Is the Best Meditation Space a Peaceful One?
This morning, a close neighbor began to mow in the middle of my meditation. His mower could win a Guinness World Record for “loudest in the Universe.”
What did I do?
Nothing.
I noticed. I continued sitting still.
As a beginner, it can help tremendous to have a relatively quiet and comfortable meditation space. You already face the millions of distractions created by your own mind from spaciness to restless to an over abundance of thoughts.
It can be challenging enough to build and sustain a meditation practice when you meditate in a peaceful spot. You don’t need to add rock bands, flashing lights, and the aroma of freshly baked goods.
But ultimately, meditation—meaning mindfulness and awareness in the present moment—isn’t about running away to a secluded place. It’s learning to stay wide awake wherever you are.
The desire to enfold yourself in calm, quiet meditative coziness and stay there forever can in fact become an obstacle on your spiritual path.
Let’s take a look.
You Might Become a “Tranquil Vegetable”
In his book, Fearless Simplicity, The Dzogchen Way of Living Freely in a Complex World, contemporary meditation teacher Tsoknyi Rinpoche shares a story about the great Dzogchen yogi, Togden Amtin.
According to the story, Amtin meditated for six years in a comfortable retreat hut located in a beautiful forest. With an abundance of firewood at hand, he often cooked nourishing meals for himself. On sunny days, he enjoyed the warmth on his shoulders and a wide open vista as his view.
He didn’t have many negative emotions in this idyllic place. He might have even felt a bit of pride about that.
But after six years, he wondered if his practice had turned him into a “tranquil vegetable.”
He went to see his teacher and asked if it might be better to go to a more challenging place. Even in twentieth century Tibet, it wasn’t unusual for practitioners to meditate in cemeteries or sit in an exposed indent on a rocky ledge.
In response, his teacher gave him directions to the perfect spot.
“Arriving there, Amtin found a huge cave where the sun never shone, with water trickling down the entrance. In the evening, a large flock of pigeons flew around inside, making a lot of noise while shitting down on him. The first day he didn’t know what was going on. He put out various containers to collect the water trickling down, but when he drank from it, he said, ‘What is this? It has a strange taste.’ Later he realized it was urine from the pigeons. The cave was cold and damp, noisy, and scary at night. As he practiced there he found that his former peace of mind was tracelessly gone. He thought, ‘My practice has gone to pieces. Now what should I do?’ And he felt that whatever he had done in the past didn’t amount to much, so now he really had to practice.”—Fearless Simplicity
It was very difficult at first, but Amtin remained, steadfastly practicing his meditation for another six years.
“And now, whatever happens, whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, really doesn’t affect him.” — Fearless Simplicity
Whether you practice mindfulness or advanced non-dual meditation like Dzogchen, the point is to go beyond attachment and aversion. That includes attachment to peace.
So, if you’re attached to your cozy meditation space, like Amtin, you might want to shake things up.
Experiment: Meditate in Busy Places Too
There’s nothing wrong with meditating in a quiet, comfortable, and beautiful place.
If you’ve been meditating for a while, however, take it as a warning sign if you can only meditate when your space is soundless, arranged in particular way, or adorned with accessories like a sound bowl, incense, or oil diffuser.
Once you have a solid meditation practice in place (that might take six months or a year), experiment a bit.
Sit down in the middle of a busy shopping mall, train station, or university campus and see whether you can rest you mind in awareness despite the numerous distractions.
Because the ultimate point of meditation practice is to bring mindfulness, awareness, and equanimity wherever you go.
Traffic jam? No problem.
Long line at the supermarket? No problem.
Endless redirects on a customer service call? No problem.
The measure of your success in meditation isn’t how peaceful you feel but rather how peacefully you react when your meditation is disturbed or life jiggles you around in unexpected ways.
Closing Thoughts
As a beginner, it can be helpful to have a peaceful meditation space until your practice is relatively stable.
But don’t get too attached to your quiet and cozy spot.
The real purpose of meditation is to train yourself to remain steadfast wherever you find yourself and whatever emotions arise in your heart and mind.
So venture out form your perfect meditation cave now and then. Like Togden Amtin, find out if you can maintain a sense of equanimity when it feels like the world is shitting on you.
[Photo by Anastasia Shuraeva on Pexels]
Thank you for your presence, I know your time is precious! Don’t forget to sign up for Wild Arisings, my twice monthly letters from the heart filled with insights, inspiration, and ideas to help you connect with and live from your truest self.
You might also like to check out my Living with Ease course or visit my Self-Care Shop. May you be happy, well, and safe – always. With love, Sandra
