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Hey there, so I am new and have a lot of questions

edited August 2011 in Buddhism Basics
So, recently, I have started on a quest to study and somewhat practice Buddhism. I am doing a home study course and it is helping me out a lot, but there are still a lot of questions i have. The most simple question I can think of right at this moment is the fact of meditation. I understand little about the purpose of it. I do understand to a point it is meant to help control the mind and control the flow of thought, but what if I have strong imagery that keeps popping into my mind, am I just suppose to start over and continue my counting to empty my thoughts. And the other question is, do you have any suggestions on breathing and counting at the same time, would that defeat the purpose for emptying my mind?

Comments

  • Actually the purpose of meditation is to just be. Don't try to control anything, don't try do "do" anything. Just be completely present in the moment. Focus on your breath - the sensation of the air moving in and out. Images and thoughts will (*will*) come and go. You may find yourself going on a trip down a side road, but when you notice that, just come back to your breath. You can never empty your mind. Thoughts will pop up. Just let them go and come back to your breath.

    You really can't do it right or wrong at this stage (some will say you can, but I disagree). It's not about accomplishing anything or reaching any goal. Mediation is for its own sake. Sometimes it's downright boring, but that's okay. Just experience it. If you get antsy after five minutes, try to sit for six minutes. If you get antsy after six, it's okay. Just come back to it tomorrow. The key is to do it every day, and be consistent. Even if you're bored or distracted or just plain tired, do it anyway. It gets better!

    I recommend "Full Catastrophe Living" by Jon Kabat-Zinn as a good place to start. But there are many, many excellent books, and several threads here on NB about beginning meditation practice.
  • for me meditation is a way to just be during a few minutes and no matter the thoughts just let them pass say oh here is a thought and do not follow them.. thoughts are always popping but you are aware of yourself and a spectator to them. these few minutes a day is like a refuge a time just for yourself to feel yourself at a deeper level just let off everything for a few minutes this is like a relief from the normal life to make you feel there is something else than the everyday problems .. this is a time just for you to feel what you are and it is helping through life cause this may be the most important: find a place within where you are at home no matter the circumstances .. for me it is very important to go through the changes and the illusion and the puppet show of everyday this helps me to have a strenght inside and i am learning how to treat me lovingly and softly.. very often this is the only refuge that is left to me to find this place inside myself!am i right or wrong and does it help?YEMANJA
  • seeker242seeker242 Zen Florida, USA Veteran
    This is a good video :)



  • The purpose of meditation is to get rid of "purpose".

    :)
  • Thank you for your help this is very helpful. I am just struggling right now, the moment I start this journey, I am hit with different types depressions, but i feel like this is helping me so thank you for the info
  • Don't think too much about getting meditation right.
    Don't even worry about counting breaths.

    Just sit down and shut up ;)

    Listen to the silence
    Listen to the heart speak (not your thoughts, the heart)

    There is no goal to meditation. For meditation itself is enlightenment!
  • If the images you are experiencing are related to trauma you should see a therapist trained in Prolongef Exposure therapy. If they are images that don't produce a sense of panic then just treat them as thoughts. It is very common to be distracted over and over. Again and again and again bring yourself back to your breath.
  • Meditation is a way to see the truth of all things and to be one with it. :)
  • I am trying to understand this all really. What I am reading in my home study, the effect of Buddhism is to understand that we are prisoners in our own "self". That is one thing that I am having a hard time grasping because it is something that I grasp too. The ideas of who I am as "self" are not really who I am. Is this a correct thought process so far. And other than through meditation, what are other ways to understand this truth?
  • GuiGui Veteran
    I am trying to understand this all really. What I am reading in my home study, the effect of Buddhism is to understand that we are prisoners in our own "self". That is one thing that I am having a hard time grasping because it is something that I grasp too. The ideas of who I am as "self" are not really who I am. Is this a correct thought process so far. And other than through meditation, what are other ways to understand this truth?
    http://emptygatezen.com/true-self-authentic-self


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