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What kind of meditation do you practice?

lightwithinlightwithin Veteran
edited August 2010 in Meditation
I know there are several types of meditation and being that this website encompasses all Buddhists from all traditions, I was wondering what kind of meditation you guys practice.

A lil description of your particular practice, what position you use, how long the sessions are, and what tradition it stems from, would be great. I'm just curious as to what all of you out there are doing.

Personally, I do Zen sitting meditation (Zazen), which focuses on body, mind and breath. I sit in the Burmese position and my sessions are 30 minutes each day. I do two sessions when I have the time, but that hasn't happened in a while.

I'm also interested in trying Vipassana meditation some time and also loving-kindness meditation or Metta in the future.

Comments

  • GlowGlow Veteran
    edited April 2010
    Good thread topic. :uphand:

    I do a few different meditations, depending on what I feel I need at the moment. My main practice can fall into two meditations from Theravada Buddhism: mindfulness of breathing (Anapanasati - resting the attention on the breath and breathing with thoughts, physical sensations, judgments, etc. in the present moment) and the Four Limitless Qualities (Brahmaviharas -- lovingkindness, compassion, joy and equanimity).

    I sit in a chair. Years of contact sports have done a number on my knees. Sometimes, when I feel "disembodied" I will practice mindfulness of the body, which is done lying down and by scanning different parts of the body (feet, legs, etc.) and feeling the moment-to-moment flux of sensations there. My meditations usually last about 30 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on how much time I have. I do it when I get home from work, after eating a light snack and showering.
  • Love-N-PeaceLove-N-Peace Veteran
    edited August 2010
    I don't practise anything in particular, I just try to keep the five precepts and the eight-fold path in mind at all times and meditate each day. I'm only doing three minutes at the minute but I'm increasing a second every day so when I'm, say, 80, if I live that long, I'll be able to do 5.8 hours, or something. I'm above average maths but I'm sleepy... Maybe I'll live long enough to do permanent meditation then realise ooh, I'm enlightened :D

    Jellybean
  • mugzymugzy Veteran
    edited August 2010
    I use a few different techniques, but mostly I do a breathing meditation like you described. Simply be present, breathe, be aware of breathing. Sometimes I do analytical meditation, using topics like death, impermanence, the preciousness of human life, etc. I frequently do mantra recitation (mainly OM MANI PADME HUM). I have a little experience in the practice of tonglen, so that sometimes feels right too.
  • newtechnewtech Veteran
    edited August 2010
    Meditation type:

    -anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing)
    -and now i add meditation:Metta (loving-kindness) wich is great,makes u very happy

    Time: like 1,5hrs every day
    Position: Burmese, when im very relaxed i try lotus but cant more than 15minutes.
  • lightwithinlightwithin Veteran
    edited August 2010
    newtech wrote: »
    Metta (loving-kindness) wich is great,makes u very happy

    Oh man, I've read so many good things on these forums about Metta meditation, and I have still to try it. I am gonna get off my ass one of these days, and learn how to do it!
    Time: like 1,5hrs every day

    :eek: That's a lot of meditation! (for a layperson).
  • newtechnewtech Veteran
    edited August 2010
    Oh man, I've read so many good things on these forums about Metta meditation, and I have still to try it. I am gonna get off my ass one of these days, and learn how to do it!

    :eek: That's a lot of meditation! (for a layperson).

    Yes Metta its so effective and simple..a keeper.
    Im very disturbed haha.. so i now if i try only in a regular way a layperson would do i wont succeed -_-
  • lightwithinlightwithin Veteran
    edited August 2010
    newtech wrote: »
    Im very disturbed haha.. so i now if i try only in a regular way a layperson would do i wont succeed -_-

    Oh yeah, disturbed is my middle name too. :( But I can't do more than 35 minutes of meditation every night for a few different reasons.
  • ShutokuShutoku Veteran
    edited August 2010
    I've done few things over the years, but these days my routine is reciting the Nembutsu. Sometimes just a few times, sometimes 108 times slower, but always with an attitude of gratitude, and not trying to attain anything.
    Then I chant a sutra sometimes in English, sometimes in Japanese. Mostly I use traditional Pure land sutras...Juseige or Sanbutsuge from the Larger sutra, The Amida Sutra, Shoshinge from Shinran Shonin, or rarely Junirai from Nagarjuna. I also sometimes chant the heart sutra, or even the "Turning the wheel of the Dhamma sutta". Then a few more Nembutsu and I'm done.

    I do this every morning and every evening.

    The last month or so I have also been practicing Shikan-Taza. My Buddhist roots are Soto zen, and in fact I never left it in some ways...there just wasn't a Soto Temple in my area but there was the Jodo Shinshu Temple.
    I actually think the two paths are very compatible! (though of course each is fine on its own as well)

    Usually I sit on a chair for chanting and Nembutsu, but for Shikan-taza I have a small bench from the Temple that allows me to sit in the Burmese position.
  • edited August 2010
    I'm practising meditation instruction for my teacher which is four foundation from Karma Kagyu lineage. Also combined with Samatha with object and objectless.
  • Love-N-PeaceLove-N-Peace Veteran
    edited August 2010
    I tried the lotus position last night, I'm not very flexible but I got as closest as I could to it.

    Jellybean
  • edited August 2010
    I don't usually meditate,but I sit in front of my altar and stare at my Buddha statues.And when I go to sleep,I "sleep meditate" aka I think about something and concentrate on that one thought only.
  • cazcaz Veteran United Kingdom Veteran
    edited August 2010
    My Main meditation practise is Lamrim, This has some preliminaries before and after the actual meditation practise though. I also try to practise Meditation of Maitreya self generation. :)
  • edited August 2010
    I <3 sitting meditation. I'll probably have to rid myself of this potential attachment later, but...

    On a disciplined, focused day, I'll clock two sessions of 45 minutes. On the other days (which are depressingly more common at the moment), I'll manage one session of 20-30min, or an emergency sit-in-bed at 1am (to calm my monkey-mind) lasting upwards of until-I-get-too-sleepy :D

    I only have two main 'practices' at the moment - mindfulness of breathing and the metta bhavana. I haven't sat a metta bhavana session for several weeks though.

    As for my position; if I have a meditation stool, I'll use that, otherwise I'll sit crosslegged or in a half-lotus. I always sit rock-still and straight like in zazen. I loves it :D

    I don't follow a particular tradition, per se. I am investigating a more 'westernised' one, but I feel that trying to 'choose' a tradition is kind of like trying to choose which colour cup I want to drink my tea from :S
  • nanadhajananadhaja Veteran
    edited August 2010
    I practice vipassana meditation,but have also done some of the Tibetan meditations in the past.
    I choose not to mix and match,but that is just me.(I can not multi task)
  • Love-N-PeaceLove-N-Peace Veteran
    edited August 2010
    Gecko wrote: »
    I don't follow a particular tradition, per se. I am investigating a more 'westernised' one, but I feel that trying to 'choose' a tradition is kind of like trying to choose which colour cup I want to drink my tea from :S

    Nice metaphor :)
  • edited August 2010
    I'm part of a non-meditative school of Buddhism. However, I do chant. I think that counts as a kind of meditation, chanting and mantras. Sometimes I do sitting/walking meditation, and I mentally focus on a mantra, or on my breathing, or just "empty" my mind and try to "observe without the observer" so to speak (not very easy for me, but I do try sometimes). Also, loving-kindness meditation is great, and makes you feel good, too. (Is that selfish?) (^_^)
  • Love-N-PeaceLove-N-Peace Veteran
    edited August 2010
    How do you do loving-kindness meditation? It seems to be getting lots of good press :)
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    edited August 2010
    I have never practiced loving kind meditation either, is that the same as metta mediation? Does anybody know what 'meditation' literally means.. I swear I heard somebody say something to do with medicating and mind.

    LOL, LnP a second a day, to the micro second?? That made me chuckle. Keep it up though, doing better than me :P
  • edited August 2010
    I practice Mindfulness of Breathing and the Four Jewels/Limitless qualities (metta meditations)

    I learnt these by listening to guided meditations on www.wildmind.org which I thought was pretty good.

    I notice that some people are talking about Mindfulness of the Body and I heard there are actually 4 mindfulness meditations - can anyone recommend a good guided meditation or resource for learning more about these?
  • edited August 2010
    I have never practiced loving kind meditation either, is that the same as metta mediation? Does anybody know what 'meditation' literally means.. I swear I heard somebody say something to do with medicating and mind.

    LOL, LnP a second a day, to the micro second?? That made me chuckle. Keep it up though, doing better than me :P

    yeah meditation is the space between when one thought has descended and the next one will raise - sogyal rinpoche
  • Love-N-PeaceLove-N-Peace Veteran
    edited August 2010
    Medication and mind :)
    Well I have a little black Buddha called Samsung Taco Lite and he goes *bleep bleep* when he wants me to awake ;)
  • skullchinskullchin Veteran
    edited August 2010
    I actually got into Buddhist meditation via a Christian meditative practice called Centering Prayer. I have been doing meditation of the breath for the past few months tho.
  • edited August 2010
    i absolutely love vipassanna meditation although I really do not know of any others other than dzodgen
  • edited August 2010
    I practice zazen - counting breaths or shikantaza. I sit in a chair or crosslegged in half lotus. Minimum 20 mins per day. Like gecko I also use moments of insomnia to practice some meditation, and also try to practice being aware or mindful during times when nothing is happening - eg ad breaks on TV, waiting in line at the supermarket etc.
  • edited August 2010
    I notice that some people are talking about Mindfulness of the Body and I heard there are actually 4 mindfulness meditations - can anyone recommend a good guided meditation or resource for learning more about these?

    I'm reading Breath by Breath by Larry Rosenberg at the moment - it is very clear and well-written, I think. I still prefer to just sit and work on the mindfulness of body, but occasionally I'll shift gears without thinking about it :D

    What is meditation? Getting used to 'it'; integrating the self; the action of being aware and alert to the here and now, here and now.
  • edited August 2010
    Thanks Gecko, I have just ordered that book from amazon.
  • edited August 2010
    I do vipassana (by focusing on the breath) and love it. Lately trying work a bit more on concentration (shamatha). A good guide for getting into these is "mindfulness in plain english" by Bhante Gunaratana.

    Tried metta a couple of times and liked it too.
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    edited August 2010
    I practice Trungpa Rinpoche's method of meditation that is mentioned by Pema Chodron in chapter four of the popular book, When Things Fall Apart.
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