Reflection, contemplation and meditation





Every pure understanding depends upon meditation.

Successful meditation depends on receiving correct instructions.[1]

Now we get to the steps where many of us step off the learning train, so if you’re still on board and engaged in a learning program at this point, congratulations!

Reflection, contemplation or meditation are powerful methods for deepening our understanding, and advancing our learning.

Reflection and contemplation in this context have similar meanings: calm, lengthy, intense consideration of any object of attention, often in relationship to other objects.

Similarly, meditation is generally defined as sustained focus on an object of attention. A more powerful definition asserts that meditation is a sustained focus on a virtuous object of attention, e.g. the thought “I am determined to become a doctor so that I can help others lead long, healthy lives.”

Again paraphrasing Dr. Jacqueline Leighton:

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Dr. Howard Gardner has studied the lives of extraordinary individuals such as

Einstein and Mozart and found that these extraordinary individuals spent a tremendous amount of time reflecting on how to meet their goals. At the classroom level, researchers such as Dr. Phil Winne from Simon Fraser University have studied students who engage in self-regulation or meta-cognitive behaviours which are very similar in quality to reflection or meditation. The ability to think about how you think, learn, and perform is very useful to helping individuals understand how to improve their learning and performance and incorporate what their mentors tell them into techniques to get better at what they do.

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By engaging in reflection or meditation we deepen our understanding and may even experience a whole new idea, or realization, that transcends our prior understanding. Many ‘aha’ moments have arisen in history in many different fields, directly through this practice.

Meditation is a learnable skill. It depends on many of the preparatory practices mentioned in an earlier blog. I recommend seeking out a qualified teacher so that your reflection, contemplation or meditation – whatever you choose to call it – can be sustained and successful.

Next we will look at the application of joyful effort.

-David Luke, Senior Consultant at FocusFit (2007) Inc.

© 2011 D. G. Luke and FocusFit (2007) Inc.

[1] Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Generating deep curiosity about the materials, and the teachings

You may have noticed that great and enthusiastic learners like to ask a lot of questions. If you have generated motivation for learning, found the right coach, mentor or teacher, engaged in a program that will help you meet your life goals, and developed respect for the teacher and the materials, generating deep curiosity will not be difficult.

Many study programs encourage discussion, challenges and even debate. There is a long standing practice of discussion and friendly debate in several Buddhist traditions. Students question and challenge ideas, just as students of arts or science might discuss different theories and hypotheses.

Friendly questioning or challenging is not intended to demean or belittle the teachings or teacher, but rather to extract the greatest possible learning value from them. We question for deeper understanding. If after repeated questioning the answer is still not satisfactory, try to set it aside so that you can remain open to other ideas.

Or, if something is intellectually unfathomable but open to behavioural testing, try an experiment. I have had this experience a few times over the past few years. Rather than reject an idea outright, look at the suggestion from your coach, mentor or teacher and ask yourself, “Can I put this into practice?”

If the answer is “yes”, then try it on a sustained basis, or for however long it takes to experience the effects, and see what happens.

In my spiritual practice, for example, there are ideas that many find intellectually challenging. One of my early teachers suggested that rather than rejecting these ideas or views outright, we should try to contemplate the consequences and benefits of holding the view, meditate as though we firmly believe it, and then head out into the world with this new outlook firmly planted in our mind.

In other words, we experiment and see what happens. The same is true for what we might do if we are training as an athlete, or testing a scientific hypothesis.

So I did what my teacher suggested. In one case I tested the view that every living being I meet is. Everybody. The auto mechanic. The cashier at the supermarket. All of the people in front of me in the line at the supermarket. The guy down the hall at the office. My brothers. The guys digging up my street. My sister. My sons. My girlfriend. My father.

I began to see the benefit and my interest in and motivation for the teachings grew. I still cannot fully fathom the idea, but I no longer dismiss it out of hand.

I opened up to the possibility that there may be another way of looking at experience, and that there may be instances where what is “true” is not necessarily provable through logic or scientific observation.

To quote Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson again, “sometimes you actually do have to make stuff up that might be true, so that you can organize a research plan to find out whether or not it is… this is the creativity of discovery…”

Next: reflection, contemplation and meditation.

-David Luke, Senior Consultant at FocusFit (2007) Inc.

© 2011 D. G. Luke and FocusFit (2007) Inc.

Developing respect for the materials, and for the teacher

Once you have selected a mentor, guide or coach and have committed to a specific learning program or path, as discussed in the previous post, it is essential that you develop respect for the materials, and for the teacher.

