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What is meditation ?

ShoshinShoshin No one in particularNowhere Special Veteran

Kia Ora,

What is meditation ?

Now this should be interesting......

Metta Shoshin :)

Comments

  • ChazChaz The Remarkable Chaz Anywhere, Everywhere & Nowhere Veteran
    edited June 2014

    This ought to attact posts like white on rice.

    There's no such word as "meditation" in the Tibetan language. When refering to what we, in the west, call "meditation", they use a word, "Gom". Gom means "become familiar with". So, in a Tibetan context, meditation is an ongoing process of familiarization.

    @Shoshin - I think it's encumbent on you to offer an opinion of your own. Or are you trolling ;-)

    ShoshinBuddhadragon
  • karastikarasti Breathing Minnesota Moderator

    for some, it's stress relief
    for me, it's training my mind to be more calm and open to be able to approach the dharma in a more open manner. But while I practice sitting meditation, meditation can be found in everything in my life. Today, I've mostly failed miserably :) But most days are better.

    ShoshinKundo
  • howhow Veteran Veteran

    Meditation, is allowing this nano second to unfold unmolested by conditioned impulses.

    .

    ShoshinBuddhadragonVastmindInvincible_summer
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    @Chaz said:
    This ought to attact posts like white on rice.

    There's no such word as "meditation" in the Tibetan language. When refering to what we, in the west, call "meditation", they use a word, "Gom". Gom means "become familiar with". So, in a Tibetan context, meditation is an ongoing process of familiarization.

    Shoshin - I think it's encumbent on you to offer an opinion of your own. Or are you trolling ;-)

    Kia Ora @Chaz,

    For me it's about losing the self to awareness...

    Metta Shoshin :)

    lobsterEarthninja
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    @Chaz said:

    Shoshin - I think it's encumbent on you to offer an opinion of your own. Or are you trolling ;-)

    kia Ora @Chaz,

    For your information no I'm not 'trolling'(I had to look that word up), but thanks for asking though... Even if somebody was trolling, I would just see it as part and parcel of Buddhist practice on patience, tolerance, acceptance etc etc, and most importantly not to take things 'personally'...But then that's just me....

    "Sabbe Dhamma Nalam Abhinivesaya !" (Nothing whatsoever should be clung to)

    Metta Shoshin :)

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    @Shoshin said:
    Metta Shoshin :)

    PS When I said "Now this should be interesting!" I actually meant it, I'm always learning from others...

    Jeffrey
  • lobsterlobster Crusty Veteran

    @Shoshin said:

    For me it's about losing the self to awareness...

    With sufficient awareness is there Self or No-self?

    In trying to pick up your text, I inadvertently clicked on the LOL button. Is any part of that a meditation or losing?

    Shoshin
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    edited June 2014

    It is sitting down and following a method. The mind is already there. The mind is like a movie that is different every time. And then there is 'big mind' and 'ordinary mind'. Both are not created by sitting. They are already there.

    Shoshin
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran
    edited June 2014

    @lobster said:
    With sufficient awareness is there Self or No-self?

    Kia Ora @lobster,

    (Anything for a laugh LOL) __ :D _

    There is no "I" in awareness....

    Metta Shoshin :)

    Earthninja
  • lobsterlobster Crusty Veteran

    It is sitting down and following a method.

    I would suggest that such formal practice, augments our capacity for non formal practice.

    So for me this sitting down does not follow a method (that is the method I use) but it is a disciplined, strict and recognisable external still seating that would be recognizable by Buddhists, Yogis, New Agers and perhaps some Vikings . . .


    http://www.vikingrune.com/2009/08/oseberg-buddha/

    Buddhadragon
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran
    edited June 2014

    @lobster said:
    Is any part of that a meditation or losing?

    Kia Ora,

    I guess one could look at the term 'losing' this way: "Letting go" so yes meditation and losing are one of the same in this context...

    By letting go of the self and surrendering to awareness...and what is it that surrenders ? "the sense of self" I guess...

    Metta Shoshin :)

    lobster
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran

    I think the method is a form in the mind. But we do use a method. For example we could feel the body. Or just let everything be. That is still a method.

