1996-07_05 Vipassana Retreat, Part 5 of 8 - Q&A 4

Talk: 19960705-Larry_Rosenberg-UNK-vipassana_retreat_part_5_of_8-43309 Start_time: 00:51:15 Display_question: What do I do when I can’t let a fixation go? Keyword_search: fixation, suffering, spot, meditation, letting go, Cambridge, push away, push, watch, mind, hilarious, humor, examine, resentment, breathe, breath, funny, letting be Question_content: Questioner: <inaudible>… When I came in here, had my spot, someone else was in it. Larry: Someone took your spot. Questioner: So, I thought, “Okay. You know, I’ll go to another spot.” Larry: Right. Questioner: So, I looked around and found one… <inaudible> Larry: You were cooking? Questioner: Yeah. The meditation, I kept letting it go, letting it go. Larry: You weren't really letting it go. You were pushing it away. Yeah. Questioner: I kept coming back. And finally, I said, “Okay. You can’t let it go so… <inaudible>” Larry: Okay. Questioner: I didn’t know what to do. Larry: Okay, I don't have any magic formula, but one thing you could, let's say your spot is not vacant. Okay. One thing you can do… You see, you use the word “letting go,” and we commonly—where I live, in Cambridge, Harvard Square, “letting go” is now a big, it's in now, along with “natural” and “mindful.” It's replacing “organic” and “wholeness” and all that. So everyone's letting go of everything. In the meantime, I don't see any change. But, it's just a fancy word for pushing away what we don't want. Break_line: This might help you. Very often, when the word letting go is used, it means letting be, but in a special way. So, for example, you walk—let's reenact it. You walk in, someone has your spot, right? And there’s suffering, right? “It's my spot.” Okay. So you, very nicely, a civilized person, you don't push them out of the way. You get up and you get another spot, and you sit down, and there it is again; it’s still there. Okay, so let it be. Examine the resentment as you breathe in and breathe out <grumbling sound>. And watch the mind. And, just, humor is a big help here because it's hilarious. Questioner: I was trying to do that, you know. And it was funny for a while. Larry: Wouldn't go away, would it? Questioner: I didn’t know whether to stay here and just watch it not going away or whether I should just come back. Larry: Come back to where? Questioner: My spot. Larry: Okay. Look, if you can correct… Yeah. Questioner: I’m sitting her laughing at myself. But still, I couldn’t let it be. Larry: Yeah. Okay. But remember, it's letting it be with mindfulness. It's not just to drown in your resentment. It's to learn and you see what it takes to get you to suffer. Yeah. It doesn't take very much. And so, as you start examining it now, some of it is harder, of course, deep attachments that we have. Yeah. End_time: 00:54:16