Methods of Awakening - Practice Playtime: Part One

 

[Edited January 27th 2020: Fixed a load of run-on sentences and corrected grammar. Also removed any reference to AF. An audio version of this post will be made available shortly.]

Practice Playtime

YouTube, Attentiveness & Insight

In my own practice, I've explored lots of game-like ways of incorporating various modes of practice into everyday activities that I would otherwise have done with less than 100% enjoyment, attentiveness/mindfulness or determination. I managed to make noticeable progress by essentially turning everything I did into insight practice during every waking moment, be it noting the breath as soon as I woke up, or noticing the patterns of sensations involved in dialing a phone number or mixing down a new recording. The whole of our everyday experience is full of opportunities for insight, moment by moment, and so it makes sense to extend practice off the cushion and take advantage of this.

A potential problem with this is that it can become tedious or chore-like if we approach it purely as a "practice". We can also become neurotic about missing sensations or end up getting too involved in our own heads, neglecting the important things in our everyday lives. A way I found to work around that was to basically turn it into something enjoyable, fun, and exciting that I actually wanted to do. It's not easy at first, but you can always find something in what you're doing that's at least moderately entertaining. This led me to experiment with activities I wouldn't normally have considered as being 'worthy' of being used for insight practice but which, as I soon realized, provide ample opportunities to investigate this experience as it occurs.

This post is just one set of ideas for when you're watching stuff on youtube, as most of us likely do at some point, but it'd be great if anyone could add their own ideas or experiments to this. It'd be interesting to see what sort of stuff people come up with and to see the range of everyday dharma practices develop from it. No doubt some people would scoff at such a suggestion, but this approach has been of immense benefit to me and to those I know who also experimented with it.
 

Anyway...back to the practical.

(Downloadable version: Practice Playtime: Part One)

[Note: I'm using the term attentiveness here although "mindfulness" could be just as easily substituted, particularly as described in "Mindfulness In Plain English" by Ven. Henepola Gunaratana.]

• While watching videos on YouTube a while ago, I noticed how you can observe attention flitting between the sense doors if you just sit quietly and stop trying to do anything. You don't need to move, think, or try in anyway. Try sitting there as if something really exciting[1] is just about to happen and notice - effortlessly and naturally - how the eyes continue to see the video and how the ears hear the sound. Look at how they're both happening at once and see it clearly. Notice how the eyes don't perceive sound and the ears don't see anything, but that there's no actual distinction between, what appears to be, two different things.

• When you're looking at a video onscreen and you can see the singer/performer/whatever speaking or singing, try looking at how the visual aspects and the auditory aspects seem to be perceived at different times. This is just basic physics, light and sound, but in terms of how we seem to perceive things non-simultaneously at the sensate level, rather than perceive them as they are, and also how we distinguish between two sensations on a moment-by-moment basis, is worth investigating to break up the illusion of continuity.

• While reading comments on YouTube, you'll inevitably come across some idiot whose opinions make you annoyed or just plain nauseous. Welcome to your own view/beliefs/opinions. Instead of thundering in with a sarcastic, vitriolic rant (as was my favoured approach at one time), stop and look at why it is that you're experiencing this discomfort, irritation, anger, the violent urge to take a pick-axe handle to the person or simply unhappiness. It's just words on a screen. The emotional reaction happens inside of "you". It is "you"  since "you" are "your feelings"...so what was it about that comment which caused you to projectile vomit and throw your monitor across the room?

• On the subject of investigating beliefs/view/opinion: You can also use these opportunities to safely get to grips with the phenomenological side of emotions. Even if you're not prone to anger or irritation, it's almost certain that someone, somewhere on YouTube will say something that pisses you off, even just mildly enough to cause a thought to arise about how stupid they are or how they're wrong and you're right. Investigate that shit!

• Notice how, even if you're distracted by something or someone, sounds are still being perceived regardless. The eyes may be seeing something other than the screen and surrounding area (which, in fact they always are even if you haven't realized it yet) but hearing still operates just fine as it is. Look at what it is to hear a sound. Examine the process as it happens and see how deeply into the subtle sensations - like the vibration of air on the ear drum or the immediacy of sounds freed from any ideas of location at the point of sense contact - you can go before you realize their true nature.

• With the visual side of things, see if you can catch the interplay of frames in the videos. Sometimes the frame-rate is jumpy and it can be enough of a jolt to the system to wake you up. The seeming continuity breaks down for an instant and can be just enough to give you a push in the right direction. This is something that worked for me while editing videos so, even though it may sound a bit far-fetched, I can confirm that it's another interesting trick to play with.

I'll leave the list here for the moment, but these are just a few things that I've played around with and found some use in so hopefully someone else can benefit from them. If anyone else has anything similarly light-hearted and fun, but still practice related and pragmatic, please post it.

Peace & Practice Well,

Tommy 

 

[1] Do you ever remember the feeling you used to get when you were young and just running in a straight line? I remember this sense of being ready to almost explode with joyfulness and wonder, like I was being drawn forwards by some unknowable source but it was exciting and freeing at the same time. This is the sort of feeling I aim towards when cultivating the sort of mindset that's helpful in this sort of practice.