  • BuddhadragonBuddhadragon Ehipassiko & Carpe Diem Samsara Veteran

    Meditation to me is the practice of voluntarily stilling the mind for a given period, in order to learn to ground ourselves in the present moment and lead a more mindful life.
    We learn to evade the automatic-pilot-mode, reactionary living. We learn to act, not react.
    Thoughts give rise to emotions, so these thoughts, unchecked, are at the root of our suffering. What we choose to tell ourselves through the detached observation of our thoughts, conditions our view of reality.
    The practice of meditation, especially when we are able to carry the practice to our every day life, helps us sift through the mental chatter, and focus better on the reality at hand, rather than in the mirages projected by our mind. We develop right view.
    We learn to make a more objective assessment of reality, the people in our life and our own role in our own life. And with the development of right view, we are better positioned to accept that reality and actually choose how to respond more skillfully to it.

    Shoshinlobster
  • namarupanamarupa Veteran
    edited June 2014

    Its about training the mind. The body is only helping by keeping still in a seated position, but the real exercise begins once we become grounded with awareness, and nothing breaks it, not even our own distracting thoughts.

    BuddhadragonShoshinlobsterEarthninja
  • EarthninjaEarthninja Wanderer West Australia Veteran

    Staying in the present.

    BuddhadragonShoshinToraldris
  • ToraldrisToraldris   -`-,-{@     Zen Nud... Buddhist     @}-,-`-   East Coast, USA Veteran

    Meditation: watching instead of doing.

    ShoshinBuddhadragon
  • lobsterlobster Crusty Veteran

    Meditation: watching instead of doing.

    Que?
    Meditation: doing instead of watching

    . . . not a form of meditation?

    http://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/4-moving-meditations-still-your-mind

  • CittaCitta Veteran

    Meditation is what you learn in hands on instruction from a teacher of Buddhist meditation, who if they are genuine, will tailor the precise form to your needs.

    Shoshin
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    @Shoshin said: For your information no I'm not 'trolling'(I had to look that word up), but thanks for asking though..._ Even if somebody was trolling, I would just see it as part and parcel of Buddhist practice on patience, tolerance, acceptance etc etc,_ and most importantly not to take things 'personally'...But then that's just me....

    You will, of course, understand completely when I disagree..... :0)

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    @federica said:
    You will, of course, understand completely when I disagree..... :0)

    Kia Ora @federice,

    I guess as a mod it is your job to nip what could be seen as unwholesome things in the bud before they grow, which btw I fully agree with, however I was just pointing out that for "me" I use whatever comes my way as a practice tool, including what trolls attempt to do, ie by way of trying to disrupt the flow of the thread with the intent to cause disharmony...

    Metta Shoshin :)

  • zombiegirlzombiegirl beating the drum of the lifeless in a dry wasteland Veteran

    Meditation is clarity... which perhaps seems rather easier said than done. And conversely, if this thread stands as a testament, easier done than said.

    ShoshinJeffrey
  • anatamananataman Who needs a title? Where am I? Veteran

    Try tackling the kegon notional metaphor of the 4 dharma worlds JiJi Muge Hokkai @shoshin.

    It works for me, as It is a mindful mental challenge which uses thought itself as an object of meditation; I find it really concentrates the mind. You first work your way through a thorough understanding of Gi (one in one) Then RI (one in all) then RiJi Muge (all in one), until finally you reach GiGi Muge (all in all), I find contemplating them leads me to a state one might refer to as meditation. But don't try to get it, because you won't. It will come of it's own accord, just meticulously go through one, all, one in all, all in all,...

    sorry I can't describe meditation for you

    Shoshin
  • ToraldrisToraldris   -`-,-{@     Zen Nud... Buddhist     @}-,-`-   East Coast, USA Veteran

    @lobster I think basic/foundational meditation can be summed up as "watching the mind", but of course you're right that there are multiple forms of meditation. Some "interfere" more than others, and so do involve an amount of "doing".

    Earthninjalobster
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran

    @Shoshin said:
    What is meditation ?

