The Net of Non-judgemental Awareness

T

he first consideration is the "what" of silent prayer and meditation. It is the most important time for Jesuits. Deepening this practice is an indispensable part of the Jesuit way of life. As for me, I get up every morning at 5:10, wash my face, do yoga and muscle exercises, and then meditate for at least 35 minutes. This meditation time is very precious and the most important time of the day for me. It is during this time that I wonder if I will be able to resonate with God within.

I start with breathing meditation, and after quieting my mind, I savor the words of the Bible for the day, mainly the words of the gospel. However, if I am not careful, I may start thinking about the words of the gospel in my mind, or I may suddenly remember today's work or yesterday's events. These are distractions and miscellaneous thoughts. When we try to understand and analyze the words of the Bible with our minds, we are only thinking about the words in the world of our minds, in the world of our ego. We often pray in this way only in our heads. In the head alone, we cannot go beyond the ego world.

I think we can apply this to today's gospel. Jesus says, “The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea." The “sea” is our mind. The “net” cast into it is awareness. In particular, it is a net of non-judgmental awareness. This non-judgmental awareness picks up the various thoughts, imaginations, and feelings that arise in the mind. In the parable, the net is pulled up to the shore and the things in it are sorted out. It could be said to discern what is in the mind as spiritual consolation or spiritual desolation. Jesus also says, “Thus it will be at the end of the age,” but it is appropriate to think of it more as a matter of the mind that is close to us, a matter of the mind in daily prayer and meditation. But what is more important to us is to cast the net of awareness into the sea of the mind in this way, and to bring the sea of the mind back to stillness by noticing what arises in the mind. In this way, we can enter into the sea of stillness by becoming aware of what is in the mind and leaving it. We can enter into the stillness of mind.

The second consideration is the "how" of silent prayer. How is it really done? I first try to quiet my mind by concentrating on the sensation of breathing. However, even when I concentrate on the breath, thoughts and imaginations appear. If I am not careful, I can get caught up in these thoughts without noticing it. Therefore, it is necessary to sharpen my awareness to become more lucid and clear. Each time I notice a thought or feeling of drowsiness, I try to return to my breathing. Repeating this process gradually quiets the mind and allows me to leave the world of the head and enter a deeper spiritual world. The important thing at this time is not to judge the miscellaneous thoughts that appear, nor to blame myself for having miscellaneous thoughts, but only to notice the miscellaneous thoughts as they are. This awareness is the gateway to the spiritual world. Eventually, the mind becomes stillness itself.

This stillness of mind is the place to savor the sacred word. It is not to interpret or analyze with the mind, but to abide in the words and turn the mind to what resonates from the depths of the words. Inspiration or some insight may then come from deep within, beyond our own measure. This is felt as inspiration or insight that comes from God within. This is wisdom. Wisdom does not come from the head, but from deep within the mind, in resonating with the God within.

The third and final consideration is that the Kingdom of God is a world where unconditional love rules. Therefore, the key to entering the spiritual world through prayer is non-judgmental awareness. Jesus said, “The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,” and this net is “non-judgmental awareness,” and this “non-judgmental awareness” is the Kingdom of God. And “non-judgmental awareness” is precisely the function of unconditional love. When we become conscious of our ego-self through “non-judgmental awareness” no matter what kind of ego-self appears in the sea of our mind, we can calm our mind.

Therefore, the net is important. And the net is “non-judgmental awareness.” And to abide in this awareness is to live the Kingdom of God, the entrance into the world of prayer that resonates with God, the place where we experience rich contemplative prayer. This non-judgmental awareness is the place to live unconditional love. And this is where the true self, which is more than ego-self, is found.

Jesus said in the parable, “They sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away,” but what is truly good is non-judgmental awareness itself. This awareness has no ego and no malice, only unconditional love. It is necessary to nurture this awareness in abundance in order to realize the Kingdom of God within us. The Kingdom of God is not outside of us, but within us, closest to us. By enriching our net of awareness, let us become a person who lives the Kingdom of God, that is, a way of being a true Jesuit, a true Christian. (NB An abridged text of the homily of Fr Toshihiro Yanagida SJ,  August 1, 2024, St Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, Book of the Prophet Jeremiah 18.1-6, Matthew 13.47-53)