Meditation
The most basic form of meditation involves attending to one's breath.
Begin by sitting in a simple chair. The more traditional postures are the lotus position, sitting on a pillow with each foot upon the opposite thigh, and variations such as the half lotus (one foot on the opposite thigh, the other out in front of the opposite knee). This is difficult for many people. Some people kneel, sitting back on their legs or on a pillow between their legs. Many use a meditation bench: kneel, then place a little bench beneath your behind. But meditation is also done while standing, slowly walking, lying on the floor, or even in a recliner!
Traditionally, the hands are placed loosely, palms up, one on top of the other, and with the thumbs lightly touching. This is called the cosmic mudra, one of a large number of symbolic hand positions. You may prefer to lay them flat on your thighs, or any other way that you find comfortable.
Your head should be upright, but not rigid. The eyes may be closed, or focussed on a spot on the ground a couple of feet ahead of you, or looking down at your hands. If you find yourself getting sleepy, keep your eyes open!
A more advanced form of meditation is shikantaza, or emptiness meditation. Here, you don't follow anything at all. There is no concentration -- only quiet mindfulness. You hold your mind as if you were ready for things to happen, but don't allow your mind to become attached to anything. Things -- sounds, smells, aches, thoughts, images -- just drift in and out, like clouds in a light breeze. .
Many people have a hard time with their thoughts. We are so used to our hyperactive minds, that we barely notice the fact that they are usually roaring with activity. So, when we first sit and meditate, we are caught off guard by all the activity. So some people find it helpful to use a little imagination to help them meditate. For example, instead of counting or following your breath, you might prefer to imagine a peaceful scene, perhaps floating in a warm lagoon, until the noise of your mind quiets down.
Obstacles
There are four major obstacles that can stop concentration during meditation.
1. Ill will, hatred, or anger (pradosha)
2. Laziness and sluggishness (styana and middha)
3. Restlessness and worry (anuddhatya and kaukritya)
4. Doubt (vichikitsa) -- doubt, without the wish to cure it, more like the common idea of pessimism (negativity) than open-mindedness or desire for evidence.
Begin by sitting in a simple chair. The more traditional postures are the lotus position, sitting on a pillow with each foot upon the opposite thigh, and variations such as the half lotus (one foot on the opposite thigh, the other out in front of the opposite knee). This is difficult for many people. Some people kneel, sitting back on their legs or on a pillow between their legs. Many use a meditation bench: kneel, then place a little bench beneath your behind. But meditation is also done while standing, slowly walking, lying on the floor, or even in a recliner!
Traditionally, the hands are placed loosely, palms up, one on top of the other, and with the thumbs lightly touching. This is called the cosmic mudra, one of a large number of symbolic hand positions. You may prefer to lay them flat on your thighs, or any other way that you find comfortable.
Your head should be upright, but not rigid. The eyes may be closed, or focussed on a spot on the ground a couple of feet ahead of you, or looking down at your hands. If you find yourself getting sleepy, keep your eyes open!
A more advanced form of meditation is shikantaza, or emptiness meditation. Here, you don't follow anything at all. There is no concentration -- only quiet mindfulness. You hold your mind as if you were ready for things to happen, but don't allow your mind to become attached to anything. Things -- sounds, smells, aches, thoughts, images -- just drift in and out, like clouds in a light breeze. .
Many people have a hard time with their thoughts. We are so used to our hyperactive minds, that we barely notice the fact that they are usually roaring with activity. So, when we first sit and meditate, we are caught off guard by all the activity. So some people find it helpful to use a little imagination to help them meditate. For example, instead of counting or following your breath, you might prefer to imagine a peaceful scene, perhaps floating in a warm lagoon, until the noise of your mind quiets down.
Obstacles
There are four major obstacles that can stop concentration during meditation.
1. Ill will, hatred, or anger (pradosha)
2. Laziness and sluggishness (styana and middha)
3. Restlessness and worry (anuddhatya and kaukritya)
4. Doubt (vichikitsa) -- doubt, without the wish to cure it, more like the common idea of pessimism (negativity) than open-mindedness or desire for evidence.
