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How Do You Meditate
Vagabond
Explorer
Once again, I'm new to this whole thing, and yeah, I've seen videos explaining how to meditate, but I'd like to hear how you all do it and what you think is important. I know there's different types of meditation, but what do you think would be easiest for me to do? I always seem to try to do it at night when I'm already tired, which will always end up with me falling asleep lol. Idk
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Hello Vagabond. You'll certainly get lots of good (and, perhaps, less good) advice but I have a question for you:
Do you really want the easiest meditation?
I practice some kind of zazen. Like you, I always meditate before I go to sleep. But I don't know easier ways. You simply have to ...meditate...or concentrate on something. For example, I sit cross legged with my eyes closed and concentrate at what 'moves' around me.
I don't know...how easier would you like meditation to look like ?
Whatever you think would be easiest for a beginner I guess
I mean I guess I'm wondering about what different types of meditation can do too. As a beginner, I don't wanna just 'wing it' and miss the point of it all
How's that working out for you? Sounds hard.
Lmao @ fivebells! I was thinking the same.
It is a combination of calming and insight.
It is not a dzogchen meditation but my teacher says that it is opening into that space whatever that means haha.
The most common type to start is breath following. If that is too difficult you can do breath counting and then return to just breath following when your mind settles down some.
What is important is to not try to clear your mind of all thoughts because that is impossible to do. But rather to just return to the breath when you have noticed that thoughts have arisen. You can't stop them from arising and it's pointless to even try.
Sounds like Bushism not Buddhism.
well it works for about a minute.
The "object" of awareness is the totality of bodymind (including thought) activity at once. The "practice" is non-obstructed bodymind .
Sounds complicated but it is very direct.
Yeah I have ADD too, but is it possible that my mind wandering is such a bad things in some cases? Can't meditation be used to look at things in your life much deeper than you do when you're not meditating?
For instance, if me and my girlfriend were arguing over a bunch of things, couldn't I meditate and think about every little thing very thoroughly and find out the "REAL" reason for the arguments and therefore, finding a way to resolve them?
Maybe this isn't even considered meditation though, lol. Idk, I need to be informed lol
I've gained some interest in this for a couple reasons, which I'll skip explaining but I'd like to ask you about it.
So all you "do" is, like you said, sits still? That's a bit why I'm attracted to it also I've seen it suggested as a meditation for beginners.
It is 100% wakeful sitting, a very simple but very disciplined practice. I would be happy to share the basic approach with you, as well as describe how it unfolds over time.
Tomorrow I am off on family vacation, heading up to Georgian Bay where there is no internet. I'll PM you when I'm back in town if like then.
Indeed :bigclap:
Hmm... will have to check that out. Thanks.
1) When you breath in a long breath, you know that you are breathing in a long breath. When you breath out a long breath, you know that you are breathing out a long breath.
2) When you breath in a short breath, you know that you are breathing in a short breath. When you breath out a short breath, you know that you are breathing out a short breath.
3) When you breath in, you experience your entire physical body. When you breath out, you experience your entire physical body.
4) When you breath in, you tranquilize your entire physical body. When you breath out, you tranquilize your entire physical body.
(Your physical body means your body all the way down from the top of your head to the tips of your toes).
So basically, the whole point is to know that you are breathing, and while breathing to relax. And that's it. Meditation pure and simple, haha!!
Absolutely you can meditate on your life experience and reasons for feeling a certain way and you have hit on a key point that hasn't been addressed; there are two basic kinds of meditation, stabilizing meditations and analytical meditations. The type you mention about trying to find the REAL reasons for things is an analytical meditation. For instance you can take this incident of arguing with your girlfriend and meditate on patience, or anger. For instance did someone get angry? If they did, did that make you happier or suffer more? By meditating on the disadvantages of anger and on the virtues of patience maybe you can not worry so much about the "reasons" for your argument and simply avoid it with patience and compassion instead of anger and frustration. However, please oh please don't meditate on every little thing that was said and done, that is not meditation, it is torture!! Exactly what you are trying to avoid through meditation.
