An Artistic Exercise

I have found the contemplative life is better viewed as an artistic exercise.

In the beginning we need to learn the skills involved in an art form, like playing a musical instrument. Inevitably, applying ourselves to these techniques can be boring; becoming adept calls for repetition.

To play a violin we must learn how to move our fingers, how to hold the wrist. If we don’t hold the instrument correctly, many beautiful possibilities are not available. Hours and hours of exercise are required to learn to play an instrument, use the medium of paint or handle a camera.

But once we’ve internalized those techniques, once they’ve really become ours, we can let the spirit of the artist flow.

I suggest it’s similar with meditation.

If you are thinking that you are not artistic, perhaps consider in terms of being agile. One of Ajahn Chah’s teachers used to advise: if obstructions appear high, duck under them; if they appear low, jump over them. Agility is essential.

If we feel we must adhere solely to what a beloved teacher has taught us initially, we may not progress. We may find we lack the creativity to deal with the complex obstructions we will encounter. Unfailing respect and gratitude to those who helped us get started, yes; but also daring to go into the unknown with interest in discovering something new.

So perhaps the authors of these commentaries on the perils of meditation hadn’t felt allowed to experiment in their practice. Maybe they felt practice was all about one single technique. But because a respected teacher or tradition tells us what we should be doing, that doesn’t mean they truly know what’s right for us.

What’s needed is to locate the in-between ground where we can respectfully listen to the teachings given by the tradition, at the same time listen to ourselves.

The middle way: not grasping at our own ways of doing things and not grasping at the teacher’s way of doing things either; studying both.

This reflection by Ajahn Munindo is from the booklet “The Art of Meditation.”