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Meditation Question
I have been looking around at Meditation techniques and other similar things and a lot of websites say if you are just beginning to practice Buddhism and want to learn meditation you should do it 20-30 mins daily. I was just wondering if that is a good idea or does it matter if you do it for a longer period of time?
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Try to keep it as light as possible. Ten minutes in the morning, maybe longer, then more later on in the day if you wish. The thing about doing meditation for long periods of time is that you have to do it correctly, because if you are meditating incorrectly you are just going to be depriving yourself of a good time, and might actually end up causing suffering for yourself, and you don't want to do that.
The key to meditation lies in your thoughts, or more specifically letting go of them, and then relaxing the tension that caused those thoughts - craving - the cause of suffering.
A lot of people who practice meditation of the breath practice in the following way: when they notice their mind is distracted, they let go of the thought, then they return to the object of meditation, which is watching the breath as it comes in, and watching it as it comes out. This is a good meditation because it develops concentration, the eighth factor in the eightfold path, however it is missing one crucial step that differentiates Buddha's meditation from the meditation of others, and it contains one step that is erroneous in that it does not conduce to the cultivation of the mind that Buddha teaches us to cultivate.
The step that this meditation is missing is that after the meditator has let go of the thoughts, and before he returns to the object of meditation, he needs to relax. The reason for this is that craving (tension and tightness in the mind and body regarding a feeling) causes clinging (thinking about the feeling). Buddha asserts that if we want to experience the cessation of suffering, we need to remove craving from our minds, and how do we do that? We relax. This is why it is so important to relax the tension in your mind and body after you let go of the thinking, because this is what makes the meditation productive. It's what makes you experience the cessation of suffering - Nibbana - the reason why we meditate.
Now that you have relaxed the tension and tightness that caused your mind to begin thinking, you are returning to your object of meditation. Now, what is your object of meditation? Many people simply apply their minds to watching the rise and fall of the breath. This is good, because it develops concentration, an enlightenment factor. However, we need to maintain the tranquilization of craving, the cause of suffering, and how did Buddha advise us to do this? In his instructions of mindfulness of breathing, we are told to do four things. They are:
1) Know that you are breathing in a long breath. Know that you are breathing out a long breath.
2) Know that you are breathing in a short breath. Know that you are breathing out a short breath.
Now these are the really important steps.
3) Feel your entire body when you breath in. Feel your entire body when you breath out.
4) Tranquilize your bodily formations when you breath in. Tranquilize your bodily formations when you breath out.
Your bodily formations are the components that your body's functioning depends on. They are the in breath and out breath, the heart rate, your muscles, ligaments, joints, bones, organs, everything. Just tranquilize them on the in breath, and tranquilize them on the out breath.
After you catch your mind straying enough times, let go of the tension that caused your mind to stray, then return to your wholesome object of meditation (tranquil insight into the nature of this process), you will begin to enter into a Jhana. You will begin to see for yourself the links that make up this impersonal (anatta) process. You will begin to see the subtle mechanisms in your mind that propel and proliferate this process of suffering, and you will begin to let it go. You are now experiencing the knowledge and understanding of the four noble truths as they arise and pass away - Nibbana. Practice, practice, practice, and don't forget to smile and have fun. Good luck.
-Tikal
Wonderful question ! Thanks for it. The most important part of meditation is consistency so if 30 minutes a day is possible, do that, if more is possible then do that.
Best wishes, and don't give up.
Abu
Does that mean something is being done incorrectly, or just that life happens? As a beginner, not everything can be let go of
:clap:
If you are feeling contented with your meditation, then that means you are most likely meditating correctly. This is good. Keep going.
-Tikal
Become aware of the hindrance
or
Return to the object of meditation?
i.e what if an attempt to become aware of the hindrance doesn't work? How can it be let go of, or is it the same as relaxing on the in breath, or relaxing on the outbreath?
I think instead of trying to become aware of the nature of the hindrance itself, I often opt for returning to the object of meditation. Which is probably the cause for some of the frustration I experience.
I'm not really 100% sure what you mean, but if you want to experience the cessation of suffering (Nibbana) you have to let go of craving. Craving manifests itself in the hindrances. Part of letting go of these hindrances is recognizing that we have a hindrance in the first place. If there was a hindrance, and we never recognized the fact that it was there, then how could we let it go? If we want to let it go, we have to recognize that it is there. Once you have recognized it, you need to let go of the thinking, then relax, then come back to relaxing on the in breath, and relaxing on the out breath.
-Tikal
Spiny
20-30 minutes is a good length to aim for when you're starting out. If you can do more then so much the better. Gradually increasing the length of time is a good approach. Also consider whether your daily routine needs adjusting, and what is the best time of day for you to practice. And it's always good to get advice from more experienced meditators.
Spiny
there's a good reason for a beginner to keep meditation sessions short: Long sessions may discourage you from sitting in the first place. Your mind may go: "Oh geez, I don't feel like sitting for 40 minutes right now, so I'll do it later."
This is a classic procrastination pattern. A way to solve this pattern is to keep the sessions short.
If you are interested in doing longer sessions, here's what I recommend: Set a timer for 20 minutes, and commit yourself to sitting for at least 20 minutes. After that 20 minutes is up, allow yourself the option to continue for another 20 minutes (or however many more minutes).
Only until you can regularly sit for 40 minutes comfortably should you commit to 40.
Yes, that approach can be very effective, and I think it's better to do shorter sits regularly than longer ones intermitently. Having said that, longer meditation sessions tend to be more productive, because for most of us it takes a certain amount of time to get the mind to calm down.
Spiny
I feel a little bad about walking back the amount of time I meditate daily, but I think I'm going to either cut out the morning meditation completely and keep the 30min at night, or drop them both down to 15 or 20 minutes.
It's just rough to sit for 30 minutes some mornings when time is already limited. I think dropping back my times will make it easier to maintain daily practice, rather than wind up getting frustrated with sitting and stop completely.
Don't know why I felt like explaining all of that, probably because I'd like some reassurance that it's "Okay".
At the same time its very helpful to stop several times a day , just take a deep breath and be aware of your breath and the world around you for a couple of minutes.
-Tikal
Spiny
Eat when you are hungry.
Drink when you are thirsty.
Sleep when you are tired.
The same holds true for your practice.
When you feel the need to meditate, do it.
Too many restrictions and too much regimentation, only add to the difficulty of your practice.
You are not supposed to try harder, you are supposed to try easier.
Namaste