Levels of Meditation: The First Two
The First Level of Meditation: Forget-I (忘我 Wàng Wǒ)
The levels of meditation are explained in many places through Daoist Philosophy as well, so I will summarise:
- Thinking takes a lot of energy. Thinking is not the highest level of any activity. For example, no professional sportsperson has time to ‘think.’
- By not thinking, we can concentrate more deeply.
- Then in that activity, we create a possibility for a moment when we forget ourselves.
- Forgetting the self will also cause us to forget anything connected to the self: our problems, desires, and worries.
- Time and space can also vanish.
- This further reduces and I and issues related to either time or space.
- Anyone practising a very high skill and concentration can reach this:
Many examples: Cooking, sports, art, dance, martial art, and writing.
There are higher levels of meditation. But why?
Because we forget-I, we forget about the body and create both bad posture and strange motion, which causes tension. Tension will prevent the level from increasing unlimitedly.
The harmony inside and outside is out of balance.
The Second Level of Meditation: No I (無我 Wú Wǒ)
Explained in many places through Daoist and Buddhist Philosophy. There are different explanations from different teachers to different levels of students.
- ‘No’ here refers to ‘no-personal-blind I.’ This means the personal I is replaced with a “harmony I.” The blind here refers to the level of awareness that is incomplete or still in a developing zone.
- Where Forget-I was creating bad posture and motion, No-I remains aware of the posture and motion. Creating beautiful moving meditation poses.
- When we value harmony over our ego (what we want), we develop a new skill in the present. This increases our wisdom and allows us to see new angles of life.
- Harmony inside: physical tension, mental worry, psychological fear/anxiety, emotional heaviness.
- When we feel light, we are in an internal harmony zone. We can call this inner peace. This zone is out of thinking. This zone appears when thinking slows down.
- And harmony outside: Harmony external: other people and our surroundings, 風水 Fēng shuǐ, the environment in balance. This zone makes the space comfortable to stay in indefinitely.
See more about the next level of meditation in this discussion of Nirvana.
Summary of the Two Levels of Meditation
The first level of meditation is called “Forget-I,” where one forgets themselves and their problems, desires, and worries. This allows for deeper concentration and can be achieved through activities such as cooking, sports, art, dance, martial art, and writing. However, this level can also create bad posture and motion, causing tension that prevents further progress. The second level of meditation is called “No I,” where the personal “I” is replaced with a “harmony I”, and one remains aware of posture and motion, creating beautiful, moving meditation poses. This level values harmony over the ego and develops new skills and wisdom, leading to inner peace and a balance in the environment.
Practical Exercises For Learning The Levels of Meditation
Here are some practical exercises:
- Forget-I Meditation: Find an activity that you enjoy and that requires concentration, such as cooking, sports, art, dance, martial art, or writing. Practice this activity while letting go of your thoughts and worries and allowing yourself to fully immerse in the present moment. As you do this, you may find that you begin to forget yourself and your problems and experience a deeper level of concentration.
- No I Meditation: Start by sitting in a comfortable position and focusing on your breath. As you breathe in, imagine that you are breathing in harmony and balance; as you breathe out, imagine that you are releasing any tension or negative thoughts. As you focus on your breath, bring awareness to your posture and motion, and make any adjustments necessary to maintain a balanced and comfortable position.
- Body scan meditation, where you focus on each part of your body and release any tension you may find.
- Mindfulness meditation is where you focus on the present moment without judgement and observe any thoughts or feelings that arise but do not get attached to them.
- Loving-kindness meditation, where you focus on sending love and well-wishes to yourself and others, promoting feelings of harmony and inner peace.
It’s important to note that these practices take time and patience to master and should be practised regularly to see progress.
