Date: 01/17/2026 01/18/2026
Location: Star River Meditation Center
Teacher: Yunquan Huang
Sitting Meditation
Insight into the Nature of Life
Many believe the essence of life is hidden in a profound answer—something to be discovered, explained, or defined.Meditative insight reveals something different:when the mind becomes quiet and grasping loosens,the nature of life is not found—it is revealed.
1.Why Is the Nature of Life Often Obscured?
1.Because the mind constantly seeks outward
Looking to achievement, relationships, or meaning,instead of direct experience.
2.Because concepts replace living contact
Life is explained rather than felt.
3.Because the sense of self becomes rigid
The settings of “Who am I?” and “How should I be?” obscure life’s fluidity.
2.How Meditation Opens the Door to Insight
1.Returning to present experience
Breath, body, sensations, and thoughtsbecome gateways to seeing life directly.
2.Not rushing to understand, but observing as it is.
Insight arises from clear seeing,not intellectual conclusions.
3.Releasing the need to control or define
When grasping relaxes,life shows itself.
3.What Is Revealed in Insight
1.Life is a continuous process of change
Nothing remains fixed or permanent.
2.Life is not centered around a solid self
Experiences arise, but no permanent “me” can be found.
3.Life is inherently complete
Nothing needs to be added or justified.
4.Insight Is Not a Philosophy but an Experience
1.It is not an answer
It is presence itself.
2.It is not a one-time event
It is repeatedly confirmed in awareness.
3.It is not extraordinary
Its qualities are simplicity, clarity, and ease.
5.How Insight Transforms Life
1.Less resistance to impermanence
Change becomes natural.
2.A softer sense of identity
Roles and labels lose rigidity.
3.Greater trust in the present moment
No urgency to escape now.
4.Deeper understanding of others
Because the shared nature of life is seen.
Conclusion
The essence of life is not elsewhere and not hidden in answers.When the mind no longer obstructs,life as it is—right now—is the clearest insight of all.
