Walking Meditation

BhikkhuJayasara

The Buddha taught us to be mindful in the four postures of sitting, standing, walking, and laying down, yet it appears these days most are concerned only with sitting on the cushion and many teachers don't even discuss any of the other postures.

my practice, both concentration and mindfulness, exploded when I was first taught how to do proper walking meditation. each morning I do walking meditation before sitting meditation as was recommended to me by Ven Dhammajiva from Sri Lanka. He also recommends walking meditation after each meal. Walking meditation also includes brief periods of standing meditation.

So my question is, do you do walking meditation, how often and what are your methods? If you are new to walking meditation and have no idea how to start, there are many links I can provide.

karasti

I do, but not as regularly as I'd like, because I have a hard time walking indoors and cannot just go outside to walk and leave my little boy alone in the house. I do practice mindfulness often, when shoveling snow, doing chores, making meals. But my ability to actually get out and walk on a specific schedule is pretty limited, if not impossible some times of the year. In the winter, maybe only once or twice a week (unless you include mindfulness in walking to and from my car, shoveling, shopping etc) but in the nicer months, almost daily.

how

With a high enough priority on being present and open, any posture is the teaching.

lobster

I prefer to do very, very, ultra slow meditation outside. Liable to get me arrested for causing a disturbance to the peace. Ironic.
Instead of being arrested, of late, I walk very fast as if doing exercise, and silently do migtsema chant and practice. I regularly chant from a laying posture. If doing chores, I chant if it will not disturb the neighbours. Standing around for a bus or similar. Internal chant. At this rate I could be enlightened any time this eon . . . :clap:

Citta

Walking meditation needs hands-on instruction from a n authorised teacher to be truly effective..
As with all upayas a little off at the start can lead to big problems later.

BhikkhuJayasara

this is the person I initially learned walking meditation from - Venerable Dhammajiva has a whole section on walking meditation in the book " in this life itself" http://www.box.net/shared/b51s7zu8v3

Citta, I'm not so sure about the "meditation needs hands on instruction by an authorized teacher" thing necessarily, depends on the ability of the person to observe and move towards what is skillful. I don't have any teacher in my daily life(my "teachers" are 5 hours away at Bhavana Society, Bhante G and Bhante S, when I can make the drive to stay there a few days). Also different teachers will teach you different things.. in the end how do you know who is right? by your own practice thats how .

For instance Ven Dhammajiva and others teach walking meditation at your normal pace, still others teach to allow the speed to flow depending on your mental state, and others like Bhante G teach that walking meditation should be extremely slow.

another resource I've used is Ven Yuttadhammo on walking meditation -

Karasti, thankfully since I am a widower with no children and little responsibility other then for myself(and I'm actually moving towards ordination), I do have time to do these things outside before work, cold or warm hehe. But it seems like you know and follow what Ajahn Chah said when people talked about not having time to meditate " If you have time to breathe, you have time to meditate". Practicing mindfulness off the cushion is a good thing and just as important, if not more so, then having a "set time" to practice.

Citta

My point Jayantha was not that there is or should be one uniform approach to any given upaya...that would contradict the fact that we have different circumstances and temperaments
It was rather that any of the skillful means should ideally be developed under the initial supervision of a teacher ..as yours was...rather than an diy affair cobbled together from books..
Day or even half day courses are now widely available.

DairyLama

Jayantha said:

So my question is, do you do walking meditation, how often and what are your methods?

There are many different approaches and you may want to experiment - some people co-ordinate walking with breathing. The most effective method I've tried is really slow walking, like slow motion - partly because you have to concentrate really hard so as not to fall over.
Walking meditation can be used effectively in between periods of sitting meditation.

Jason

I use walking meditation occasionally, though mostly when on retreats and doing a lot of sitting just to mix things up. I prefer to walk repeating a mantra while focusing on the sensation of my steps, breaking each word of the mantra in half, one for the right foot and one for the left — bud-dho, dham-mo, san-gho, par-ents, tea-chers — something I picked up from Ajahn Prasert in Fremont, CA, when I used to spend retreats there.

caz

Haven't really tried it !

