Meditation

[Starsurfer93]

I have really become deeply committed to my meditation practice as of late and I'm curious; How does everyone else here prefer to meditate? I'm not asking for sitting positions or things like that. I'm more interested in the form of meditation practice you partake in.

Myself, I've been taking part primarily in following the breath in true beginner Zen style; Counting up to 10, the odd numbers on the inhale and the even on the exhale, and returning to 1 whenever I reach 10 or am interrupted by a thought. (We're supposed to keep our eyes slightly open, but I find keeping them closed helps me stay more in tune with the breath)

What about all of you? How do you meditate? :meditate:

PS- Going back to my meditation practice, I have a question. I've found that most of the time when I am following the breath, I don't ever get interrupted by a thought. The thoughts are there, but I find that I usually don't lose track of the breath. 9 times out of 10, I'm still counting even when a thought has sorta formed. I guess the best way to describe it is that instead of counting "1, 2..." and then a thought like "I'm hungry" popping up, I tend to count the whole way through but there are thoughts kinda scratching at the back of my mind... If that makes any sense...
It's almost as if they aren't full thoughts. Just shadows of them. I used to stop and start over every time I got these "shadow thoughts" but I found that to be down right painful at times and went to what I'm doing now as I thought I may have been doing it wrong... But now I'm second guessing myself. Can anyone knowledgeable about this form of meditation help me out?

 

[Shuddhasattva]

The important thing is non-involvement in your thoughts, don't let them define your awareness - which they purport to do. Don't try to suppress them either. They are to be seen as transparent lenses, see through their alleged content - that's only your interpretation, to their innate buddha nature.

The mind welcomes all defiling thoughts as voluntary sacrifices on the altar of emptiness. In each experience dwells the totality of experiences. In each viewpoint, dwells all viewpoints in viewless nothing.

 

[existenz]

Myself, I've been taking part primarily in following the breath in true beginner Zen style; Counting up to 10, the odd numbers on the inhale and the even on the exhale, and returning to 1 whenever I reach 10 or am interrupted by a thought. (We're supposed to keep our eyes slightly open, but I find keeping them closed helps me stay more in tune with the breath)

I'm still a beginner in zazen myself. Sounds very much like what I do, except I only count on the exhale. (After some practice, I found that works better for me.) Sometimes though the counting can become very automatic...I have found myself going through 1-10 twice while having strayed off deep in thought. But, I just bring it back to the breath and keep going!

I naturally prefer closed eyes as well and I do find it easier to follow my breath that way but...:sleep: I really try to keep my eyes opened and focused on the wall.

 

[Secret Chief]

How does everyone else here prefer to meditate?

Serene reflection meditation, based upon Dogen's Rules for Meditation.

 

[SageTree]

I would say my routine is simple and much along the lines of what was mentioned here.

One form meditation I really enjoy is Loving-Kindness meditation or Metta meditation.
It's more active in the sense that is generating on a central point,
as opposed to just watching and other insight approaches.

In particular to my life, anger, an expression of several causes, has been one I've dealt with in life up to this point at near 31. I find that metta practice recharges my compassion you could say.

Focusing on it helps me to be familiar with the feeling of loving-kindness.
Its like practicing anything in life.
The more you access and use it, the more nimble and free you become with it.

 

[ratikala]

dear star surfer ,

........ I'm more interested in the form of meditation practice you partake in.

Myself, I've been taking part primarily in following the breath in true beginner Zen style; Counting up to 10, the odd numbers on the inhale and the even on the exhale, and returning to 1 whenever I reach 10 or am interrupted by a thought. (We're supposed to keep our eyes slightly open, but I find keeping them closed helps me stay more in tune with the breath)

What about all of you? How do you meditate? :meditate:

