2.11 · Sitting with the Waves

Their active forms are overcome by meditation.

Word by word

dhyāna

meditation

heyāḥ

to be overcome, given up

tat-vṛttayaḥ

their active movements

Where it fits

Vyāsa joins this to 2.10: for afflictions that still persist in seed form, their active movements are overcome by meditation (Woods p. 120). So the work has two stages, like washing cloth, coarse dirt first and fine dirt after. Why the afflictions matter so much appears next, in their link to karma (2.12).

Reading

The active afflictions, meaning the anger, craving or worry you can feel right now, are met with meditation. Sūtra 2.10 dealt with the subtle seed. This one deals with the visible sprout. Meditation lets you see the movement without being carried off by it, and what is seen clearly loosens its grip. First wash off the coarse dirt, then the fine.

Vyāsa

“The coarse movements of the afflictions … are to be overcome by meditation, that is, by meditative insight, until they are made subtle, until they are like burned seeds. Just as the coarse dirt on cloth is shaken out first, and the fine dirt is removed afterwards with effort and the right method …”

Vyāsa's Yoga-bhāṣya, the oldest commentary. New translation from the Sanskrit, with reference to Woods (1914), p. 120.

Practice

When a strong feeling arises today, sit with it for three minutes. Where is it in the body? What shape, what temperature? Does it move? Stay curious rather than stuck.

A question to sit with

Which feeling needs to be sat with?

Key ideas

kleśa (afflictions), vṛtti (movement of the mind), saṃyama (holding together)