Negative Capability: Kerouac's Buddhist Ethic | Tricycle
Kerouac, however, lacked specific instruction in the actual method of meditation practice in Zen. This, basically, is to follow the breath and take a friendly attitude toward one's thoughts, but bring the mind back to attention to the breath. Kerouac had worked out his own form of sitting practice which involved squeezing his anus, closing his eyes, and trying to see a golden light.
He had some kind of satori from that. But the instruction one gets in ancient sitting practice is: as soon as you see your thoughts, renounce them, let go. Don't cling to thought, don't try and make it a reference point, keep the space of mind open. As Blake says, "He who binds to himself a joy/does the winged life destroy/He who kisses the joy as it flies/lives in eternity's sunrise."
That's the basis, simply paying attention to the ongoing process of breath while it's proceeding, and taking a friendly attitude towards your thought forms. Not inviting them in, not pushing them away, allowing them to take care of themselves, but keeping your attention on the actual physical space around you, the flow of the out breath. That's Tibetan style meditation. Gary Snyder never did teach him Zen Buddhist sitting practice style because of some odd miscommunication.
