39: Repeating Peaceful Meditations — Manipulating vs Letting Be | Dhamma Discussion

A Dhamma discussion based on the question…

@ Bhante Joe I have a question around balancing contentment and striving. When I was meditating last night I saw how much dissatisfaction I was experiencing over not having the type of meditation experiences I had the last time and wanted again this time. The perceptions and feelings were not as strong and pleasant.

I tried forcing it for a bit, and then saw how I was suffering because I was forcing, not for what I couldn’t experience. So, then I had a thought to just let the experience of the breath be enough the way it is in this moment. I stopped forcing my mind to try and relate to it in any particular way, and stopped obsessing about the meditation being as pleasant or deep as the last one.

Basically, I was practicing contentment with what was. But then I got to wondering if maybe I was just quitting when I should have pushed through and created the perceptions and feelings I was hoping for.

How do we know when it’s the right time to strive and the right time to just be content and be with what is?

(line breaks added)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *