- Strong Determination Sitting: Leo Gura discusses the meditation technique called Strong Determination Sitting, which he learned from Zen master Shinzen Young. Strong Determination Sitting involves sitting for a long period (from 1 to 2 hours onwards) without moving, regardless of bodily discomfort. According to Shinzen Young, this could be the fastest way to reach Enlightenment.
- Seriousness of practice in meditation traditions: Leo highlights the seriousness of meditation in cultures with strong meditation traditions, such as China, India, Nepal, Japan, and Southeast Asia. He gives the example of the Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei, showcasing incredible physical and mental endurance in their path to enlightenment.
- Becoming aware of discomfort and resistance: The practice of Strong Determination Sitting makes one aware of their discomfort, resistance, and possible distress. This can range from mild itches to extreme physical pain. The aim is to resist all urges to move and to persist in meditation throughout the discomfort.
- Challenging the mind: Leo emphasizes on the sheer challenge of this practice for an untrained mind. Even an hour of remaining perfectly still and meditating can be incredibly difficult for beginners. Such intense practice is an opportunity to confront the nature and limits of the mind, pushing towards resilience and self-realization.
- Potential of the mind: The examples and teachings in the video aim to demonstrate the extraordinary potential of the human mind. Through rigorous and disciplined practice, the mind can be trained to reach transcendent levels of consciousness, even in the most extreme circumstances.
- Fast-track path to Enlightenment: Strong Determination Sitting is seen as a fast-track path to Enlightenment. It involves a significant level of discipline, self-awareness, and patience. However, such intense practice can lead to profound insights and transformation, suggesting that the benefits of this meditation technique are significant.
- End goal of practice: Besides personal development and Enlightenment, such practices can lead to an understanding that true happiness is independent of external circumstances. It's about being happy in the present moment, regardless of physical discomfort or mental distress. This practice can help realize that potential and work towards achieving it.
- Extending durations: Leo advises gradually increasing the duration of practicing Strong Determination Sitting. His personal achievement extends to 90 minutes after 2.5 years of regular meditation. He suggests this method can significantly accelerate progress in meditation and overall consciousness evolution.
- Moving beyond conventional notion of happiness: The idea of being content and peaceful despite difficult circumstances challenges the conventional notion of happiness. It's about freedom from the mind's usual need for comfort and satisfaction. The practice of Strong Determination Sitting serves as a direct confrontation to this.
- Practice of Strong Determination Sitting: Leo Gura describes the technique of Strong Determination Sitting, which involves sitting motionless and still for long periods like 90 minutes. The practice requires enduring physical discomforts, boredom, and other mental challenges, transcending into a different state of mind. He suggests this practice can be coupled with other techniques, such as Self-Inquiry or the 'Do Nothing' method for increased benefits.
- Western Perception of Happiness: Criticizing the modern culture and western society, Leo states that they have rotted the mind and lowered the bar for consciousness due to the influences of technology and social upbringings. He challenges the western definition of happiness- equating it to entertainment, stimulation, excitement, and love, arguing that true happiness is about being fully present and at one with the current moment, regardless of circumstances.
- Importance of Training to be in Present Moment: He emphasizes the monastic practice of attaining ease and non-resistance to current situations, relating it to deep, unconditional happiness. He points out that true happiness is to be able to contextualize pleasant and unpleasant life situations alike, equating true happiness with the ability to merge with reality.
- True Purpose of Meditation: He clarifies a commonly asked question about the purpose of meditation and suggests that the primary aim of meditation is to merge with reality. This merging can enable a person to experience blissful levels of happiness. His insight reveals that even though meditation and monastic practices may seem counter-intuitive to the western ideas of happiness, they are incredibly effective in reaching the objective of sustained happiness.
- Self-reflection on Quest for Happiness: Leo challenges viewers to reflect on their methods of pursuing happiness in life, examining how effective they have been. If an individual is unable to sit motionless for an hour and feel happy, it shows a lack of true happiness. He rationalizes that an agitated psychological state can never achieve true happiness, revealing that the source of unhappiness lies within one's mindset.
