Smile while meditating?

Listen

I think that I usually look very serious while meditating, and I guess I feel a little serious most of the time too. In contrast, I've heard it said to have a bit of a smile on your face, and lightness in your spirit. Is this accurate? Should I catch myself being serious and put a smile there? When I've tried it, it does seem to lighten me, but I don't know if I should be putting it there or just letting myself be serious...

Thanks.

Glow

In the Buddha's instructions for mindfulness of breathing, he told his monks to rest attention on the breath and body without either aversion or craving. ("On that occasion the monk remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world...") Becoming overly serious is often a sign of aversion. Perhaps notice if you're trying to achieve a certain state when you're meditating, or you're trying to force certain thoughts or feelings away. Or, notice if you're subconsciously reacting to some tension in the body, and try instead to imagine the breath flowing into the tense places and softening around the tension.

Smiling is one way to relax this tendency. I've heard this instruction as well. Thich Nhat Hanh, when visiting the San Francisco Zen Center, commented on how serious the meditators there were. He told them to practice "smiling meditation." (Or something to that effect.) It can be a good idea to start with a slight Buddha smile.

Alternatively, you might even begin your sitting practice by offering metta towards yourself and those near you: "May I embrace whatever is happening in my life. May I be safe, happy, and at peace. May these people also have the courage to embrace what is happening in their life. May they be safe, happy and at peace." The Buddha taught that one of the advantages of practicing metta was improved concentration/mindfulness. ("8. His mind can concentrate quickly...")

lightwithin

Funny you should mention this, because something related happened to me the other night. I described it in this: http://newbuddhist.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6324 thread.

DairyLama

Listen wrote: »

I think that I usually look very serious while meditating, and I guess I feel a little serious most of the time too. In contrast, I've heard it said to have a bit of a smile on your face, and lightness in your spirit. Is this accurate? Should I catch myself being serious and put a smile there? When I've tried it, it does seem to lighten me, but I don't know if I should be putting it there or just letting myself be serious...

Thanks.

Yes, we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously, particularly while meditating. Personally I wouldn't try to force smiles, they'll come when they're ready.:)

P

shanyin

Bhante Vimalaramsi suggests it.. at least for metta meditation and vipassana. Personally I don't like smiling disengenuously.

GuyC

If it helps to cultivate wholesome qualities then smile. If it feels too unnatural then just relax. There is no absolute right or wrong way to meditate, it is an art more than it is a science.

skullchin

I was instructed to "half-smile" when meditating and have done it ever since. I do it in many other circumstances as well. standing in line, driving...

Is it just me or does one naturally half-smile (Buddha smile/Mona Lisa smile) when the face is completely relaxed?

DirkArjen

The first couple of times I tried to smile while during a meditation, because it was instructed in one of the metta-meditation instructions. It does seem te give a lighter feeling to the whole meditation, as if the feeling follows after I change te body.

However, I did forget to hold the smile and needed to remind myself, so the focus is on the smile, rather then feeling metta or medatation. So it seems to me, it distracts me, when done intentially.

Just my experience,

Dirk

skullchin

DirkArjen wrote: »

as if the feeling follows after I change the body.

There is research that supports this idea. Following the idea that "neurons that fire together wire together" if the neural net for an emotion is associated with the neural net for the physiological posture then it would make sense that the feeling would follow the posture and vice versa. i.e. if feeling of happiness is associated neurologically with smiling then you could change you mood by practicing half smile in line at the grocery store or in traffic.

fivebells

If you open your heart to the experience of the moment and rest, a smile will develop naturally.

skullchin

BTW, this ties back to meditation in how posture is thought to be important. If clarity of mind is associated with things like a straight back, mudra, full lotus, half-smile, etc., then it would be skillful to practice these same postures the same every time and especially when clarity of mind, one-pointed concentration is being achieved.

Listen

Thanks for all of the replies. I have been taking the middle-approach since posting this: I do try to do a mini-smile, but I never force it, and I let it go if it doesn't feel right. I think it is useful for the reasons mentioned above: just like the posture, it's part of the attitude of intention that matters.

newtech

sounds more important find out why i am not smiling during meditation