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Must one set out with the purpose of practicing walking meditation?
My question, as stated above is whether or not one needs to set out thinking "I'm going out to practice walking meditation" or if walking meditation can just happen to take hold as one goes about his or her business.
I ask this because I had a strange experience a few weeks ago. I was running late to catch a train (I had probably 10 minutes to make a 20 minute walk), and although this does not sound like the ideal condition in which to meditate, bear with me I'll get to the point. In order to get to the station I had to move, as they say, with purpose. As I did this, I felt as if I was becoming more and more aware of my movements, breaths, thoughts and surroundings. I had a rare form of focus that I don't normally experience unless I am meditating.
Was this in a way walking meditation even though I had not set out with the purpose of doing so?
(In case you're wondering the end of the train story, I had to sprint down the platform and get on just as the doors were being closed, but I made it.
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I ask this because I had a strange experience a few weeks ago. I was running late to catch a train (I had probably 10 minutes to make a 20 minute walk), and although this does not sound like the ideal condition in which to meditate, bear with me I'll get to the point. In order to get to the station I had to move, as they say, with purpose. As I did this, I felt as if I was becoming more and more aware of my movements, breaths, thoughts and surroundings. I had a rare form of focus that I don't normally experience unless I am meditating.
Was this in a way walking meditation even though I had not set out with the purpose of doing so?
(In case you're wondering the end of the train story, I had to sprint down the platform and get on just as the doors were being closed, but I made it.
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Comments
In your example, you gained a high degree of concentration because of the urgency. I'm not sure about your degree of mindfulness, but for many people in a similar situation this could be problematic for several reasons, including:
1. the concentration was evoked by some external circumstance (train's departure) rather than some internal cultivation of mind.
2. the emotion of urgency seems to be the result of a strong attachment to the idea of getting to the train on time. In insight meditation, at least, concentration is used to deconstruct attachment, rather than to service it.
3. the level of concentration seems to have been very high, so I wonder if few distractions arose. This can be a bad thing, from the point of view of insight practice because you aren't getting as much opportunity to learn from your distractions.
4. Concentration can co-exist with un-mindfulness. Someone may be focused on reaching some goal, yet be blind to the (possibly destructive) emotions/thoughts behind that focus. A relevant analogy is an assassin-- an assassin may have powerful concentration, but does he have right concentration?
So people should beware of this.
Apologies in advance if I mis-characterized what happened to you specifically. Perhaps you were as mindful as you were concentrated, which is truly something great in stressful situations.
By the way, if you don't already do it, I strongly recommend walking meditation, especially for beginners.
Naturally as soon as we notice and delight ... we have to go back to crowing/thinking about the truth and effectiveness of Buddhist practice and make some effort.