"The point of Buddhist meditation is not to stop thinking,
for cultivation of insight clearly requires intelligent use of thought and discrimination.
What needs to be stopped is conceptualisation that is
compulsive, mechanical and unintelligent,
that is, activity that is always fatiguing, usually pointless, and at times seriously harmful"
Allan Wallace
Introduction Before starting a meditation practice, it is very advisable to have visited a group or center where meditation instructions are given, and follow some guided meditations. In this way, it is easy to discover the basics of the actual practice. The various traditions teach slightly different methods, usually related to the emphasis of their main practices. It is strongly advised to start any meditation session with setting one's motivation and concluding by dedicating the positive energy, for this, verses as given in the page Prayers before and after Meditation can be a good guideline. Do have a look at His Holiness the Dalai Lama's advice on meditation.
BASIC FORMS OF MEDITATION
for cultivation of insight clearly requires intelligent use of thought and discrimination.
What needs to be stopped is conceptualisation that is
compulsive, mechanical and unintelligent,
that is, activity that is always fatiguing, usually pointless, and at times seriously harmful"
Allan Wallace
Introduction Before starting a meditation practice, it is very advisable to have visited a group or center where meditation instructions are given, and follow some guided meditations. In this way, it is easy to discover the basics of the actual practice. The various traditions teach slightly different methods, usually related to the emphasis of their main practices. It is strongly advised to start any meditation session with setting one's motivation and concluding by dedicating the positive energy, for this, verses as given in the page Prayers before and after Meditation can be a good guideline. Do have a look at His Holiness the Dalai Lama's advice on meditation.
BASIC FORMS OF MEDITATION
WATCHING THE BREATH - THE REAL BASICS Concentrate on the tip of your nose, and feel the breath going in and out. To help your concentration, you can count every out-breath as one, and count from 1 to 10. When you arrived at 10, simply start at 1 again. All the attention is with the feeling of the nose and the counting, nothing more, nothing less. Regularly check yourself if you are still concentrated, do not get angry when distracted, simply return to counting from 1. Just before the end of the session, release the concentration on the counting and the tip of your nose, and simply be aware of how you feel for a minute or so. Then dedicate the positive energy of the session to whichever goal you like.prayers.
RELAXING BY STRESSING A very effective method to relax the body by stressing all the muscles, holding that 5 to 10 seconds, and then releasing the tension.
- Sit or lie in a relaxed way.
- Put an extremely tense expression on the face, straining as many face muscles as possible. Take a deep breath and forcefully hold it. ......
- Now slowly release the breath and the tension of all the face muscles, feel as if you breathe out all stress.
- Inhale deeply again and stress all neck and shoulder muscles.... then let go
- Inhale, make fists and stress the arms... let go
- Inhale, stress chest, belly and back.... let go
- Inhale, stress buttocks, legs and feet... let go
- If you still feel tension at some places, just stay relaxed, don't hold the breath now, but release all the tension while breathing out.
- Enjoy your relaxed body
ELIMINATING PAST AND FUTURE Rest the hands, palms down on the legs and watch the breath
- When the mind wanders off to thoughts of the past, gently tap your left leg
- When the mind wanders off to thoughts of the future, gently tap your right leg
- Whenever a thought arises, mentally note "memory", then return to the breath.
WATCHING THE SENSES Focus the attention to your breath and sensory experiences
- Whenever you notice something, mentally note: "feeling", "hearing", "tasting", "smelling", "touching".
- Note the senses, but do not start talking with yourself, only note the experience and go back to the breath.
WATCHING EMOTIONS Focus the attention mainly to the breath and sensory experiences; in addition, note your emotional experiences.
- Whenever a particular feeling comes up, mentally note it; as "liking", "dis-liking", "anger", "sad", "fear", "resentment", "anxiety", "guilt" etc. and let it go
- Do not get involved with the emotions, only note them and return to awareness of the breath.
SMOKE OUT, LIGHT IN - While breathing out, imagine that all your negative energies, mistakes, misunderstanding and emotions leave your body with the breath. Visualise this energy as black smoke, which goes out into space and completely disappears.
