Meditation has to be only a watchfulness, then it is possible to have it twenty-four hours a day. Even while going to sleep, be watchful. To the last moment, when you see that now sleep is taking you over – the darkness goes on growing, the body is relaxing and the point comes when suddenly from wakefulness you move into sleep – watch up to that moment. And first thing in the morning, as you become aware that the sleep is finished, immediately start watching; soon you will be able to watch even while you are asleep. Watchfulness will become a lamp that goes on burning day and night inside you.

This is the only authentic meditation. All else that has been told to you in the name of meditation is simply a toy to play with, to deceive yourself that you are doing something spiritual. With this meditation you will come across the inescapable. Everything illusory will disappear.

But everything in existence is not illusory. That which is not illusory is inescapable, and what are you going to do with the inescapable? Perhaps you have never thought about it.

This very inescapability itself is meditation.

If you go on watching even the inescapable, you will be able to see clearly that that which disappears while watching is illusory; that which becomes even more clear, more crystal clear, which was before hidden behind the cloud of your illusory dreams, desires, now stands absolutely clear….

Ta Hui is saying,

This very inescapability itself is meditation…

The moment you see that this is the real there is no question to be with it or to go against it. The real is vast, immense; in fact we are simply dewdrops in the ocean of the real. There is no question of us going with it or not going with it – watching silently you will see a deep harmony arising between you and the real. So meditation does two works: one, it destroys the unreal, and second, it creates a harmony with the real.

…if you go further and apply effort to examine yourself, you’re even further away.

There is no need to go further. You have come to the place where merger can happen. Going further is dangerous. You may start again from the back door bringing thoughts, projections; all that you have rejected at the front door will start entering from the back door.

It is necessary to remember that the moment you come across something that becomes clearer in meditation, truer, more solid, then it is time to allow harmony to happen. There is no need to think what to do about it. Neither do you have to think about the false, because the false disappears with meditation; nor do you have to think about the real, because the real becomes so crystal clear, so certain, so categorical that there is no doubt in you. There is no need to go on. It is time, the right moment to allow the merger to happen.