try
I have attended some meditation retreats where you sit for a bunch of days and try and observe sensations that arise in your body. It can be hard on a Westerner’s knees. You’re supposed to try and observe without reacting. In fact, sometimes you are exhorted to commit to not uncrossing your legs or opening your eyes for an hour straight. These retreats are silent, ‘cept for noontime opportunities to ask questions of the person or couple who happen to be acting as the teacher.
My question to them was always the same: How am I supposed to not react?
I have been to retreats in California and in Nepal and I got the same answer to my question. They all say the same thing: “Keep trying.”
David Levingston
Like everyone, I have different sides. Counselor, photographer, writer, cooker of food – both spicy and plain, and seeker of truth and happiness. I have always taken an interest in the unassuming things that pass us by – both heard and seen, both ordinary and not so ordinary. They are all sacred and beautiful in some way.