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Why don't you meditate?
lobster
Crusty Veteran
in Meditation
I do incidentally.
However some people may not presently have a formal practice. Are you one of them? If you are a beginner and intend to confirm the theoretical basis, understandable.
Do you practice mindfulness instead perhaps?
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Comments
Mindfulness is what happens when my butt leaves the meditation cushion...No butts about it
I am old and lazy and am no longer so all-fired sure of what "meditation" is. Things tend to fade at my age.
Not a recommendation. Just an observation.
Trying to practice mindfulness without the foundation of a sitting practice is actually very challenging and not recommended for beginners.
My practice is a shambles. I need teacher. Am open to offer hehe
Have you considered yourself? What difference could a teacher make to the shambolic?
What better time to practice?
Hopefully a teacher might teach and thus I might be less shambolic....
I gets it. You want an imposed structure. Fair enough.
Lama Rinpoche and FPMT can provide that.
There may even be a center near you. Always loads going on at my local. Last time I was there, it was all work and practice ... at a rather nice converted high security terrorist court. One area was a tea garden ...
https://www.jamyang.co.uk/index.php/services/cafe-at-jamyang
Yum. Yab-yum that is incidentally ...
Cells are now retreat rooms ... some things don't change ... eh ... no, they do, they do ...
I need an imposed structure. Doubt about the validity of my efforts has/will be a derailer
What do you mean by "imposed structure"? Do you mean sticking to a particular method or approach?
Yes, i suppose like a spiritual director.
Because I'm reading this
@JohnMac
Impose your own structure.
Start with the observing of this very moment that you are reading this posting.
How could** you** actually practice within this arising and passing moment.
Do exactly that and repeat, every time a thought of practice arises.
Just make sure the practice accords with the ceasing of evil, doing only good and purifying your heart, and reflects that
All compounded things are impermanent
All conditioned phenomena and experiences are unsatisfactory
All phenomena are non-self
& Nirvana is true peace
if you want it to be a Buddhist practice.
Thanks, good advice indeed
"Why don't you meditate?"
@lobster quite often we might overlook the ripening of Karma which no doubt has something to do with it = When the student is ready...The teacher will appear !
People can be told again and again 'how to meditate' and why 'they should meditate', but if they are not ready (karma ripened) the wise words of advice will fall upon deaf ears....( The seed may have been planted, but due to ones circumstance/conditioning/karmic patterns, will not germinate and grow-alas it will remain dormant for some time to come)....
This is not to say one should not share and or promote the practice, after all karmic patterns differ ...
^^^ This is true.
However for some the exercise and insight into why one is 'not ready' is worth addressing.
Wasting our own and others time is an indulgence. We all do this to a lesser or greater degree. Not everything is a waste of time when we stop wasting time. Eventually time wastes us.
In the words of my teacher:
'What's the plan?'
... and now back to the original question ...
I really don't see the point in formal meditation anymore. The reason I did meditate was to try and understand this life, reality and be free from suffering.
There was seeming results and benefits from meditation but for what I was aiming for I now see it isn't the way for me.
Meditation only lasts while Meditating. And nobody can meditate 24/7. So I dropped it all.
To be honest, I've never been more at peace.
I just realised I've always been what I was looking for. This moment is already complete and sublime beyond words. It's amazing how we miss it. I was always chasing this idea and I thought meditation would bring it about. All the time ignoring this...
I've stopped sitting in an awkward position and now just go for a beautiful walk.
I look at a cloud and the awe of this all nearly reduces me to tears.
Here we are, this is it. Everything is included. Sad or happy. It's all included in this.
I'm sorry if this offends anybody, I'm not saying meditation is ever a silly thing to do. There are huge benefits to it. I've just realised that what I was trying to achieve through meditation has been here all along. Before and after meditating. Meditation has nothing to do with this. Bit it's included. Like everything else.
It's so beautiful, how do we miss this daily. Always trying to get somewhere... Constantly chasing an idea that there is somewhere to get. You can rest a bit easier when you just drop it all
Tee Hee
Good news.
Things change. Just so you know.
Peace is just a respite. Wait till the Mahayana inclinations set in ...
[too wikid?]
Sheer luxury!
To answer the original question, " because I'm fairly lazy", sad but true.
Peace is when it doesn't matter anymore if it's sunny or rainy.
Maybe your definition is different. Too wikid? XD
I try often but i have`nt yet plenty stability.I know that everything comes in time or a little later.
Things change. Perfectly natural. It is why the five minute meditation was invented. Some split it into five parts. Do you think you are terminally lazy or temporarily lazy or maybe unconvinced of the benefits?
Kinda reminds me of "flower power" and some other slogans from the hippie days. It's a nice sentiment and peace is always preferable to conflict. But on a personal level I'm not convinced that peace should be used as an indicator of insight.
It's like, if I don't want conflict with my wife, I divorce and stay single. I'm protecting myself from conflict and can start to think that I have addressed my defilements and have attained peace.
How can I know that I have eliminated suffering unless I am tested by hardship?
It's easy to say that I have it all figured out when life is going good.
Being able to roll with the punches might not be the best indicator of attainment either.
It's excellent to raise children in a peaceful, happy home. That should be your first concern imo.
We should take it with a grain of salt when our thoughts tell us that we have transcended the need for increasing our concentration and insight from meditating.
Well because the suffering is unbelievable in the lower realms and I am lucky enough for this period of time to have the leisure and endowment to practice. As an example I have a terrible flu today and can't image meditating a long period so when I am feeling better later I have that opportunity to at that time meditate.
Temporarily. ...In a trough
@Earthninja perhaps unbeknown to your aggregated self mindfulness is at work...(It looks like the Vipassana Retreat paid off )
So for the time being enjoy just being 
What would an indicator of insight be? And I use the word peace because it's the closest thing I can come up with at night haha. I could try be more poetic to get what I mean across?
I haven't eliminated suffering, I'm just more ok with it. It's funny how you really don't suffer as much the more you accept things.
This is true.
This is true to!
It's not thoughts that tell you this, you can experience this and realise this. The whole meditation thing never brought me closer to this. Because this already is, prior to meditation.
If you want to develop concentration to it's fullest degree, or focus on sensations in your feet for 24 hours. Great! It has some great byproducts and added concentration is great.
I just don't see the point in it anymore. If I sit down for a second. The awe of this all rushes in.
Also even prior to any of this when I did meditate, all the so called insights happened outside of mat time. Just walking the dogs etc.
I don't need to sit on a mat and watch my breath to realise what I am already. Even the idea of realising what you are through meditation seems like a ploy. Because who is realising what exactly?
There is just this, it's always been this.
Everything just happening. The more we grab at it the more it fragments.
I don't know, just why I don't meditate. I'm not saying you guys shouldn't. But was asked why I don't.
Awe is an arising presence. The awe settles. Becomes ordinary. Then the benefits of 'cushion time' may arise again. They may not.
We are not talking about the same thing it seems.
Yeah maybe.