Jeffrey

Take in the senses and feel the wonderful balance. Just take in senses don't daydream. Return to the body and senses when wandering.

Vastmind

I have an open question....

Do most meditative walkers here or on retreats,
set out knowing the distance ahead of time?
Set out knowing where the walk is going?

Time I can see for obvious reasons...
like...Sat morn. -1 hour walking meditation
Walking in place.....I can see that too..

But...what about if time is not an issue, and
you walk 'off'? Anyone notice/experience the difference?
Like a ....Forresst Gummp moment where he just
has to keep running...lolololol.

Has anyone here ever had to keep walking...or
had that chance present itself?

BhikkhuJayasara

Walking meditation is supposed to be down a 30-90 foot path. You walk to the end, turn around, meditate standing for a minute or two, then you go down to the end, rinse and repeat. This is what the buddha was doing supposedly when they say in the suttas " he walked up and down".

that being said.. I also do walks around my office building during two 15 minute breaks during the day, during those I walk three times around in a circle and meditate like I do "up and down" in the morning.

Citta said:

My point Jayantha was not that there is or should be one uniform approach to any given upaya...that would contradict the fact that we have different circumstances and temperaments
It was rather that any of the skillful means should ideally be developed under the initial supervision of a teacher ..as yours was...rather than an diy affair cobbled together from books..
Day or even half day courses are now widely available.

I understand, and I also agree. if you can learn initially and ongoing from a teacher that is always helpful, so many of us don't have the option though unfortunently, which is why we are lucky to have monastics writing books and making youtube videos for us

mfranzdorf

@karasti I know what you mean about not having time available when you want. I am fortunate enough to have an hour after work when the house is usually empty. I like what you said about being mindful in mundane tasks. Suddenly they are not so mundane! While I do enjoy an "official" meditation, I find great satisfaction in everyday mindfulness.

Cole_

This is really interesting, thank you for sharing! Watched the video you posted and it seems very practical.

BhikkhuJayasara

Cole_ said:

This is really interesting, thank you for sharing! Watched the video you posted and it seems very practical.

it's my mission as a dhamma teacher to make sure people know there is more to meditation then sitting on a cushion ... and also if there is such a thing as being an addict to meditation, you can count me as a walking meditation addict. I am slowly coming to a mind of equanimity with regards all forms of mindfulness, but it is taking time because I developed such a negative feeling towards sitting meditation for years.

lobster

Do most meditative walkers here or on retreats,
set out knowing the distance ahead of time?
Set out knowing where the walk is going?

In a retreat setting or at a centre, sitting is interspersed with walking in my experience, so a bell, voice or gong is used to signal the end. In a temple we walked up and down. At a monastery we walked in a circle, one monastery used a 'maze'. In a tai chi setting, slow walking is often a practice that I have done, not specifically labeled 'meditation', that is where it is going . . .

At the moment I walk fast, which I have only seen a lama do for health. There are people doing mindful jogging, but I personally found this difficult. I can chant whilst jogging, doing yoga, fast walking but this is a very different flavour of practice. I have done five element practice whilst doing karate kata and many martial arts have meditational and mind calming practices. Many benefits, like prostrations. One black belt monk I met had started on the way to becoming a monk via his martial meditations . . .

http://www.nomeatathlete.com/how-to-meditate-while-you-run/

There are excellent youtube videos, choose what seems authentic and useful to you. Walk your way to Nirvana . . . :clap:

lobster

I developed such a negative feeling towards sitting meditation for years.

Can you say some more about this, please? I feel many of us initially find sitting impossible or counter productive. Are you now feeling more positive towards sitting and advocating walking as a way in?

