activity tends to be supervised by mindfulness which continuously
restricts the thinking processes to the matter at hand. The citta
is usually able to attain samãdhi faster than would normally be
expected. Outside there is danger and hardship; inside mindful-
ness is firmly in control. In such circumstances the citta might be
compared to a prisoner who submits willingly to his fate. In addi-
tion to these factors, the teacher is also there to straighten him
out should he go astray. The monk who practices while hemmed
in by hardship on all sides will see an improvement in his citta
that exceeds all expectations.
Nighttime in the forest is a frightening time, so a monk
forces himself to go out and do walking meditation to fight that
fear. Who will win and who will lose? If fear loses, then the citta
becomes courageous and ‘converges’ into a state of calm. If the
heart loses, then the only thing that emerges is intense fear. The
effect of intense fear in such a situation is a sensation of simulta-
neously being both hot and cold, of needing to urinate and def-
ecate, of feeling breathless and being on the verge of death. The
thing that encourages fear is the sound of a tiger’s roar. The sound
of roaring may come from anywhere – from the foot of the moun-
tain, from up on the ridge, or out from the plains – but the monk
will pay no attention to the direction. He will think only: “A tiger
is coming here to devour me!” Walking all alone in meditation
and so afraid that he’s shaking and useless, he is sure that it’s
coming specifically for him. Not considering the broad terrain, it
doesn’t occur to him that the tiger has four feet and might just be
going somewhere else. His only thought is that the tiger is coming
straight for his tiny plot of land – straight for this cowardly monk
who is shaken by fear. Having completely forgotten his medita-
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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