I have allways followed tibetan tradition allthough sometimes medetated with other traditions .
there are many forms of meditation used but all rely upon a basic preliminary practice of stilling the breath , this is ususly done without counting , usualy by following simple yogic practices learning to sit correctly (for your body), so that the breathing can naturaly settle the process is then of absorbtion , one focuses on the breath simply observing the rising and falling of the breath as it finds its natural rythum .
by focusing on the breath alone one feels these thoughts you refer to entering the mind , one then simply observes thoughts arising and allows them to drift away as they fall , the secret is in not attatching or following the thought , at first thoughts demand to be followed but after a little practice one simply lets them ebb away with the out breath , the trick is not to force anything , let it happen naturaly .
after a while the breathing becomes so gentle that there is little to observe and no need to observe it , one then simply rests in that state of thought less absorbtion .
no observing the breath , no counting , no thinking , simply absorbtion .
once this technique is mastered one is ready to go on to other forms of meditiation but still this is a perfect daily practice and if mastered can have many benificial aplications in daily life as well as on the cushion .

PS- Going back to my meditation practice, I have a question. I've found that most of the time when I am following the breath, I don't ever get interrupted by a thought. The thoughts are there, but I find that I usually don't lose track of the breath. 9 times out of 10, I'm still counting even when a thought has sorta formed. I guess the best way to describe it is that instead of counting "1, 2..." and then a thought like "I'm hungry" popping up, I tend to count the whole way through but there are thoughts kinda scratching at the back of my mind... If that makes any sense...
It's almost as if they aren't full thoughts. Just shadows of them. I used to stop and start over every time I got these "shadow thoughts" but I found that to be down right painful at times and went to what I'm doing now as I thought I may have been doing it wrong... But now I'm second guessing myself. Can anyone knowledgeable about this form of meditation help me out?

yes I understand perfectly ,
try to let the thoughts come and go , realise it to be a natural prosess of the mind . dont try to stop them simply allow them to pass .
as a child we used to go to stay in the country , where it was so quiet that laying in bed at night one could hear the occasional car approach , the lights would hit the window , pass across the celing and then the sound would dissapear into the distance from whence it came , the same I now do with thought , ...it comes , it goes , no attatching to it , no thinking oh this one sounds like a lorry.... or maybe its a bus !!! , ... just coming and going , coming and going .

can be very usefull in daily life in practicing not to attatch to thoughts and feelings , frustration , fear , anger , dissapointment ..... any afflictive emotion , simply observe it coming and let it pass on by

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

I started off with anapanasati when I first converted to Buddhism. After that, I combined it with nembutsu, using it more in a meditative style mantra than as a devotion to Amitabha. Now, I follow the breath, and meditate on koans.

 

[Starsurfer93]

I would say my routine is simple and much along the lines of what was mentioned here.

One form meditation I really enjoy is Loving-Kindness meditation or Metta meditation.
It's more active in the sense that is generating on a central point,
as opposed to just watching and other insight approaches.

In particular to my life, anger, an expression of several causes, has been one I've dealt with in life up to this point at near 31. I find that metta practice recharges my compassion you could say.

How interesting. I've actually never heard of Metta Meditation. It seems rather interesting as well as beneficial for keeping in touch with our compassionate natures as human beings. Perhaps I'll try that in the near future

Thank you for the post! I look forward to looking into this new form of practice :namaste

 

[Shuddhasattva]

Maitri might be called the bridge between Theravada and Mahayana.

 

[Starsurfer93]

I have allways followed tibetan tradition allthough sometimes medetated with other traditions .
there are many forms of meditation used but all rely upon a basic preliminary practice of stilling the breath , this is ususly done without counting , usualy by following simple yogic practices learning to sit correctly (for your body), so that the breathing can naturaly settle the process is then of absorbtion , one focuses on the breath simply observing the rising and falling of the breath as it finds its natural rythum .
by focusing on the breath alone one feels these thoughts you refer to entering the mind , one then simply observes thoughts arising and allows them to drift away as they fall , the secret is in not attatching or following the thought , at first thoughts demand to be followed but after a little practice one simply lets them ebb away with the out breath , the trick is not to force anything , let it happen naturaly .
after a while the breathing becomes so gentle that there is little to observe and no need to observe it , one then simply rests in that state of thought less absorbtion .
no observing the breath , no counting , no thinking , simply absorbtion .
once this technique is mastered one is ready to go on to other forms of meditiation but still this is a perfect daily practice and if mastered can have many benificial aplications in daily life as well as on the cushion .