As other people have mentioned there is the meditation on the breath, which I think is as simple as you can get and best for a beginner. It is also the other type of meditation; stabilization. Simply do as another poster mentioned and breath in, then out, count that as one breath if you'd like to count. Do that something like 4-10 counts, whatever number works for you. If you're mind wanders while you are doing it, just acknowledge it, but don't dwell on it and go back to counting or focusing on the breath.
Don't make the pitfall of trying to do analytical and stabilization meditation at the same time, you can't think of two things at once. I would start with the breath and if you find it getting easy or you start to wander into your argument with girlfriend, realize that, make a mental sticky-note and start addressing the incident from the perspective of patience and anger and which is better and why? Hope that helps.
Please consider taking a look at this Buddhist meditation series with Ajahn Jayasaro on Youtube.
This video is the very brief introductory talk:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd7a9Ur2x0o
Kind wishes,
Dazzle
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Meditation is best learned from a live person, a teacher who has experience. This way, you can corroborate your experiences with him/her. You will also speed up your learning process by avoiding all sorts of side-tracks and there will be no need to experiment. A real teacher can also prevent any possible big mistakes and give help when any obstacle arises.
I think if you want to start practising on your own. Meditation with the breath is very useful. But do many very short sessions like maybe 10-15mins at most
Also recommended to do some studies on the theory, to get some idea on why you are meditating, what the path is about...
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Helpful links:
Tenzin Palmo on Nature of Mind
<O:phttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bseq3IonOgc&p=3D15FAF8782794CB&playnext=1&index=42 (part 1 of 11)
http://amberstar.libsyn.com/category/Tenzin%20Palmo
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(Learning to Meditate - Sakyong Mipham)
http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=rjqv3fZB_1U&feature=related
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(What Meditation is - Sogyal Rinpoche)
http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=FCdgNZS1Sks&feature=related
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Buddhanet website has some good books on meditation too. You can learn from there too.
I think that practical mindfulness (in all activities) is more of an engaged way to practice rather than the sitting deal because then you're like 'i'm going to meditate now' and it becomes some sort of a conceptual practice outside of everyday living.. when really it's all just meditation.. no goals, no methods, no path.. just living. meditation simply shows you that the mind is already trained and clear.. the mind thinks, emotions emote lol.. it just happens.. you choose to believe in your thoughts, emotions.. you cling to your suffering.. it's all you.. maybe the formal aspect will help. for me it was through daily activities and suffering that helped me realize that suffering wasn't a good option lol.. the door is open.. everything external is impermanent, be content, love yourself and love will flourish around you.
Your approach is Ok, it works for you. The practice of mindfulness in all our day-to-day activities and thoughts is what really enhances our mental cultivation right from the start. Perhaps, for some lay people, formal meditation can be considered as optional... many lay people in Buddhist countries don't meditate.
I practice shamatha meditation, two sessions of twenty minutes - morning and evening. Maybe I'll try vipassana meditation in due course...
I mean, sometimes I'll just sit with my eyes open and just think and be aware of my surroundings.
Whatever works for you I think, but I'm really new to this too.
Even when, after years of practice, you ride the tame horse (the mind) - sometimes you ride badly - but you keep getting back in the saddle (on the cushion). That's why it is called practice.....
The mind is like a crazy monkey: the more you try to calm it by force and to make it stay on a definite place, the more it will refuse to do that, doing exactly the opposite: jumping even more crazily form one place to another. Therefore start focusing the mind very softly upon the chosen object and when it jumps to another object just bring it back calmly and patiently, with humor and compassion at your lack of discipline. If you get angry about this continuous mental jumping, this will only increase the mind's tendency to disperse.
Beginning with compassion and some humor over your (our) crazy monkey mind is the seed of loving kindness and compassion for all sentient beings (bodhicitta).
The simplicity of "Just Sitting" belies the roaring silence you (we) will encounter embarking on this path. A teacher is highly recommended starting out (you may go through scores of teachers to find the right technique for your very personal approach) and no matter what - you can't get it wrong - you can just "get it". Congratulations on wakening to the dharma - you are most welcome - we have been waiting for you......
So, you suggest just one particular meditation at a time?
How long is the duration?
As long as you need to?
Ditto. I usually begin with breathing to get my mind right, then I do a visualization of a white light slowly moving up my body that relaxes all my muscles, then I just let go.