Cole_

Much like the man in the video was talking about, patience plays a role in all forms of meditation. At first I had trouble sitting and meditating for more then a few minutes, over time I've been able to prolong my patience and attention span to sit for 20-30 minutes at a time without thinking too much about it. Took a few tries, but the more I do it, the more natural it comes. Walking meditation might be an easier way to practice prolonging patience and settling deep into the nature of mind. Everyone has something different that works for them

DairyLama

Jayantha said:

Walking meditation is supposed to be down a 30-90 foot path. .

That's one way of doing it, but walking in a circle is just as effective.

Citta

caz said:

Haven't really tried it !

Its not commonly found in the Vajrayana...although with all the traditions increasingly standing face to face in this Global Village some Lamas have begun to incorporate it.

DairyLama

Vastminds said:

But...what about if time is not an issue, and
you walk 'off'? Anyone notice/experience the difference?
Like a ....Forresst Gummp moment where he just
has to keep running...lolololol.

I haven't done the Forest Gump thing ( yet! ), but I do often walk just for the sake of walking and take in the whole experience - like being aware of nature.

BhikkhuJayasara

PedanticPorpoise said:

Vastminds said:

But...what about if time is not an issue, and
you walk 'off'? Anyone notice/experience the difference?
Like a ....Forresst Gummp moment where he just
has to keep running...lolololol.

I haven't done the Forest Gump thing ( yet! ), but I do often walk just for the sake of walking and take in the whole experience - like being aware of nature.

One day I decided to go out for a run... and I just kept on running , heheh. being a barefoot runner myself I am attached to that scene .

lobster said:

I developed such a negative feeling towards sitting meditation for years.

Can you say some more about this, please? I feel many of us initially find sitting impossible or counter productive. Are you now feeling more positive towards sitting and advocating walking as a way in?

This may be a long response lol. When I first got into meditation, I learned from basic buddhist meditation guides and the like on the internet and in books. In all of them all I ever heard was " back straight, correct posture, follow the in and out breath, 30 minutes or more a day!".. I had started to try and meditate about 10 years ago.

what I found was that when I could not meet those instructions, I became disheartened, negative, and angry at myself. There were large chunks of time, a year or more sometimes, that I just quit meditating because sitting on that cushion created such a negative experience for me. It all stated to change though when I decided to more fully enter into the life of follower of the dhamma( or what I call a "dhammaist hehe) that I found monastics like Ajahn Brahm, who talked about letting go and being kind to your body and mind.

I started meditating again, I said to myself that it was ok for however long my body and mind wanted to sit, even if it was just two minutes. I also said to myself it is ok not to follow the breath, just observe everything that goes on. I was kind to my body and mind and gradually I began to be able to sit longer with more peace. This was about 5 years ago. It was only until I'd say in the last year that I can fairly easily go to following my breath and not control it so often. I also use to say " well it's because I had bad asthma as a kid and I have light asthma now that's why it's hard to follow the breath.. BULL S! lol.. all part of the ego right? hehe. I would say to myself.. ok then when I wasn't controlling the breath how come I breathed so nice and even and calm? hehe

I still to this day rarely do a sitting meditation more then 15-20(after 15-20 walking meditation in the morning outside of my office before work), and when I first started doing retreats where you had to meditate in chunks of an hour or two hours.. OH the negativity. Even though I have worked through a lot of that negativity when i go into the meditation hall at Bhavana society I still feel that tinge of negativity in the back of my mind, the fear of pain, negative mind states, and suffering. This is all part of that gradual practice of letting go of the ego, and I feel that I am progressing gradually , as intended.

what also helped me greatly was when I learned about walking meditation. Ironically enough almost all of my "insights" have come when i was doing walking meditation, including my first moment of "mindfulness of mind" where my monkey mind shut off for a minute or two and there was nothing there. We of course should not attach to these phenomenon but we do hehe, which lead to me loving walking meditation, and hating sitting meditation. Now I am attempting to move towards using all postures together, equally, and viewing them with an equanimous mind.

so when I teach people about meditation now, I like to teach beginners to be kind to their body and mind, to not to EXPECT to be able to sit for even 10 minutes at first, or to be able to follow your breath without controlling it at first, etc etc. I like to give people what I didn't get.. and save them years of struggle hehe.