I took part in Tibetan style meditation for a bit. It was interesting. I believe the practice we took part in at the time was "expansion of the mind" meditation. It was a practice in which we calmed the mind and then visualized it expanding beyond ourselves. I ended up leaving the particular Sangha since I felt it wasn't really for me, but I hope to attend other Tibetan Buddhist Sanghas when I return home in December
I know that the starting point for the meditation was following the breath however, and it did aid me in calming my mind before moving on to the main practice.

yes I understand perfectly ,
try to let the thoughts come and go , realise it to be a natural prosess of the mind . dont try to stop them simply allow them to pass .
as a child we used to go to stay in the country , where it was so quiet that laying in bed at night one could hear the occasional car approach , the lights would hit the window , pass across the celing and then the sound would dissapear into the distance from whence it came , the same I now do with thought , ...it comes , it goes , no attatching to it , no thinking oh this one sounds like a lorry.... or maybe its a bus !!! , ... just coming and going , coming and going .

can be very usefull in daily life in practicing not to attatch to thoughts and feelings , frustration , fear , anger , dissapointment ..... any afflictive emotion , simply observe it coming and let it pass on by

You have a very good point. Perhaps the issue I had with stopping the "Shadow Thoughts" was the fact that I was forcefully trying to stop them as apposed to just letting them be. The mind is difficult to leash. The more I grab it and try to hold it down, the more it tries to resist. Perhaps the key truly is to let your thoughts come and go. Thank you for helping me realize that

Thank you again for the advice. I appreciate it :namaste

 

[Starsurfer93]

I'm still a beginner in zazen myself. Sounds very much like what I do, except I only count on the exhale. (After some practice, I found that works better for me.) Sometimes though the counting can become very automatic...I have found myself going through 1-10 twice while having strayed off deep in thought. But, I just bring it back to the breath and keep going!

I naturally prefer closed eyes as well and I do find it easier to follow my breath that way but...:sleep: I really try to keep my eyes opened and focused on the wall.

Haha! Sounds like you and I have very similar practices Counting only on the exhale is another one of the ways of following the breath in Zazen. I just find that counting on both the inhale and the exhale works best for me. i have also been in your shoes where counting becomes so natural that I'm literally counting WHILE thinking about a thousand things... But the important thing is to realize what we're doing and come back to the breath, so I guess we're on the right track!

As for closing the eyes, I've actually never had a problem with nodding off while meditating with my eyes closed. If anything, the only way being tired effects my practice is that my mind is much harder to tame. I'll begin to see various images in my head and I find it harder to return to the breath. But I never actually nod off.

I feel like I might be able to focus my mind with my eyes open when facing a wall. But when simply looking out, I find that I get distracted by just about anything. I feel like closed eyes are probably the best for me.

Are you part of the Soto Zen tradition?

 

[AmerikanZen]

I've heard that regular meditation helps you focus on your ability to do your job better.

 

[Me Myself]

I try to just focus on breath. Sometimes I imagine my aura too.

Whatever that is simple. I complicate and over analyze things far too easily, so that's why I never got too much into yoga. Its easier to just sit shut up and breath than to do all those poses, and I will torture myself with the "I wasnt supposed to breath here, I should have spent the same time in this pose than this pose" etc etc etc.

Actually lately I´ve had an interest in buying a heart rate bracelet (or however they are called) so I can know how much I can lower my heart rate when I meditate

 

[AmerikanZen]

If I were in sitting practice I would assume that the crucial issue would be the Focus...

 

[Gjallarhorn]

If I were in sitting practice I would assume that the crucial issue would be the Focus...

And the focus, in this case, is sitting.

 

[AmerikanZen]

And the focus, in this case, is sitting.

Focus on your job/tasks or following instructions can be more of a challenge.

 

[The Wizard]

I have really become deeply committed to my meditation practice as of late and I'm curious; How does everyone else here prefer to meditate? I'm not asking for sitting positions or things like that. I'm more interested in the form of meditation practice you partake in.

