EP015: Have you Been Meditating Right? A Zen Master Weighs in

Today’s show is a guided exercise in mindfulness by Zen Master Genpo Roshi; tune in to hear how you may have been poorly instructed, if at all, on how to meditate as well as what the long-term benefits of the practice are.

Meditation may not be the negation of the thinking mind that you think it is… It is rather an act of setting the thinking mind free, knowing it will quiet down.

Key Takeaways

Genpo speaks to Ron’s thinking mind [1:13] When you try to meditate, what does the thinking mind do? It thinks… It’s what it does. It thinks about the day, the things you have to do, didn’t do, the past, the future.

The thinking mind gets a hall pass [4:26] Genpo invites Ron to let his thinking mind go wherever it will for a few moments, an unbridled thinking minute. The absence of resistance enables the thinking mind to calm down.

The non-thinking mind needs love too  [7:14] So very few of us actually give room to the non-thinking part of our brain… Genpo offers that the Tao is something we all have within but we give it little space.

The apex [10:13] If the thinking mind and the non-thinking mind are the base of a triangle, who’s at the top? It’s you. And from this place, you get to choose who has screen time, the thinking mind or the non-thinking mind.

Slow or fast, the benefits of meditation come [15:55] Regardless of the type of meditation you chose to practice, they all allow us to quiet down and become more centered and more focused — the very first benefit. As time goes on and as peace settles into the practice, more aspects of the self are discovered.

Imagine that [16:42] Imagine the peace that would come from not being affected by what people thought of you — not in a negative way — the liberation of knowing you can’t control that and that it’s okay.

Relationships and being right [17:33] Genpo touches on how long it took to become what he says is “Okay at relationships” because he couldn’t appreciate other people’s points of view, always thinking that his were more important or right.

What is Zen? [22:11] A slice of happiness, effortlessness, and making peace with yourself in the world.

On death and the value of life [23:50] Roshi speaks to the importance of people's perspective on death; he shares his personal experiences with death. He’s come to the conclusion that to make peace with our own death allows us to enjoy life more.

The balloon [26:26] Denying or avoiding negative emotions will never work, anything we repress will come out somewhere else.

Thanks for tuning in! We understand that there is a good chance this episode will have raised some seriously profound questions in some people. If you want to discuss this further, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Tony through any of the means below.

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More about our guest

Genpo Roshi, Big Mind