Sometimes it is a heads-on battle,
Facing gross instincts with quiet resolve,
Effort firm, like a river against the stone,
Uprooting weeds of doubt and desire,
Aware of sensations, leading to awareness of anicca
The enemy Mar/delusion is disguised and hidden ... and even if he is visible, you win by unwavering stance.
Hidden Mara, unseen foe,
You keep steady breath, mind on sensations,
Power of anicca begins to show.
When you work with vipassana, base instincts and defilements that caused the body to be stiff come up and begin to loose hold. Body becomes stronger and more flexible over time, breathing softer and steadier after initial tumultuous phases .. as you continue to work through. Lust that used hold us down gets replaced with beautiful quality of love and care, like in the deva world. The mind gets refined. But the struggle of rising up from the gross feelings is a long war with numerous battles with continuous rise and fall ... work through the tumultuous phases that come up to get released. Let layer after layer get uprooted.
Base instincts, once held tight,
Loosen their grip, losing might,
Gross desires transform in light,
To love and care, pure and white.
Meditating calmly, like grass bending in the storm
To come out of mechanical practise and develop qualities of awareness and investigation ... it is a continuous practise, you have to tune into anicca sometimes by being gentle, bending like grass and surviving the storm. Tuning in the effort ...
Mind soft as morning dew nourishing the garden
As blades of grass bend safely in storm ... when strong trees get uproot and break.
With gentle but unrelenting effort, penetrate the truth with anicca.