    Something we should do regularly as we know it's good for us... :p

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited June 2014
  • ZeroZero Veteran
    edited June 2014

    @Shoshin said:
    What is meditation ?

    Training mind.

    Shoshin
  • howhow Veteran Veteran

    A path from the selfish to the selfless.

    lobsterBuddhadragonShoshinEarthninja
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Kia Ora,

    Another way to look at it is 'the mind understanding (getting to know) the mind'...

    Metta Shoshin :)

  • MeisterBobMeisterBob Mindful Agnathiest CT , USA Veteran
    edited June 2014

    @Shoshin said:
    Kia Ora,

    What is meditation ?

    >

    Integration.

    Shoshin
  • lobsterlobster Crusty Veteran

    @MeisterBob said:
    Integration.

    With what?

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    @lobster said:
    With what?

    The "whole" (well that's what I took it to mean)

    Metta Shoshn :)

  • KundoKundo Sydney, Australia Veteran

    @karasti said:

    Today, I've mostly failed miserably :) But most days are better.

    This has been my week :) ...

  • KundoKundo Sydney, Australia Veteran

    Namaste,

    Meditation to me is a chance to bring myself back to mindfulness.

    Metta,
    Raven

    Shoshin
  • lobsterlobster Crusty Veteran

    :)

    Everyone is meditating or meditative? Nobody is 'doing it wrong'? Can we read others responses and find more in our practice?

    and now back to what is what . . .

  • BuddhadragonBuddhadragon Ehipassiko & Carpe Diem Samsara Veteran

    @lobster said:
    Everyone is meditating or meditative? Nobody is 'doing it wrong'?

    Some days, we naturally 'do it wrong.' But at least we show up on the cushion.
    And personally, even on totally off days when I have to drag myself to the cushion, I have never regretted going through it anyway. It totally changed my view of that day.

  • MeisterBobMeisterBob Mindful Agnathiest CT , USA Veteran
    edited June 2014

    @lobster said:
    With what?

    With everything. As a human being. With life and the world.

  • lobsterlobster Crusty Veteran

    @MeisterBob‌ This sort of thing?

    “The idea of oneness or inter-connectivity in Buddhism is the idea that everything in the universe is intimately interconnected. The idea that we are separate entities, separate from both each other and the world around is considered to be an illusion. The true nature of both our ourselves and our reality is that complete unification or oneness. ”

    http://buddhist-meditation-techniques.com/where-science-and-buddhism-meet-emptiness-oneness-and-nature-of-reality-part-1-video/

    Understanding integration is one of the by products. Is it meditation? :wave: .

  • MeisterBobMeisterBob Mindful Agnathiest CT , USA Veteran

    @lobster said:
    MeisterBob‌ This sort of thing?

    “The idea of oneness or inter-connectivity in Buddhism is the idea that everything in the universe is intimately interconnected. The idea that we are separate entities, separate from both each other and the world around is considered to be an illusion. The true nature of both our ourselves and our reality is that complete unification or oneness. ”

    http://buddhist-meditation-techniques.com/where-science-and-buddhism-meet-emptiness-oneness-and-nature-of-reality-part-1-video/

    Understanding integration is one of the by products. Is it meditation? :wave: .

    Yes. That said experiencing "wholeness" on a personal level -as a human being is as important for me as the big picture.

  • seeker242seeker242 Zen Florida, USA Veteran

    @Shoshin said:
    Kia Ora,

    What is meditation ?

    Breathing in and out! :)

    Shoshin
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran

    Mindfulness sitting down?
    Or just sitting down? ;)

  • anatamananataman Who needs a title? Where am I? Veteran
    edited June 2014

    Sound greatly concentrates the mind, and can facilitate meditation. I often spend a couple of minutes playing with my dharma toy which is a singing bowl before formally sitting. The osscilatory sounds that emanate from it while performing the actions that generate the sound neatly cut across and drown out discursive thinking. I greatly recommend it.

    It's the only toy I have, apart from my meditation mat and a cushion, as my altar is a visualised one, it keeps the environment uncluttered, and it's portable.

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