SM Meditation Program: Urgency: Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Silent Mind Meditation Program: Urgency
Abiding passion is going to give your practice the longevity it needs, while urgency is going to give it the intensity it requires to meet the challenge of the thinking mind. Urgency will serve two main purposes.
1. Having urgency means you realize the value of every single day and the tragedy of wasting it. Life is very precious and the opportunity to penetrate the veil of ignorance is without comparison. Living a compromised life, in which one is satiated by the fleeting pleasures of the ego, is not to have lived at all. Every day has got to be lived with full vigor and vitality, with the sum total of your energies applied. As the famous Zen saying points out, “Let me respectfully remind you life and death are of supreme importance. Life quickly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken. Do not squander your life.” Enough said.
2. When participating in Silent Mind core meditations you have to be burning with urgency, for it is this demand that is going to give you the energy needed to inspect the subtle and swift thinking process. You will also notice that this intensity is also going to spontaneously slow down the thinking process making it available for inspection. If this intensity is missing, it is likely that moment to moment awareness of the state of your mind is also missing. Thoughts are very seductive and you will be fighting hard to stay clear of being caught up in their offerings, and for this separation to be introduced, urgency will be required.
To realize the urgency, contemplate your inevitable death. Of all the techniques to give you a sense of urgency, this is number 1. You only have so much time on this lovely planet so spend it wisely. Your situation as described by J. Krishnamurti is that “Your house is on fire!”. The sense of urgency you would have if that was the case, is the urgency you need to have in your practice. It is not time to dilly dally, pontificate, argue theories, it is time to get out of the burning house. Get out NOW!
The time is now.
Dear Anmol, your statement below
“Living a compromised life in which one is satiated by the fleeting pleasures of ego is not to have lived at all”
is very profound. Many throughout time have left behind quotes to make us think/see… this is one such quote.
Hey Zencat,
Appreciate your support and thank you for your positive comments.
Best,
Anmol
Thanks for your insightful blog. I found it when doing a search for Gurdjieff and Ouspensky. I will refer other of a like mind here. Best, Zencat