Meditation and Morals.... by my Uncle Gene

It dawned on me that in whatever city I have practiced Sitting Meditation with a group, I could have left my wallet and my car keys anywhere on the floor, and they would have been there when the session ended. Granted that those who practice  Meditation are a special subsection of the general population, there is something about all practitioners of "mindfulness" that sets them apart, and not just the capacity of some of them to sit in an unusual cross-legged position (a capacity I do not happen to share). Is there something about practicing mind-full-ness that disposes one to be more fully aware of how one should behave, including a heightened sense of compassion? Are meditators more moral than the rest of the population? 

I am reminded of what I heard from a Catholic priest, before the dawn of the ecumenical era. He said: "Better to forget your umbrella in a Protestant Church on a rainy Sunday, because Catholics are obligated to go to Mass, so the moral people as well as the thieves are there, but only the moral Protestants go to Church on rainy Sundays." Whether you go to Church, Synagogue, or Mosque, the preaching inevitably will relate to what you should do, and how you should live your life. And certainly the quiet times, the interludes when nothing appears to be happening, might be the times of quiet meditation, times for reflection, times for thinking about how your life should be lived, and perhaps what your obligations to others might entail...

How much more "moral" our culture might be, if some form of Mindful Meditation were taught in our schools! While some might fear an intrusion of something that appears to have a Buddhist heritage, Mindfulness Meditation has become a distinct practice that can be applied in many ways. Jon Kabat-Zinn's new book, Mindfulness for Beginners, could create something of a moral revolution, if what he teaches in the book were ever widely practiced. "The real challenge...is that the practice itself gives us instant access to other dimensions of our life that have been here all along, but with which we have been seriously out of touch." I wonder how many of those dimensions relate to how we might become better at the art of being fully human...

There is a collection of stories within the Sufi Tradition called "The Nasrudin Tales." Here is a good example: "Nasrudin, is your religion orthodox?" "It all depends," said Nasrudin, "on which bunch of heretics is in power."

And there is a story circulating in Meditation circles about a renowned Rabbi from Byelorussia. An American traveler stopped to visit him, and was surprised that the Rabbi lived in a one room apartment, with a table, two chairs, and a small desk. The traveler said: "But where is your furniture?" The Rabbi replied: "Where is your furniture?" The traveler said: "I have no furniture, I am just passing through," to which the Rabbi replied, "I am just passing through too...."

There is much to meditate about, in those tales...