The Pacified Mind:
In the 6th level, we have developed some relaxation of body and calmness of mind. We begin to get a feeling of well-being which comes from gaining a sense of space and some control and understanding of how our mind works. The work we do in the 6th stage is to train ourselves to relax with this feeling of well-being and to try to not force it or be overwhelmed by it.
Once we begin to be comfortable with this feeling of well-being, it begins to accelerate our elimination of those things inside and outside of meditation that obstruct that sense of well-being. In the 7th stage, we begin the processes of emptying, erasing, and letting go. This can be both an automatic process and a deliberate one. This functions to expand and increase our sense of well-being and increase the joy and enthusiasm that we experience as a result of it. This then helps to bring about relaxation, tranquility, and peace of both body and mind. The increasing of well-being and the increasing of tranquility then feed off of each other and expand even more.
Emptying:
We spend most of our lives receiving inputs from our 6 senses (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind). Because we have a tendency to cling to pieces of our outside world, most of these sensual experiences have left their imprints on our minds.
The process of meditation involves blocking or covering over our sources of sensory input (by the posture we take and the environment we set up for meditation). We then proceed, coincidently at first and then more deliberately at this 7th stage, to go through all of these imprints, and abandon our attachment to them. It's almost like we're opening a valve to empty an aquarium, or pulling the plug to drain a bathtub.
As we go through this process, we notice areas of our body and mind where there are tensions, dwellings, and clingings. By observing these tensions in a objective environment and becoming aware of the overall background in which these tensions occur, we gradually relax those tensions. As those tensions relax, we will quite often experience the longings, attachments, fears, frustrations, doubts, and confusions that were associated with those tensions and with objects or situations that we have held on to.
The work involved in this stage of meditation is to continue to allow the process of emptying our attachments, relaxing those tensions and expanding our sense of well-being while resisting our tendencies to grasp and cling at these old mind-states.
The next part of the process is to place those emotions and reactions into our new context, recognizing that they're related to events or levels of understanding that have long past. As we resolve these tensions and stop clinging to these situations, and the thoughts and emotions surrounding them, we experience a sense of release and our level of peace and our sense of well-being increase.
Erasing:
Another aspect of what happens to our mind comes from what we do during the course of a day. Our constant commentary on our lives is like writing on a white board. Again, these commentaries leave imprints on our minds. However, in the course of our lives, it is rare that we review these commentaries or the effects that they are having on us or the effects that they have had on us. This is like writing on a white board but never erasing.
When we end up in a similar situation, these commentaries then rise to the surface and we then apply these commentaries and their accompanying attitudes to our new situation. The danger is that the situation is not really the same as the as the previous one and so our response may not be completely appropriate or beneficial. This is because our response is based on an old analysis of an older situation which prevents us from taking a fresh look at the new set of circumstances.
Through the process of meditation, these commentaries will arise once again. Just by observing them and not reacting or clinging to them or not letting them carry us away from watching our breathing, we gradually see the commentaries with fresh eyes and can then let go of, and erase, the imprint that these commentaries have had on our minds.
We begin to recognize which commentaries are beneficial and worth keeping and which ones are harmful or no longer useful or accurate and can therefore be abandoned and erased.
During the course of the day, when not in meditation, we continue to write on our white board. However, with increased meditation practice, the whiteboard of our mind is less cluttered and we can then devote more energy to our thoughts as well as see our thoughts more clearly. This is because they're not competing so much with all these previous commentaries. Having a less cluttered mind also means having quicker access to the analyses and commentaries that we have kept as well. The result is more skillful responses to what's happening around us.
Eventually, we can get to the point where we are writing and then erasing as soon as our writing is no longer needed, leaving the whiteboard mostly clean and clear.
Letting Go:
The next aspect of this peacefulness is developing presence of mind. The majority of the time, as we go through life, we grasp at events, emotions, and thoughts. Within the present moment, we spend much of it trying to hold on to various pieces of the world in front of us. The result is that much of our mind ends up still dwelling on or preoccupied with some moment or situation which has very quickly become the past. We end up leaving pieces of our mind and energy still caught in various moments in the past while other parts of our mind are trying to hold on to portions of the present.
