Date: 08/30/2025 08/31/2025
Location: Star River Meditation Center
Teacher: Yunquan Huang
Sitting Meditation
How Not to Cling to Meditative States
During meditation, states such as joy, lightness, clarity, spaciousness, and even non-self may arise.These states are not problems themselves.Clinging to them is.True maturity in practice comes from seeing through these states, allowing them to arise and pass without attachment.
1.Why Do We Cling to Meditative States?
1.Mistaking states for achievement
Pleasant or profound experiences may feel like “progress,” inviting attachment.
2.The mind enjoys pleasant sensations
Lightness and bliss naturally create desire for repetition.
3.Ego uses states to reinforce itself
“I reached this level” becomes a subtle form of selfing.
4.Fear of the unknown
We cling to the familiar instead of allowing deeper letting go.
2.Why Should We Avoid Clinging to States?
1.All states are impermanent
They arise quickly and fade just as quickly.
2.Awakening does not depend on states
Awakening rests in awareness, not in transient experiences.
3.Clinging stops deeper growth
When we hold onto a state, we stop moving inward.
4.States are still phenomena
No matter how refined, they are appearances—not the truth itself.
3.How to Avoid Attachment When States Arise
1.Know their nature: passing like wind
No need to affirm or deny them.
2.Do not label or interpret
Naming creates identity and attachment.
3.Return to awareness, not the state
Awareness is the host; states are temporary guests.
4.Allow arising and passing naturally
Letting be is the highest wisdom.
5.Remember: states are not the goal
Freedom and insight are.
4.How to Step Out of Clinging
1.Observe the desire to keep the state
Attachment lies in craving, not in the state itself.
2.Shift attention to awareness behind experience
States change; awareness does not.
3.Use breathing as an anchor
This grounds the mind when it becomes absorbed in states.
4.Cultivate the attitude of non-abiding
Not abiding in states, thoughts, or sensations brings true freedom.
Conclusion
Meditative states are scenery, not the destination.Clinging ends when we see their impermanent, empty, and non-self nature.By staying with awareness rather than its changing contents,states naturally come and go — and wisdom naturally deepens.