Myself, I've been taking part primarily in following the breath in true beginner Zen style; Counting up to 10, the odd numbers on the inhale and the even on the exhale, and returning to 1 whenever I reach 10 or am interrupted by a thought. (We're supposed to keep our eyes slightly open, but I find keeping them closed helps me stay more in tune with the breath)

What about all of you? How do you meditate? :meditate:

PS- Going back to my meditation practice, I have a question. I've found that most of the time when I am following the breath, I don't ever get interrupted by a thought. The thoughts are there, but I find that I usually don't lose track of the breath. 9 times out of 10, I'm still counting even when a thought has sorta formed. I guess the best way to describe it is that instead of counting "1, 2..." and then a thought like "I'm hungry" popping up, I tend to count the whole way through but there are thoughts kinda scratching at the back of my mind... If that makes any sense...
It's almost as if they aren't full thoughts. Just shadows of them. I used to stop and start over every time I got these "shadow thoughts" but I found that to be down right painful at times and went to what I'm doing now as I thought I may have been doing it wrong... But now I'm second guessing myself. Can anyone knowledgeable about this form of meditation help me out?

Everyone finds the way that workd best for them and experience grows from that point, individually, whatever level one is on. I am happy to see there are people in the serious art of it and not the others who are just on some "fad (or all that other mumbo jumbo)", thus not getting much out of the practice and such...

I can only say what works for me. It worked so well I stuck with it and continue to about 2-3 a week. Used to be twice a day, when I had the time. But, it sent me on journey in wich I never returned back the same person or relationship in this...mmm...world.

Some will understand this and others will not- or just can't or haven't gotten there, yet. For me, it is all about detatchment from my.. mmm.. thinking or operating, spinning mind.

We are always in a "reaction mode" with it. We never take the vacation or its too hard. So, how is detatchment accomplished? Well, I just close my eyes, laying down...and concentrate all my awareness on my hand. Then I project my hand in the center of my head, while I concentrate on the feeling or presence of my hand. Its too simple! This is what puts an "inner awareness" where my thoughts arise. The more I concentrate on the awareness of the projected hand the more I become observant and "nonreactive (emotionally or otherwise)"

In time, all thoughts or signals of my conditioned operation or "reality matrix (illusion)"starts just floating along. I then realize all this stuff I don't need and most is useless or not "real enough to respond to". So, I observe it all out of existence, until gone. This empties everything (unwinds and vanishes needless attachments), the cup.. and in return I recieve magnificent insight as well as gain some brighter, strange, mysterious syncronicity with the world and people- yep, good things just happen effortlessly and problems solve rhemselves when we empty our cup (mind operation going haywire and in wrong directions)...

I can't explain the strange visions or faces I run across, but perhaps that's another story...
Im self-taught and have my way. But...some keys for the forest:


1. In meditation, we are not our thoughts or anything we see. We are what is observing them. Our cup cannot be emptied (thus bringing in better things) if we react to all thoughts. Observe enough and they permananty vanish- the link is broken by just observation and concentration (for me it is the hand projected in center of head, like the core is to the apple. I even start seeing waves or sparkles of light in my vision in time... probably chi or some type of energy caused by being bio- balanced.)

2. Virtues and wise principles are necessary also... Patience and Faith I found a must in the process.

3. Instill an attached inner awareness, so one can "detatch" from everything else. The breath, the hand a foot..lol.. makes no difference as long as the awareness and presence is projected into the head or between the eyes and it is concentrated upon. You will know also on concentratiin lvl. My hand gets rock stiff and starts throbbing (no jokes please).

4. Mmm..what else? Oh, Don't get wrapped up on a expectation or how you want it to be. Each inner journey is set to growth and development. Expecting a specific result leads to failuew and dissapointment. I have alot more, but Im not writing a book, thus, hope one may derive something valuable...

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Focus on your job/tasks or following instructions can be more of a challenge.

Is meditation about challenges?

 

[crossfire]

Is meditation about challenges?

Meditating in order to gain insight into any problem area can certainly be a challenge.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Meditating in order to gain insight into any problem area can certainly be a challenge.

Sure, it can be a challenge, but is or should challenge ever the goal?