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Meditation Dilemma

Ren79Ren79
edited April 2010 in Meditation
I'm usually pretty verbose, so I'll try to make this as brief as I can put it LOL

Anyway, I've been meditating for a large portion of my life, BUT it was mostly for the improvement of martial arts. For example clearing your mind, and focusing on breathing and visualizing the flow of energy in and out of your body, and visualizing its manipulation, and being mindful of your body and its reaction to the constant ebb and flow of energy to better understand it, to better use it to your advantage in martial arts.

Now that I've switched my meditation, upon taking Buddhism more seriously, and trying to meditate more as a mental exercise and deep introspection, I'm at a loss. I'm used to stilling my mind, that comes easy, but isn't the point of Buddhist meditation to analyze yourself, and watch your thoughts as they pass? Well, I'm just getting emptiness...no thoughts, but nothing else as well...just an empty mind, as I've conditioned myself to do. Without that visualization I've been using in my martial arts, now when I meditate it seems mentally, like i'm just sitting in this great empty, dark hall...

Any tips?

Comments

  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited March 2010
    Try putting yourself in a stressful situation (an argument, doing your taxes, whatever) and then sitting and watching what arises. Death or karma meditations may also be effective.
  • FoibleFullFoibleFull Canada Veteran
    edited March 2010
    Ren79 wrote: »
    I'm usually pretty verbose, so I'll try to make this as brief as I can put it LOL

    Anyway, I've been meditating for a large portion of my life, BUT it was mostly for the improvement of martial arts. For example clearing your mind, and focusing on breathing and visualizing the flow of energy in and out of your body, and visualizing its manipulation, and being mindful of your body and its reaction to the constant ebb and flow of energy to better understand it, to better use it to your advantage in martial arts.

    Now that I've switched my meditation, upon taking Buddhism more seriously, and trying to meditate more as a mental exercise and deep introspection, I'm at a loss. I'm used to stilling my mind, that comes easy, but isn't the point of Buddhist meditation to analyze yourself, and watch your thoughts as they pass? Well, I'm just getting emptiness...no thoughts, but nothing else as well...just an empty mind, as I've conditioned myself to do. Without that visualization I've been using in my martial arts, now when I meditate it seems mentally, like i'm just sitting in this great empty, dark hall...

    Any tips?

    Tibetan Buddhist teaches Calm-Abiding/Mind-Stabilization Meditation first, but the mind is actively focused either on an image or on one's breath ... we do not empty our mind.

    And when one can focus to the point where thoughts and outer distractions no longer intrude for periods of time, only then we are ready to move on to Analytical Meditation, where questions such as "Where is 'I'?" can be entertained.
  • DeshyDeshy Veteran
    edited March 2010
    Ren79 wrote: »
    I'm used to stilling my mind, that comes easy, but isn't the point of Buddhist meditation to analyze yourself, and watch your thoughts as they pass? Well, I'm just getting emptiness...no thoughts, but nothing else as well...just an empty mind, as I've conditioned myself to do.

    Any tips?

    Meditation is watching your thoughts? :confused: From the little I have learnt so far, thoughts are the most unproductive form of gaining wisdom. Thoughts are just noise in the mind, which is why we use the breath to still the mind before wisdom can arise in the still mind. Samadhi (attentive stillness) is important before vipassana.

    Also, vipassana is not something that we deliberately do. It naturally arises in a still mind. For example, when you mindfully watch your breath there is a time, if you are mindful enough, that certain realizations arise in your mind. Like "the breathing body is one thing and the awareness of the breathing is another". Makes you feel like the body breaths by itself rather than it is "you" who breathes. Those reflections naturally arise.

    Btw. how about getting hold of a meditation book or a teacher? I would recommend these books:

    1) Mindfulness, bliss and beyond - Ajhan Brahm
    2) Mindfulness with breathing - Buddhadasa Bhikku
  • DazzleDazzle
    edited April 2010
    Hi Ren79,

    There's a series of meditation videos on YouTube which you might find helpful.

    This one is the introduction :

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd7a9Ur2x0o


    Kind regards,


    Dazzle
  • Ren79Ren79
    edited April 2010
    Deshy wrote: »
    Meditation is watching your thoughts? :confused: From the little I have learnt so far, thoughts are the most unproductive form of gaining wisdom. Thoughts are just noise in the mind, which is why we use the breath to still the mind before wisdom can arise in the still mind. Samadhi (attentive stillness) is important before vipassana.

    Also, vipassana is not something that we deliberately do. It naturally arises in a still mind. For example, when you mindfully watch your breath there is a time, if you are mindful enough, that certain realizations arise in your mind. Like "the breathing body is one thing and the awareness of the breathing is another". Makes you feel like the body breaths by itself rather than it is "you" who breathes. Those reflections naturally arise.

    Btw. how about getting hold of a meditation book or a teacher? I would recommend these books:

    1) Mindfulness, bliss and beyond - Ajhan Brahm
    2) Mindfulness with breathing - Buddhadasa Bhikku

    no what i meant was, not that the point of meditation was watching your thoughts...but that a piece of it was witnessing thoughts as they pass by with no reaction, as to see how impermanent things are, and the constantly changing idea of "self",w hich leads to no self.

    The problem I was having was that I've already taught my mind to be still , so i was witnessing nothing..like i said just like i was by myself in this vast, empty hall.

    I guess I would now be at the part where I stimulate myself mentally and focusing my meditation on certain things...thanks all for your help.
  • jinzangjinzang Veteran
    edited April 2010
    Now that I've switched my meditation, upon taking Buddhism more seriously, and trying to meditate more as a mental exercise and deep introspection, I'm at a loss.

    That sense of confusion, of not knowing what to do, is important. Don't try to fix it or fill up the empty space with analysis. Just continue to sit with it and let it be.

    Do you have a teacher? If you're at this stage in your practice, you REALLY would benefit by talking to one.
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