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Determining the frequency and quantity of meditation

SimplifySimplify Veteran
edited November 2009 in Meditation
How do you figure this out?

Comments

  • JasonJason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator
    edited November 2009
    Practice.
  • SimplifySimplify Veteran
    edited November 2009
    I mean, I do 20 minutes a day, once or sometimes twice. I could easily do 30 minutes a day, and if I pushed myself I could do an hour a day.
  • JasonJason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator
    edited November 2009
    Nobody else can tell you how much time is right for you. Everyone's different. I think the most important thing, however, is consistency. Sitting everyday for 20 minutes is a lot better than sitting for an hour every once in a while. But just as a suggestion, I'd say try sitting for 30 minutes a day if you can and see what happens. You'll just have to figure out what works for you through trial and error. See AN 6.55.
  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited November 2009
    Do what works. I do an hour in the morning, an hour in the evening, about 95% of the time. It's very rare that I do less than an hour a day. The solidification of identity becomes very apparent very quickly, if I don't meditate. (Actually, identities start to cohere even with regular practice, but somehow they die more easily...)
  • AriettaDolenteAriettaDolente Veteran
    edited November 2009
    With practice, meditation becomes easier and more enjoyable. If you feel uncomfortable or restless, observe the feelings, let them go, and continue. As you improve, it will take less time to reach a point of unity, and it will become easier to remain there. When I was very disciplined in my practice, I could meditate practically anywhere, even on a crowded bus, and it would take only moments to open my awareness. My circumstances have changed somewhat, and it is a little harder for me to keep my perspective clear. Such is life, but this illustrates the importance of regular practice. As others have suggested, morning and evening meditations seem to work well. If ten minutes is enough, great. If you can handle an hour, wonderful. I used to meditate for the duration of one incense stick, which I think turned out to be about twenty minutes. Whatever works for you. :)
  • SimplifySimplify Veteran
    edited November 2009
    Ok, thanks for the advice.

    Fivebells, why don't you make your entire day a meditation? Not a sitting meditation, but meditate in the sense that you have emptied your mind of everything except what is relevant or important at the moment, even if it is thought.
  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited November 2009
    Would that I could, Simplify. I keep getting in the way of it... Anyway, what you describe is not where Buddhist practice leads. How do you decide what's relevant or important?
  • SimplifySimplify Veteran
    edited November 2009
    fivebells wrote: »
    Anyway, what you describe is not where Buddhist practice leads.

    That's kind of surprising - I thought that was part of awareness, to not have distracting thoughts?
    fivebells wrote: »
    How do you decide what's relevant or important?

    That seems like an advanced queston! I'm hoping the Buddha figured that one out for us... :tonguec:.

    Seriously though, I've thought about it simply in the context of the flood of sensory information that is coming in, and what to pay attention to. If thought is considered part of that sensory information it becomes what thought do you pay attention to, and now I'm stepping out on a limb I know nothing about, but I suppose that even action could be seen as sensory information coming in. I don't even know if we can control that action (free will questions, such as "A man can surely do what he wills to do, but cannot determine what he wills." - Schopenhauer ).

    I'll take a closer look at it when I notice myself starting to levitate while meditating :)
  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited November 2009
    No. Awareness, in the context of distracting thoughts, means awareness of distracting thoughts.

    "What's relevant and important?" Is one of the few questions Buddhist practice actually has an answer to. Roughly, it's "Awareness of every aspect of the current moment's experience."
  • AriettaDolenteAriettaDolente Veteran
    edited November 2009
    fivebells wrote: »
    "What's relevant and important?" Is one of the few questions Buddhist practice actually has an answer to. Roughly, it's "Awareness of every aspect of the current moment's experience."
    I agree. It's like waking up from a confusing dream. Suddenly, everything comes into focus, and you see things as though for the very first time. It is an "Oh, yeah!" experience, accompanied by feelings of peace, joy, and compassion. It is being fully alive.

    What could be more relevant and important than that? :)

    Thoughts may still arise, but they are of no more (or less) importance than clouds passing through the sky. Some are high, some are low, some are white, some are dark, some are light, some are heavy, some are scattered, some are dense. Like all sense perceptions, they come and they go.
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