Meditation as a Means of Shining a Light

~ By Ajahn Jayasāro ~

Usually, when we shine light on an object we see it more clearly. But sometimes the light shows us that our perceptions were mistaken. In fact, we were looking at something quite different from what we assumed to be the case.

Every now and again we discover that the snake lying across the road is a length of rope, or the length of rope a snake. Through meditation we learn how to shine a light on our experience. As a result some things, like the ugliness of anger and the beauty of kindness, become much clearer to us. As a result our values and priorities change. Other things, clearly illuminated, now seem insubstantial. Most important of these is the perception of self. That which we formerly perceived to be solid and dependable, the locus and owner of experience, is seen to be none of those things. We find instead a conditioned flow of physical and mental phenomena.

Consider considering meditation in this way: not as the application of a technique in order to gain a particular result, but a means of shining a light on the body and mind, and of learning from what we see.

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"Food for the Heart", a series of Dhamma teachings handwritten weekly is posted on the Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives page with Ajahn's kind permission.

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For other teachings by Ven. Ajahn Jayasāro, please visit the Panyaprateep Foundation website.