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I say meditation is a state of mind. It is of prime importance to be clear about this at the outset.
We have not gathered here to do anything but have come to experience that state where we simply are, where no action takes place, where there is no smoke to suggest action and only the burning flame of being remains, where only the self remains, where even the thought that "I am" no longer remains, where simply "being" remains. This is shunya, emptiness. This is the point where we see not the world, but truth. It is in this void, in this emptiness that the wall that keeps you from knowing your self topples, that the curtains of thought rise and wisdom dawns. At this point you do not think, you know. Then there is vision; then there is realization.
But the words "vision" and "realization" are not quite appropriate because here there is no difference between the knower and the known, no difference between the subject and the object. Here there is neither the known nor the knower, simply knowing. In this context no word is suitable. "No-word" is the only appropriate word. If anyone asks me about this state I remain silent -- or you might say I convey my answer through my silence.
Meditation is no-action. Action is something we may or may not do according to our wishes. But there is a difference between one's nature and one's actions. One's nature is not action, it is neither doing nor non-doing. For example, understanding and sight are parts of our nature, parts of our being. Even if we do nothing they will still be there. Nature is constantly present in us and only that which is constant and continuous can be called natural. Nature is not something of our making, it is our foundation. It is ourselves. We do not create it, it is an intrinsic cohesion. We call it dharma. Dharma means our nature; it means pure existence.
This constant and continuous nature of ours is suppressed by the scattered direction of our actions. Just as the sea is covered by waves and the sun by clouds, we are covered by our own actions. The layer of activities on the surface hides that which is deep inside. Insignificant waves hide from our view the unfathomable depths
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