Good Time, Bad Times, You Know I Had My Share

Yes, that's a Led Zeppelin lyric. And it's emblematic of language I see on various meditation diaries.


"Sat for 30 minutes this morning. Couldn't concentrate. Wandering mind. Bad sit"

"Sat for an hour last night. Felt sleepy, nodding off... bad sit."

"I just couldn't keep it together while sitting today. I'll come back later and try again when I'm calm and prepared."


If one of the primary goals of meditation is to understand the nature of mind is there such a thing as a "good" sit or a "bad" sit? How so? Is it possible that the difference between "good" and "bad" lies in our expectations?

I think I found it on this very site, a quote from Kenneth saying "there's no such thing as good meditation or bad meditation". It was one of those things I used to keep on a post-it note as a constant reminder. My own teacher said as much as well: whatever's going on is fodder for meditation, be it restlessness, monkey mind, bliss, frustration, sleepiness, etc.

Whatever's going on, that's what's there to look at. It doesn't need to be any certain way. Just how it already is.

Good reminder, Chris, as we go into the often-stressful holidays.

That's an excellent question, Chris!

In my experience, expectations naively held (and clung to), and the whole apparatus of "control" that goes with that, are essential to the way I create suffering for myself and others. I think it's pretty natural to take this way of being into formal practice.

It's easy for some people at some times (myself included) to shift from trying to *achieve* happiness by manipulating outer events (if only I had a car with a warranty, a bigger apartment, a better partner...) to trying to *achieve* happiness by manipulating inner events (if only I were always equanimous... only felt the four immeasurables... could nail special state X, Y or Z...).

The funny little miracle is that in the absence of outer and inner manipulation, experiencing can spontaneously express an innate well-being and freedom. I think wise practice is thus aimed at coming completely into intimate contact with the actual flow of living experience without manipulation, so that the nature of experience can be revealed.

This doesn't preclude activity aimed at improving circumstances, inner and outer, either. It just means understanding --*what is possible through such activity, and what is not*---.

It's possible to get a better car, or develop certain qualities of mind, but those things don't directly relate to intrinsic happiness. They can lead to temporary enjoyment of innate happiness when desire relaxes in the moment of satisfaction, but if we believe this is the *way to happiness* we will just condition mind to seek happiness through the desire/reward cycle (samsara!). Practicing being intimate with whatever is happening, as it is happening, in the way it is happening can reveal innate happiness beyond the ups and downs of circumstances.

good topic - sometimes its hard for me to remember that a 'good' sit is a 'bad' sit noted.

"a 'good' sit is a 'bad' sit noted."

Nicely put!

"If one of the primary goals of meditation is to understand the nature of mind is there such a thing as a "good" sit or a "bad" sit? How so?

"

Well, some mental qualities could be more advantageous towards gaining such an understanding, and some sits could be replete with (or deficient in) those qualities.

I agree; Daniel has a hierarchy of vipassana practice: dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussio...ards/message/1973107 . I feel quite daunted reading it, wondering where I fit, and I suppose a person could go nuts trying to micromanage the process, but on the other hand it seems pretty obvious that if you stay at level 2, for example, things are not going to move very far.

I think in general the real question is not what happens in your sit but what you do with it. If you learn that some sits are easier or more pleasant than others, but allow yourself to have a variety of experiences without judging, then there's no such thing as a wasted meditation. If you get mad or frustrated and give up, then it went badly. Getting mad or frustrated isn't the problem if you note yourself having this response; but giving up is.

EDIT: by giving up, I mean giving up on the project altogether, not quitting a session early (although it's best to try to see the thing through if you can). Man, talking about this topic is a tightrope walk!

I completely agree with what WSH said. Very nicely put. And while I take Chris' point about evaluation, I think one of the liberating things about pragmatic dharma - at least when I started practicing in this style - is that I can actually evaluate my progress and resolve to put in more effort or to incline the mind in a certain way next time if necessary.

Good sits are ones where I remain attentive (and that means noting all the way through, accurately and without too many pauses) and equanimous. The equanimity is something I haven't really pursued until recently - actively cultivating equanimity by making sure I relax and also go into the sit with good intentions - but it really does make a huge amount of difference. Am I capable of smiling rather than getting frustrated?

Bad sits are when I space out and get aversive. But they are still sits, and sometimes, particularly in the dukkha nyanas and even more so in Reobservation, you just need to congratulate yourself for getting through it. In those cases, any sit is good!

"The equanimity is something I haven't really pursued until recently - actively cultivating equanimity by making sure I relax and also go into the sit with good intentions - but it really does make a huge amount of difference. Am I capable of smiling rather than getting frustrated?"

Yes, this is important. However, I would offer this one comment in reply -- if you are attempting in any way to manipulate your experience you are not going to be as efficient in practice as you would if you just let experiences arise and note them. Think about it, please.

Thanks Chris. I'm not trying to manipulate anything. Cultivating equanimity is something I was encouraged to do at the Goenka retreat I was just on. It's simply attitude and intention, nothing else. A resolve to take pleasant sensations and unpleasant sensations just as they are, without aversion or craving.