Most of us have great difficulty proceeding with learning when we hold negative views about the teacher or about the materials. We may judge our teacher or mentor’s character, their background, their credentials, their manner of speech, their appearance or in fact anything about the teacher that we may perceive as unpleasant.

To build your capability as a learner, try to listen or read with the deepest possible respect, however the teacher or the materials may appear. In Five Sets on the Spiritual Grounds, the great Buddhist master Asanga advises students to practice the following five “inattentivenesses” whenever we listen to teachings. We should strive to be inattentive to:

• Character faults or lack of moral discipline
• Low social standing, social class or education
• Unattractive physical appearance
• Unpleasant words
• Displeasing manner of speech, use of language, or presentation

In other words Asanga is advising us to turn our attention away from a teacher’s faults, or anything about the teacher or teachings that may seem unpleasant, and instead focus on the essence of the advice the coach, mentor or teacher offers. 

Developing respect does not however mean that you turn yourself into an unquestioning automaton! It makes more sense to maintain a questioning mind, seek clarification, and then put the teachings, requests or suggestions into practice.

At this point you may doubt this advice. You might think, “Yes but what if I develop a strong sense, for example, that the teacher is ineffective, or that the materials are not right for me?”
Remember first that these obstacles are arising in your mind. It may be that you have had similar unpleasant experiences in the past, for example, or that you may hold some views very firmly that are incompatible with the ideas being presented.

If you have chosen your mentor, coach or teacher carefully, and have made a commitment to the learning or training program, I would strongly recommend sticking with it and exploring the materials for as long as you can.

In any case, I would recommend not making too hasty a judgment and giving yourself time to develop a balanced sense of the mentor and his or her methods. You may want to attend several classes in the case of a long course or study program before coming to any firm conclusion about the teacher, or the materials.

Next: another in the steps to becoming a great learner – generating deep curiosity.

-David Luke, Senior Consultant at FocusFit (2007) Inc.

© 2011 D. G. Luke and FocusFit (2007) Inc.

Seeking and relying on a guide, teacher, coach or mentor

One of the most critical steps in becoming a great learner – or for that matter even making significant progress on your path – is to accept and embrace the need for a mentor. This step is difficult for many learners, for various reasons. We value our independence. We want the freedom to choose different teachers, or learning paths, at any time. Many of us simply do not want to admit that we need help.

Nevertheless if we observe those who have excelled in any field – artistic, scientific, athletic or spiritual, to name a few – without exception they have all relied on a highly skilled guide, teacher, coach or mentor.

Ideally this coach or mentor is somebody you can access in person, or at least via phone. It may be that you can only access this guide through books, audio or video recordings. Although not ideal the second option is preferable to having no guide at all.

Paraphrasing Dr. Jacqueline P. Leighton of the University of Alberta:
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Mentorship is critically important in helping ensure that students develop into excellent learners. These can be mentors, role models or simply teachers. Whatever you call them, they directly help students understand what they need to do to achieve a higher level of learning and performance. Ivan Galamian, famous violin teacher, made the following statement about mentors:

“If we analyze the development of the well-known artist, we see that in almost every case the success of their entire career was dependent upon the quality of their practicing. In practically each case, the practicing was constantly supervised either by a teacher or an assistant to the teacher…” 

Mentors, coaches, teachers or guides must be more knowledgeable about the student’s field of study than the student. Mentors must be able to help the student achieve a greater level of learning and performance by providing accurate and detailed feedback. The feedback must be specific about the ways in which the students can improve his or her performance. Many extraordinary minds recollect the decisive role mentors had in their development of expertise. Not only do mentors teach directly and help students reduce the gap between their current level of performance and their desired level of performance, but they also inspire, motivate, and support.
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So what should we look for in a mentor, guide, teacher or coach? Here are a few characteristics of what I would consider the ideal teacher or guide in any field. He or she is:

• Delighted to be teaching, mentoring or coaching
• Wise, calm, focused and disciplined
• Very skilled in providing instructions
• Sincerely interested in benefiting you, and others
• Very knowledgeable in your chosen field of study, and more knowledgeable than you  

Of course your chosen mentor may not possess all of these qualities, or they may not be apparent right away. I suggest that if you are not so fortunate to find someone with all of these characteristics that you seek a mentor with at least three.

Next I’ll explore another of the steps to becoming a great learner: developing respect for the teacher, and for the materials.

-David Luke, Senior Consultant at FocusFit (2007) Inc.

© 2011 D. G. Luke and FocusFit (2007) Inc.