Swanwick Star Issue No. 1 (2008)

Mark Lee Retreat September 2008: On Meditation

“Unless we have an actual experience of what it all means then meditation will remain an idea, a subject, an interesting realm to speculate.

We have to devote all our time and energy to this. It requires an explosive breaking away from the past, our routines, our habits, and our default thinking. You must have an intense desire to do this, only then you will not postpone it to later.

I asked Krishnamurti how to meditate. I was not satisfied with his talks where he said that it wasn’t this, it wasn’t that, so I asked him to teach me.

His reply and his lesson, as it was just as simple as that, was as follows:

A.) Are you ready to meditate? Are you capable? Do you have the discipline? (Most Americans have no discipline.)

B.) Sit comfortably. Sit still. Is your body quiet?

C.) Close your eyes. Don’t move your eyes while they are closed.

D.) Do you hear everything around you? Do you smell everything around you? Can you feel your body sitting?

E.) Ask yourself what is happening in your mind. Do you see thought watching thought?

F.) Do you recognize the space between two thoughts? Is it thought that sees the space or is it awareness?

G.) Meditation is when the space grows and grows and the thinker has stopped and all that is left is awareness.”

– Mark Lee

The retreat, hosted by Mark Lee was held on a weekend in the beginning of September/08. Together, the participants enquired into the question of meditation, and with every meeting, journeyed deeper and deeper into the understanding of such a question. The days consisted of several meetings which included the watching of a Krishnamurti video on the subject of meditation, followed by dialogue. In dialogue the opportunity was had to share in an active investigation into this thing called meditation. Going into questions such as: When is one not in meditation? Who is the meditator? And of course the careful and honest observation of what happens when one asks oneself what meditation is.

We were blessed with beautiful weather, wondrous natural surroundings, and the rare opportunity to share with others a serious enquiry into this very marvellous life, and it’s relationship to meditation.