- While breathing in, imagine that all the positive energy of the universe enters your body with the breath. Visualise this positive energy as pure white light which enters all the parts of your body, it pervades every cell and atom. Enjoy this clear white light.
- If you feel comfortable, use every breath to inhale light and to exhale black smoke and problems.
- When distracted by other thoughts, simply observe them without getting involved; transform them into black smoke and breathe them out.
BODY OF LIGHT - Visualise above the crown of your head a white ball of light, somewhat smaller than your head. It has no real form and is pure white energy. Do not concentrate on details, just try to feel it is there.
- Imagine that the light embodies all the pure love of the universe, the accomplishment of the highest potential of living beings.
- Visualise the ball becomes smaller, about the size of your thumb, and it enters the crown of your head, and descends to the level of your heart.
- Now the light expands and fills your entire body. All the material of the body dissolves into light. What remains is a body of light without shape.
- Concentrate on the feeling this light-body gives, all problems and negativities are gone, only peace and happiness is left.
- When distracting thoughts arise, simply dissolve them in the light.
RELAXING BY STRESSING A very effective method to relax the body by stressing all the muscles, holding that 5 to 10 seconds, and then releasing the tension.
- Sit or lie in a relaxed way.
- Put an extremely tense expression on the face, straining as many face muscles as possible. Take a deep breath and forcefully hold it. ......
- Now slowly release the breath and the tension of all the face muscles, feel as if you breathe out all stress.
- Inhale deeply again and stress all neck and shoulder muscles.... then let go
- Inhale, make fists and stress the arms... let go
- Inhale, stress chest, belly and back.... let go
- Inhale, stress buttocks, legs and feet... let go
- If you still feel tension at some places, just stay relaxed, don't hold the breath now, but release all the tension while breathing out.
- Enjoy your relaxed body
ELIMINATING PAST AND FUTURE Rest the hands, palms down on the legs and watch the breath
- When the mind wanders off to thoughts of the past, gently tap your left leg
- When the mind wanders off to thoughts of the future, gently tap your right leg
- Whenever a thought arises, mentally note "memory", then return to the breath.
WATCHING THE SENSES Focus the attention to your breath and sensory experiences
- Whenever you notice something, mentally note: "feeling", "hearing", "tasting", "smelling", "touching".
- Note the senses, but do not start talking with yourself, only note the experience and go back to the breath.
WATCHING EMOTIONS Focus the attention mainly to the breath and sensory experiences; in addition, note your emotional experiences.
- Whenever a particular feeling comes up, mentally note it; as "liking", "dis-liking", "anger", "sad", "fear", "resentment", "anxiety", "guilt" etc. and let it go
- Do not get involved with the emotions, only note them and return to awareness of the breath.
SMOKE OUT, LIGHT IN - While breathing out, imagine that all your negative energies, mistakes, misunderstanding and emotions leave your body with the breath. Visualise this energy as black smoke, which goes out into space and completely disappears.
- While breathing in, imagine that all the positive energy of the universe enters your body with the breath. Visualise this positive energy as pure white light which enters all the parts of your body, it pervades every cell and atom. Enjoy this clear white light.
- If you feel comfortable, use every breath to inhale light and to exhale black smoke and problems.
- When distracted by other thoughts, simply observe them without getting involved; transform them into black smoke and breathe them out.
BODY OF LIGHT - Visualise above the crown of your head a white ball of light, somewhat smaller than your head. It has no real form and is pure white energy. Do not concentrate on details, just try to feel it is there.
- Imagine that the light embodies all the pure love of the universe, the accomplishment of the highest potential of living beings.
- Visualise the ball becomes smaller, about the size of your thumb, and it enters the crown of your head, and descends to the level of your heart.
- Now the light expands and fills your entire body. All the material of the body dissolves into light. What remains is a body of light without shape.
- Concentrate on the feeling this light-body gives, all problems and negativities are gone, only peace and happiness is left.
- When distracting thoughts arise, simply dissolve them in the light.