- Importance of Enlightenment: Leo Gura explains that being able to sit calmly and happily is a litmus test for Enlightenment, an inside state of realization that cannot be conclusively proven. The ability to sit peacefully for hours without the need to move or think indicates ones inner peace and potentially, Enlightenment.
- Challenge to one's perception of Happiness: He challenges the audience to try to sit for one hour without distraction, a difficult task for most, which exposes one's inability to find happiness in simplicity and drives the realization that the pursuit of happiness might be flawed.
- Mind and reality: Leo explains meditation not as self-torture but as a means to make the mind reconcile with the ever-changing present moment or reality. The fundamental problem of the human psyche is its resistance to this changing reality.
- Purification of subconscious mind: He introduces a formula learned from Shinzen Young, purification equals pain multiplied by mindfulness. This signifies purification of the subconscious mind and psyche filled with resistance towards the present moment. Enduring pain and applying mindfulness initiates a process of purifying your mind and bringing it back to the present.
- Meditation as psychotherapy: By equating meditation to psychotherapy, he sees meditation as purging the mind of past traumas and embracing the present moment. It is a psychological discipline rather than a religious practice, purifying the subconscious mind in a powerful and profound way.
- Interplay of suffering, pain and resistance: Leo further explains another formula: suffering is the product of pain and resistance; where reduction in resistance to zero leads to the elimination of pain. He illustrates this concept by telling an anecdote of a friend who had a root canal procedure done without anesthesia, depicting the transformative potential of enlightenment and mindfulness.
- Introduction to a new Meditation technique: Towards the end of the section, Leo introduces a powerful meditation practice, involving sitting for one hour, repeating the process four times a day, enduring physical discomfort without resistance. This practice takes the individual to a breakthrough moment of release, transforming suffering into pleasure.
- Understanding physical pain through mindfulness: Leo explains how the nature of physical pain can change by becoming completely immersed in it, offering the experience of Ralston's painless root canal as a tangible example. He claims that it's possible to eliminate suffering and pain through a highly clear perception of the present moment, leading one to completely grasp the nature of the pain. This transformation happens when one sees the pain as no different from other sensations, like the pressure of sitting on a seat.
- Explanation of Enlightenment: According to Leo, Enlightenment is the ability to be fully present in the moment without resistance and without self. There are varying levels of enlightenment and mindfulness, and the potential to deepen these states is immense. He mentions an experiment allowing one to check their enlightenment level, suggesting undergoing a root canal without anesthesia.
- Alteration of pain and suffering relationship: Leo asserts that the practice of intense mindfulness can completely change one's relationship with pain and sufferingan essential aspect of spiritual work. By eliminating resistance, suffering ironically transforms into pleasure. Leo rejects the western conceptualization of pain and suffering, claiming that one can significantly improve the quality of life by imposing the experience of discomfort, such as letting legs fall asleep while sitting in meditation.
- Strong Determination Sitting Technique: Leo introduces a method of sitting motionless for an hour or longer, detailing how it forces one through intense suffering, ultimately leading to breakthrough moments where suffering suddenly diminishes. Observing the impermanent nature of pain, one can come to understand that suffering doesn't function as typically believed; by training oneself to sit as long as possible in a state of acceptance and joy, one can achieve profound alterations in the quality of life.
- Recommendation of Meditation Intensification: Leo proposes a way to escalate one's meditation practice - sitting for an hour without movements four times a day for a whole week. The increased and concentrated practice enables significantly faster progression towards Enlightenment and rapid development of mindfulness as an effective tool for everyday situations.
- The goal of Meditation: The intent here is not to endure physical discomfort but to reach a state of happiness in daily life. Leo encourages persistence in applying these practices and making consistent progress, explaining how deeply knowing and controlling oneself can lead to personal power that appears almost magical to others. This power enables one to shape the life they want and, most importantly, truly experience happiness.