over 18 years. There are also many of my students who have been facilitating this course on a regular basis throughout Australia and New Zealand. Nowadays, a few Tibetan Buddhist centres are starting to offer classes on Calm Abiding Meditation, but they are usually taught as a philosophical explanation of the topic without devoting any time to sit in quietness and do the practice of meditation.
Over the years I have adapted these courses to provide practical techniques for the general public. It is not necessary to hold any religious beliefs in order to benefit from Meditation. Calm Abiding Meditation might also be useful for people of other faiths who wish to enrich their religious life.
You will gain the most benefit by practising every day, even for just a few minutes, rather than from longer occasional bursts of enthusiasm. Even when you are not meditating formally, you can carry the bene^its into your daily life by doing everything with a sense of purpose and a gentle attitude. Enlightened experiences do not necessarily occur only on the meditation cushion. You may have such an experience walking to the shops, provided you walk along with a calm, clear and stable mind!
Calm Abiding Meditation tunes our minds to the wave length of spaciousness, freedom and happiness. If you desire these qualities, may you find them by following the practices contained in this booklet!
Lama Choedak Rinpoche 2013
