How to Tap into Your Awareness | Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche | TED

Summary

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche shares a simple yet profound approach to meditation, emphasizing that it is not about stopping thoughts or seeking bliss, but rather about cultivating awareness. Through personal anecdotes of overcoming panic attacks, he teaches how to connect with awareness using external supports like sound, and how to observe emotions and thoughts without attachment. Rinpoche introduces three key meditation steps: using an object to support awareness, meditating with any experience (including panic), and practicing open awareness, ultimately encouraging a state of presence and acceptance in daily life.

Takeaways

• 😀 Meditation is essentially about awareness — being aware of what you are thinking, feeling, doing, seeing, and hearing.
• 😀 The essence of meditation is not to stop thinking, but to simply connect with awareness and allow thoughts and feelings to come and go.
• 😀 Trying to stop thinking often leads to more thoughts. Meditation is not about fighting with thoughts, but about observing them with awareness.
• 😀 Meditation is not about 'blissing out' or seeking peace, calm, joy, or relaxation. These things can actually evade you if you chase them too actively.
• 😀 Awareness is like the sky — pure and calm — and thoughts or emotions are like storms or clouds that come and go without changing the nature of the sky.
• 😀 The first step in meditation practice is to use an object (like sound) to connect with awareness. The practice is simply about being aware of the sound and allowing everything else to come and go.
• 😀 Meditation can be practiced anytime, anywhere, and with anything, even in difficult situations like panic or stress. By seeing these experiences with awareness, they lose their power over you.
• 😀 Developing wisdom through meditation helps you see that negative emotions, like panic, are not solid or permanent, but are made of smaller, less substantial elements (sensations, beliefs, etc.).
• 😀 True acceptance in meditation means allowing emotions or thoughts to come and go without attachment. This acceptance is intertwined with awareness, love, and compassion.
• 😀 Through consistent practice, difficult emotions like panic can become your teachers. They provide the opportunity to develop greater awareness, self-compassion, and wisdom.
• 😀 Open awareness meditation is about being fully present with awareness itself, without any external support or object, like sound. It’s about simply 'being' — experiencing everything with full presence.

Q & A

What is the essence of meditation according to Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche?

The essence of meditation is awareness. It involves knowing what you are thinking, feeling, doing, seeing, and hearing, rather than trying to stop thoughts or force calmness.

Why do many people find meditation difficult?

Many people find meditation difficult because they misunderstand it. They often believe it requires stopping thoughts or seeking peace and calm, but these are misconceptions.

What common mistake do people make when practicing meditation?

A common mistake is trying to stop thoughts completely or seeking to 'bliss out.' This can actually lead to more thinking or cause relaxation and calmness to escape.

What experiment does Rinpoche use to demonstrate the challenge of stopping thoughts?

Rinpoche asks the audience not to think about pizza, demonstrating how trying to stop a thought can make it more persistent, showing that meditation is not about suppressing thoughts.

What did Rinpoche’s father teach him about dealing with panic?

Rinpoche’s father taught him not to fight panic or try to get rid of it. Instead, he taught him to connect with awareness, which is like the sky – always present and unaffected by the storm of panic.

How does Rinpoche compare awareness to the sky?

Rinpoche compares awareness to the sky in the mountains, where thoughts and emotions, like panic, are transient like clouds. The sky (awareness) remains pure and calm no matter the intensity of the storm (panic).

What are the three steps of meditation that Rinpoche shares?

The three steps are: 1) Use an object or support (e.g., sound) to connect with awareness; 2) Meditate anytime, anywhere, with anything, including emotions; 3) Practice open-awareness meditation, where you simply exist in awareness without external support.

How can someone meditate with panic according to Rinpoche?

To meditate with panic, you observe it rather than resisting it. When you observe panic, you transcend it. Panic becomes like a piece of foam, which isn’t solid but made up of smaller, transient elements.

What is the concept of 'open-awareness meditation'?

Open-awareness meditation is a state where you don’t need any external support or focus. You simply exist in awareness, being present in the moment without any attachment to thoughts or feelings.

What role does panic play in Rinpoche’s meditation practice?

Panic becomes a teacher in Rinpoche’s practice. It teaches wisdom, acceptance, and self-compassion. By letting panic come and go without resistance, he learns to observe it and gain clarity, rather than being overwhelmed by it.

What was the purpose of Rinpoche's 'wandering retreat'?

The 'wandering retreat' was an experiment in self-awareness where Rinpoche left behind everything, including his monastery and students, to live on the streets with only a few rupees. It deepened his understanding of open-awareness meditation and helped him confront his own ego and fears.

What important insight did Rinpoche gain from his wandering retreat?

From the wandering retreat, Rinpoche learned that when you simply 'be' in awareness, everything – including suffering – becomes part of the experience. He also realized the depth of presence that can be achieved even in extreme circumstances, like physical decay or suffering.

What does Rinpoche mean by saying that meditation is not about 'doing' anything?

Rinpoche emphasizes that meditation is not about forcing thoughts away or seeking specific outcomes. It’s about being present and aware, without attachment or expectation. You don’t need to 'do' anything other than be aware.