Does anyone here practice more than one kind of meditation?

msac123

I like practicing more than one kind of meditation because they help me in various ways. For example, I'll do loving kindness meditation over Zazen sometimes because lkm provides help me have compassion for yourself and it is part of the Buddhist teachings to love yourself before you love others. What about you?

Chaz

I've been instructed in 4 different methods and a number of techiques.

I mostly stick to one: Shamatha

fivebells

Learning different techniques and the situations where they're useful is key to developing meditation as a useful skill. Loving-kindness meditation is an excellent supplementary technique.

karasti

I practice several kinds, but for me all of them have a basis in Shamatha. I have to start there usually before I can move on to other types. It's very grounding and calming for me. I also practice vipashyana/vipassana and then Shamata and Vipashyana together. And tonglen. I also do some mantra meditation but I'm really just getting going in that.

how

"Just as soon as I map out the boundaries of this meditation, I'll start exploring elsewhere", were my words 40 years ago.

That intent created a one trick practice pony, when each new sitting widened the meditation while dissolving the meditator.

BhikkhuJayasara

I follow the meditation techniques given by the buddha in the 4 nikayas of the pali cannon. So Samatha, Vipassana, and metta as described in the Anapanasati Sutta(mindfulness of in and out breathing) and dhammacakkappavattana sutta(4 frames of reference). They often intermingle and I don't set specific goals or time frames for each.

I also practice all three through the various bodily postures of sitting, standing, and walking.

Jeffrey

I practice formless meditation. I also rarely do metta. Sometimes when I am very drugged/sluggish (prescription drugs) I will chant refuge and arousing bodhicitta mantras.
I also do tonglen for people I know who are having a rough time.

Invincible_summer

My primary meditation practices now are metta bhavana (Loving-kindness) and anapanasati, but I throw in a bit of Mahasi-style vipassana now and then. But my preferred practice is anapanasati and metta.

lobster

For your consideration:
http://flowingzen.com/2203/why-sitting-meditation-isnt-for-you/

My personal formal practice is mostly this, which is not very different to my preferred day to day consciousness . . .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikantaza

but I will chant, do puja or do metta bhavna or whatever a group I visit is into. I am not doing qi ong or yoga at the moment but find this and walking meditation often suit the activity based Western mind set . . .

jayne

I different types of meditation depending on how I'm feeling or whats happening for me. Metta most days, vipassana, walking meditation just sitting, sometimes a guided meditation. I also like to listen to chants sometimes and I do yoga a few days a week.