my quote that I often use is " if it exists, you can observe it". and I explain it that if you try to follow your breath and you cant, observe that.. if you get angry because of that, then objectively observe the anger which stems from the judgement, observe that.. etc etc so on, deeper and deeper.

these days I rarely have pain in meditation, my main issue is stability for long periods of sitting meditation. TO that end I have worked extensively in keeping my back naturally erect at all times, driving, sitting etc, maintaining a proper posture, and this has helped me find more stability in my meditation, so i'm not falling back or forwards.. I still feel I have a long road ahead of me in being able to have that proper natural sitting posture for long periods of time.. but I also feel like I'm making progress.

DairyLama

This is from "The long road turns to joy" by Thich Nhat Hanh:

"The practice of walking meditation opens your eyes to the wonders and suffering of the universe. If you are not aware of what is going on around you, where do you expect to encounter ultimate reality?
Every path can be a walking meditation path, from tree-lined roadsides and rice paddies to the back alleys of Mostar and mine-filled dirt roads of Cambodia. When you are awake, you will not hesitate to enter any path."

BhikkhuJayasara

Sadu! thank you for that quote. While I hesitate to agree with people who say TNH is enlightened, even this Theravadan buddhist is gradually coming to see much much wisdom in that man. I have a few of his other quotes in my buddhist journal as well.

Vastmind

Thanks to all who gave in on my question.

The couple of walking experiences I had were
more like the long walk....just had to walk thing.

This is something to add to my Buddha bag when I need
to mix things up. Thanks again for the nice thread.

BhikkhuJayasara

Vastminds said:

Thanks to all who gave in on my question.

The couple of walking experiences I had were
more like the long walk....just had to walk thing.

This is something to add to my Buddha bag when I need
to mix things up. Thanks again for the nice thread.

Try walking meditation before sitting and you should see a difference . In the morning before work when I meditate outside of the office, my mind is of course usually racing with all kinds of thoughts, from what I need to do for work that day, to what topic I should choose for my Tuesday night dhamma talks etc.. As I walk mindfulness comes naturally as I am observing. This usually leads me to sitting down right into a quiet mind and going directly to observing the breath without skipping a beat.

Barra

Thanks for getting me off my butt - literally! I've done sitting and walking meditation for years on Sundays with my sangha, and do sitting meditation at home, but when I tried walking at home it seemed sort of ludicrous to be meditating through my kitchen, and I didn't know when to stop. Pretty weak excuses. I use a timer when I sit, so...... today after sitting I went in to the kitchen, set the oven timer, and started slowly taking the circle thru my galley kitchen, through the hall and back. As first I was just thinking "weird to do this in the kitchen" but soon the path took on its own identity - sometimes in the light, sometimes dim, with different soundscapes, and then the timer rang and I was done. Sometimes you just need to start.

BhikkhuJayasara

Barra said:

Thanks for getting me off my butt - literally! I've done sitting and walking meditation for years on Sundays with my sangha, and do sitting meditation at home, but when I tried walking at home it seemed sort of ludicrous to be meditating through my kitchen, and I didn't know when to stop. Pretty weak excuses. I use a timer when I sit, so...... today after sitting I went in to the kitchen, set the oven timer, and started slowly taking the circle thru my galley kitchen, through the hall and back. As first I was just thinking "weird to do this in the kitchen" but soon the path took on its own identity - sometimes in the light, sometimes dim, with different soundscapes, and then the timer rang and I was done. Sometimes you just need to start.

I usually start my morning meditation around 8:20am... I have an alarm on my phone set for 8:55.. I don't time my walking and then time my sitting. I actually allow myself to naturally transition from one of the other whenever the time is right and whatever I'm doing at 8:55 I'm done. This way the practice is continuous until it ends.

may your practice continue to flourish

Wisdom23

i once heard that sitting or formal meditation is where we learn to be mindful and we should be mindful as much as possible so then anything can become a type of meditation