by master Tae Hye sunim

Dhyana contemplation means to investigate the mind and learn to see reality exactly as it is, without discriminations or fantasies. Reality is "what is here and now" (sanscrit: tathata). Since a million years the essence of our mind has been obscured, veiled by ignorance, by avidity and anger. Clear awareness dissipates the veils.

Observing the mind we see we have been conditioned by education, religion, nationality, traditions and habits, as well as by our opinions and as a consequence our reactions to every problem are also conditioned. The interior revolution can begin when we are aware we are conditioned, when we comprehend the subjectivity of our thoughts. We can therefore observe life, abandoning all prejudices and irrational beliefs, with an open mind, completely honest and humble. Let us forget everything we have thought of ourselves. Let us begin as if we didn't know anything: in this way we investigate the profound enigma of life.

In the beginning, when the mind is restless, we can observe our breathing, carefully following the process of inhalation and exhalation. Later, we can let the attention expand and deepen, aware of what is without choice, without a fixed object.

The trinity of solid posture, quiet breathing and clear mind, helps us empty our consciousness, which becomes a vast open space.

We let go of every effort and leave the mind in its pure state: empty, without obstructions. We are open to the ten directions and we don't try to control consciousness. This is Dhyana, we can call it non-selective awareness, serene clarity or contemplation of the quiddity. It includes two undivided aspects:

• serenity: cessation of the pressing interior dialogue and
• clarity: the mind reflecting things like a clear mirror and illuminating mental darkness like a light.

When we sit in meditation, we should not try to think of anything and should not try to avoid thoughts. If something comes into the field of the mind, let it come in and then let it go out, without identifying with it. We move following the flux of life and we reach a state of non-reactive observation. From the single mind (not fragmented) comes the non-mind, the mind which does not dwell in any place. With the attitude of the "non-mind" (in Korean: mu-shim) we look at the contents of conscience as if they were clouds in the sky or waves on the surface of the immense ocean: they appear and disappear.

Let thoughts dissolve into silence. The mind becomes like an infinite space, in which its movements and the ones of the environment generate moment by moment. In silence, thoughts can happen to naturally stop on their own and we can calmly rest within the mind's emptyness. This is a purifying experience, even if it does not mean the achievement of the ultimate truth, the comprehension of the empty nature of the universe.

Besides silence, deep meditation includes self-interrogation and serching: the whole life manifests itself like a great koan (kung-an) or enigma, without conclusions. It's like continuously asking oneself: "What is this?", even if it doesn't mean verbally repeating the question. Being like a mirror, we investigate in a fresh and direct way, without attachment.

This Dhyana meditation is universal, it does not depend on any culture. It's been achieved and taught especially by the Buddha and by many masters of Buddhist Dhyana, but also by mystics of other religions and by free-spirits like Krishnamurti. Important guides for contemplation are, for example, the writings of ancient Chinese masters like Hui Neng, Huang Po and Lin Chi.

Contemplation-meditation is not a technique of concentration or a kind of self-hypnosis. Methods of concentration restrict the mind. In the Dhyana contemplation we are instead open and aware; we are conscious of what we do, say or think. Observing "what is" we can understand with increasing penetration the energetic nature of matter, the relativity of the conditioned events, the impermanence of emotions, the illusions of false and limited thoughts, the inconsistence of the concept of ego and we realize that events are essentially empty of a separate existence, as they are interdependent.