Running with the Mind of Meditation by Sakyong Mipham
The Book in Three Sentences
Running with the mind of meditation means taking an attitude that our experience is worthy of our attention, without comparison to other events. You develop an awareness where you feel your internal environment (your rhythm, the pounding of your heart, your feet hitting the ground) at the same time as you tune into your external environment (the sky, the air, the sounds of life). By learning to appreciate and enjoy our mind, you can no longer split spirituality and everyday life.
Introduction
The mental clarity brought about by physical activity is temporary. When the horse has more energy, it resumes running around. Using running as a way to train the mind is incidental, whereas the peace and clarity that comes from meditation are cumulative. (p40)
In contemplative meditation, rather than continually placing our mind on the breath, we place it on certain powerful themes, such as generosity. (p41)
In the meditation tradition, we talk about three kinds of motivation: small, medium, and large.
Small: helpful for ourselves, developing a good attitude, alleviating mental and physical suffering.
Medium: using meditation to discover the nature of reality, what lies underneath all our discursiveness and habitual patterns.
Large: when we can attain enlightenment and therefore help all beings (p49)
Injury & Pain
Injuries bring up many feelings, and being injured never comes at a convenient time. (p.74)
Recognizing our injury is not defeat, but rather shows courage. If we ignore an injury, recovery could take longer. (p.74)
Waiting out an injury is an excellent time to work on our meditation. (p74)
It is helpful to regard the experience of pain as a way to stay connected with others. Everybody sufferers; our own pain can be used as a source of genuine compassion. (p117)
Contemplative Practice
The reason we practice contemplative mediation is to point our mind in a particular direction. One example might be “What is my motivation” or “What would I like to accomplish in my life.” (pp96–98).
Contemplation is the process of convincing ourselves. We have read books and heard lectures, but now we must make our motivation our own. (p97)
As you improve in your mediation practice, you are not in an alternate reality, you are experiencing the inherent strength and clarity of your mind. It is stable. This is how you develop confidence in your inherent good qualities. (p102)
Running is not simply slogging through the miles, trying to sweat out last night’s good times, or burning off excess weight—it is celebrating life. (p104)
Panoramic Awareness
Recognizing the beauty of our experience is awareness. “Accurate assessment” or “best knowledge” is referred to as prajna. The awareness of prajna becomes increasingly important in the meditative journey, because knowing the truth of how things are allows us to endure hardship. (p155)
Training in panoramic awareness is more than counting breaths or focusing purely on the trail. We make our mind bigger. The means we are able to understand more, see things from a different perspective, and be more mentally flexible. We can pick up on how other people think and feel. We ming find that we are less irritated when we come home from a run. It takes both skill and relaxation to open ourselves to the environment this way. (p104)
Panoramic awareness is not intended to be a dramatic experience. In fact, it might feel quite ordinary. (p105)
With panoramic awareness, you will feel your internal environment (your rhythm, the pounding of your heart, your feet hitting the ground) at the same time as you tune into your external environment (the sky, the air, the sounds of life). (p105)
Appreciation & Good Fortune
Contemplating your good fortune, you feel delighted and special. This feeling makes you want to use your life wisely. You tend to be more appreciative of what you have, and spend less time wishing things we another way. (p130)
What we can learn from the sick and dying is that most people regret spending so much time always striving for the next thing instead of appreciating what they had. (p131)
If we appreciate and enjoy our mind, then we do not find ourselves constantly in the pursuit of pleasure. This gives us a healthy sense of independence, which benefits our meditation and our running. (p142)
You do not experience boredom when your mind is totally in sync with the surroundings. You must stop comparing this experience to another situation in the past or wishing for something better in the future. (p153)
Making Progress in your Practice
The book is broken down into phases: Tiger, Lion, Garuda, Dragon, and Windhorse. While these are sequential, it is important to note these all stack and the characteristics build on each other.
The confidence of the Tiger does not try to dominate others. Rather it conquers our own doubt, enhancing our awake and positive qualities. (p95).
Switching from the concerns of the day to the health of your mind is notable progress. Know that by being present for ten seconds, thirty seconds, a minute, two minutes, and beyond, you are enabling a great weight to be lifted from your mind. You are coming into your big, naturally healthy mind. (p121)
Running with the mind of meditation we are taking the attitude that our experience is worthy of our attention. When we think an activity is worthy of our attention, we are not comparing it to other experiences. (p158)
In the Dragon phase, we contemplate deep and powerful themes. They are our personal secrets—thoughts, feelings, and insights—they are so intimate they cannot be properly expressed or understood by others. This secret inner level gives human beings depth. (p169)
Moving the body and bringing up an important thought to contemplate are highly compatible activities. We might become aware that we have made a mistake and need to apologize. We might ponder aspects of our life we want to change. We might review our aspirations and dreams. (p171)
In early phases of meditation,we reflect on ways to be less ego centred. In deeper contemplation, we reflect that the self is an illusion. (p183)
We begin to have deeper conversations instead of discussions or bringing up talking points. The words we speak are of joy, kindness, and love. (p188)
Having the intention to run for others changes the fabric of our consciousness. A run that is no lingered centred on staying in shape or making it to the finish gives character to our being. It becomes a process of actively training our intention to benefit others in the world. (p182)
The final phase of training is deciding to do something beneficial for society. (p194)
The amazing thing about being human is that we can connect with that long-forgotten goodness that we have. After feeling it in ourselves, we begin to see it in everyone and everything. We can see it in a small child, an elder, or a beautiful mountain. We can feel it when we hug someone. (p196)
Running with the mind of meditation means we can no longer split spirituality and everyday life. No matter what we’re doing, we have the ability to be awake and to live up to our potential. (p196)