On top of this, another part of our mind looks towards the future and begins to develop worries and fears about various consequences or possible future situations. So part of our attention and energy is now pre-occupied with the future.
The end result of all of this is that there isn't much attention or energy left to devote to being aware of the changes and situations that are occuring in the present. Small wonder that our responses to the world around us are not skillful or lead to undesirable or unforseen consequences.
Through the practice of meditation, we begin to practice being present and training our mind to let go of the past and not worry about the future. Also, while in a state of calm and quiet, tensions, thoughts and feelings related to past events will arise. Gradually we practice letting go of these tensions, thoughts, and feelings as well as the situations that first provoked them. We also learn to stop grasping at thoughts and feelings, and worries and fears related to the future. We learn that, obtaining a desired future, depends on what we do in the present. This means that our fears and worries about future events is reduced. The end result of all of this is that we have more and more energy to devote to the present moment. This increase in energy adds to our sense of well-being.
Finally, we learn that we don't have to grasp and cling to thoughts, feelings, and events and situations in the present. We begin to recognize that the most important part of our work is done just by observing what's happening first. Then our response to what's happening within us and around us will be more appropriate and skillful.
By Emptying out our attachments and reactions to past objects and situations that were placed in our mind through activities of our rabbit-mind, by erasing any inaccurate or antiquated commentaries that were written down by our monkey mind, and by removing the chains on our elephant that we have added by dwelling on the past and fretting about the future, we clear our minds and restore our thoughts and feelings to a simpler, cleaner present moment. The result is that we have more energy, therefore a greater sense of well-being, and as a result of actions done with these new qualities, our sense of peace of mind and control are greatly increased.
The 7th Stage - Complete Pacification
There is a danger, at this point in practice, that, by not properly handling the energy of these thoughts and feelings that arise in the process of emptying, erasing, and letting go, we will return to the agitation and dullness of the previous stages. We then must, once again, work through the agitation and dullness and develop the mental and physical relaxation and acceptance and alertness while experiencing this new energy.
The process of erasing,emptying, and letting go is not always easy. As we feel the arisal of our agitations, which are asking to be emptied out or let go of, we can experience strong urges to continue clinging to them and holding on. This can be quite scary, and disturbing. Retreating puts us back into the area of agitation and dullness. There is a conflict between the desire to continue expanding our sense of well-being by letting go and the desire to keep the security that comes from holding on to our thoughts, emotions, perceptions, and awareness.
This is where persistence is required. As we persist, we let go some more and with each letting go, our overall well-being increases. This becomes the motivation for continuing to persist. There will however be periods where we retreat back to our old clingings and then need to gradually re-approach these attachments at a later time.
Also in the 7th stage, as we begin to develop these qualities, laziness sets in. It's like being on medication, and, once the medication starts working, we think we no longer need it and so we stop taking it.
It can be like looking in the mirror and seeing a blemish. We tend to want to just notice it and then dismiss it and stop examining it. We need to continually return to checking the blemish in the mirror as we try to clean it, until we know that the blemish is gone. Avoiding looking in the mirror will not remove the blemish or make it go away at all.
Again, if we stop at a certain level of energy and well-being, or if we fail to keep looking at ourselves and watching our body/minds, then we don't progress any further. Either our insecurity over the process of letting go, or our pride in our current level of accomplishment, stops us from progressing to the ultimate experience that's possible through this practice.
If we fall for this kind of laziness, then we begin to find excuses for not meditating regularly. As the mind remains most of the time on the object of meditation, subtle agitation & dullness are the main problems to watch for at this stage. Most of our mind is focussed and relaxed and only subtle types of grasping and its tension, or subtle dwelling and its inattention appear in the final portions of this level.
Completion of this stage is evident when subtle agitation & dullness are noticed as soon as they arise and are eliminated right away.
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