Standing Still Before the Blade: The Power of a Meditator's Will

Discover the extraordinary will of the meditator: tremendous effort without feeding the ego, arriving at peace and deep awakening in this very life.

There was once a meditation teacher when a man rushed at him furiously with a knife. He did not block, did not dodge, did not run. He simply stood still, keeping his mind calm and serene. What happened? And why does the "will" of a meditator carry such awesome power? This is the story that Venerable Thích Chân Quang told in his dharma talk, "The Will of the Meditator," to illuminate a great paradox.

The will of meditation is not brute force

Is meditation difficult or easy? Very difficult. And precisely because it is difficult, it requires will. But the will in meditation is entirely different from the will of the world. A sprinter strains to run faster, and the harder he tries, the more visible his effort becomes. A martial artist trains by striking a punching bag, then steps into the ring to fight an opponent; the more he fights, the more his blood boils and the larger his ego grows. The meditator is the opposite: the more he strives, the more still and awake he must become; the more effort he makes, the more he must practice letting go.

"The effort of other pursuits makes the ego rise up little by little. But meditation is the path of destroying the ego, and yet one must still strive, one must still have will."

The path of destroying the ego, and yet one must strive

This is a paradox. One exerts the utmost effort, yet that effort must not make the ego swell. In ordinary life, when we achieve something, we feel proud. A student who scores high raises a hand in celebration; a soccer player who scores a goal shouts with joy; a manager who is promoted beams with pride. All of these are expressions of the "self" being glorified. In meditation alone, the more diligent we are, the emptier and quieter the mind becomes. The will here is not the straining of instinct, but perseverance in silence.

"The will of meditation is a will that must never allow the ego to arise."

The lesson of the blade: when calm disarms violence

Venerable Thích Chân Quang tells of a fellow practitioner. This teacher lived on a piece of land, and a neighbor, also a practitioner, became hostile over a land dispute. One day, this man grabbed a knife and rushed over intending to strike him. The teacher stood still, neither blocking nor dodging, keeping his mind calm and serene. Seeing that attitude, the aggressor suddenly felt a pang of conscience, realizing he was behaving like a demon, and dropped the knife.

"In other words, that man's calm demeanor awakened the truth within this one... That is the will of meditation."

Standing still before a blade, neither blocking nor dodging, is far harder than fighting back. It is a kind of will that has the power to transform others, rather than to destroy.

Meditative attainment and noble realization: do not confuse them

Meditators often pass through states of peace, then lose them, then regain them. This discourages many people. But according to the teacher, this is perfectly normal. Realizing a noble fruit is entirely different: once realized, it is never lost. The teacher in the story above, after standing calmly before the blade, that very night realized the fruit of Stream-Entry, and never lost it again.

"Meditators often encounter this state: we attain a result, and a few days later it is gone."

Restoring the tradition of meditation: our responsibility

For the Buddha's teachings (Dharma) to endure and flourish, there must be people who practice meditative concentration, keep the precepts, and teach the Dharma. Venerable Thích Chân Quang emphasizes that meditators are the pioneers rebuilding the tradition of meditation for Vietnamese Buddhism. Today, young people and intellectuals are turning to meditation as a method that brings peace and wisdom right here in daily life. This is our opportunity to build a generation of Buddhists who have both realization and virtue, and the ability to teach the Dharma as well.

Advice for those entering meditation

Begin as soon as you learn of the Buddha's teachings (Dharma). Do not wait until your legs ache and your mind is troubled before you sit. One who knows the Dharma and sits in meditation early will have a stable and grounded way of life. And prepare for extraordinary effort, but not the kind where you strain and tense up; rather, a gentle perseverance, so that day by day, the mind is transformed and life becomes peaceful.

"We must prepare our minds, prepare an extraordinary effort."

So begin today. Whether it is cold, whether it hurts, whether you are busy, give yourself a few moments of stillness. For only when we stand firm amid the storm can we see the true strength of a will without ego, the will of the meditator.