Insight
Joseph
Goldstein
The insights
of insight meditation are intuitive, not conceptual.
Intuitive in this sense
does not mean some kind of vague feeling about
something; rather, it means
clearly, directly seeing and experiencing
how things really are.
For example,
you are sitting in meditation, watching the breath.
All of a sudden your mind
settles into a different space. Even if it is
just for a couple of moments,
you feel a deeper kind of calm and
peace. Instead of struggling to be with
the breath, you begin just to
rest with the breath in a very calm, effortless,
way.
That is an insight through direct experience into the nature of
calm
and tranquillity. You do not think about them or reflect on
them. You know
that daffodils are yellow because you have seen
them. You know the nature of
calm and tranquillity because you
have felt them in your heart.
There are
many such experiences, and many levels of each one;
and each time we know them
directly, it is as if we open to a new
way of seeing, of being. This is insight.
But often our mind becomes so excited by each new experience
that we start
thinking. "Look at that. I'm so calm. This is great
Or we start reflecting
discursively on impermanence or suffering or
whatever the particular insight-experience
has been.
We need to take a lot of care. If we fail to note such reflections
and
become caught up in them instead - and Dharma reflections
can become extremely
compelling and interesting - they themselves
become a hindrance to deepening
insight. Sometimes people become
obsessed with Dharma thoughts, with reflections
about genuine insights
they have had.
So try to differentiate clearly
between true intuitive insight and
thinking about it. Knowing the difference
can save you trouble and
delay. You do not have to worry about later finding
words to
communicate your insights. Our mind very rarely has a problem
coming
up with the words. Simply staying present with each new arising
appearance
allows the whole Dharma journey to unfold.