Meditation.

[c0da]

How often do you meditate?

For how long do you meditate at a time?

What meditation technique do you use? eg. do you have a miniature shrine, or do you just simply meditate on a cushion.

I'm interested to see how the other Buddhist's on the forum incorporate their meditation into their day.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

How often do you meditate?

For how long do you meditate at a time?

What meditation technique do you use? eg. do you have a miniature shrine, or do you just simply meditate on a cushion.

I'm interested to see how the other Buddhist's on the forum incorporate their meditation into their day.

Meditation is my daily top priority, so I do what I can every day to find time to meditate. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen, but that is the goal.



Most often, I find myself doing 30 minutes of meditation in a single session. I put an egg timer on to let me know when to quit, and all too often, when the timer goes off I'm surprised just how quickly it went.



I use insight meditation (vipassana), chanting, and breathing concentration exercises. When I chant, I've so far only known one well enough without the writing in front of me - "Om Mani Padme Hum."



I have a sorely inadequate altar at home that I am still in the process of adding to it. At the moment, it is merely a large box with some fabric over it, and enough room for my Buddha statue and for two small offerings. I have some colorful floor cushions that I'll use interchangably for sitting. In my box I have ritual cymbals (Ting-sha), mala beads, and tons of incense for lighting and for offering. I have been on the lookout for an actual piece of furniture to use for sturdiness and to keep pictures of the lineage on it, as well as finding paintings of varying bodhisattvas (thangkas) to put around it. I also need to purchase singing bowls........at the moment I only fill up a small kitchen bowl with water in the morning, place it near my altar on a shelf so the dog can't get to it , and empty it at night. What I have works OK now, but I yearn to have a better defined sacred space for my meditations in order to have even more clarity and insight.




Peace,
Mystic

 

[c0da]

Meditation is my daily top priority, so I do what I can every day to find time to meditate. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen, but that is the goal.



Most often, I find myself doing 30 minutes of meditation in a single session. I put an egg timer on to let me know when to quit, and all too often, when the timer goes off I'm surprised just how quickly it went.



I use insight meditation (vipassana), chanting, and breathing concentration exercises. When I chant, I've so far only known one well enough without the writing in front of me - "Om Mani Padme Hum."



I have a sorely inadequate altar at home that I am still in the process of adding to it. At the moment, it is merely a large box with some fabric over it, and enough room for my Buddha statue and for two small offerings. I have some colorful floor cushions that I'll use interchangably for sitting. In my box I have ritual cymbals (Ting-sha), mala beads, and tons of incense for lighting and for offering. I have been on the lookout for an actual piece of furniture to use for sturdiness and to keep pictures of the lineage on it, as well as finding paintings of varying bodhisattvas (thangkas) to put around it. I also need to purchase singing bowls........at the moment I only fill up a small kitchen bowl with water in the morning, place it near my altar on a shelf so the dog can't get to it , and empty it at night. What I have works OK now, but I yearn to have a better defined sacred space for my meditations in order to have even more clarity and insight.




Peace,
Mystic

Hehe, Still a more accomplished shrine than what I have. Mine is a box with enough room for a small statue, a bowl of water and some incense.

Most of the time, I simply use Samatha meditation and I try to find about 20-30 minutes a day for meditation. Even as little as 20 minutes a day still has it's benefits and I'm grateful for the time I spend meditating.

 

[lilithu]

How often do you meditate?

For how long do you meditate at a time?

What meditation technique do you use? eg. do you have a miniature shrine, or do you just simply meditate on a cushion.

I'm interested to see how the other Buddhist's on the forum incorporate their meditation into their day.

My personal altar is a bedside table from Ikea with a white altar cloth thrown over it. On it I have statues of Sakyamuni buddha, Manjushri, and Avalokitesvara, and a thangka of Vajrapani that I drew myself. I also have a smaller statue of Ganesh, a brass Om symbol, a crystal ball, a singing bowl, a phurba, a wrist mala, a vase for flowers, an incense holder and a candle. And a yin yang and a pentagram with a Da Vinci like man in the pentagram that I drew myself. (As I've mentioned before, my personal practice is kind of a mix of Mahayana buddhist and earth-based symbolism/rituals.)

As for meditation, 15 minutes in the mornings. In the evenings I do personal reflection and journaling (more of a Christian practice) and if I'm not too exhausted, another 15 minutes of meditation. Like Mystic, I use Vipassana and breath-concentration. I will often use the wrist mala (with the heart sutra) during the day, or sometimes just breath-concentration - a few minutes during my lunch break or any time when I am stressed, like before a big presentation. It's helpful to remind myself that all things are impermanent and "this too shall pass."

I know that I should do more meditation for longer periods of time. But as I am averaging 5-1/2 hours of sleep these days, I'd just rather sleep that extra 15 minutes.

 

[Engyo]

How often do you meditate?

For how long do you meditate at a time?

What meditation technique do you use? eg. do you have a miniature shrine, or do you just simply meditate on a cushion.

I'm interested to see how the other Buddhist's on the forum incorporate their meditation into their day.

Coda -

Sorry, I didn't see this one at first.

I meditate at least once every day, and often twice a day.

Meditation techniques: primarily mantra chanting; although we do some silent sitting (known as a meditation service). I try to offer a meditation service at least once a week, and sometimes more.

Our temple space is located in my home, so I actually have huge altar. I will post a photo if it isn't too big.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

WOW! Engyo, your altar is fantastic! :bow:




Peace,
Mystic

 

[c0da]

WOW! Engyo, your altar is fantastic! :bow:

I agree! Thats fantastic Engyo.

 

[Engyo]

Awww, shucks, folks! It's not mine, it belongs to our temple. The temple just happens to currently occupy my front room, so...........

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Awww, shucks, folks! It's not mine, it belongs to our temple. The temple just happens to currently occupy my front room, so...........

You know, Engyo, you're too honest for your own good.




You could have just been basking in the limelight with our admiration.:beach:




But, NOOOOOOOO..................just kidding. It's still a great altar, man.




Peace,
Mystic

 

[Neale]

Not like you haven't heard it before, but that is a spectacular altar Engyo!

I've recently been studying Eastern theology and philosophy more extensively on my "quest" for "religion." I've found that "meditation" can be used virtually anywhere: waiting for a stoplight to change, while standing in an elevator at work (I use this one a lot), walking about campus from class to class, or simply smiling. I suggest reading Thich Nhat Hahn's books.

Meditation isn't completely about sitting in front of an altar and chanting mantras, though there is that aspect of it. Introspection and mindfullness peace can be called upon at anytime, anywhere.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Not like you haven't heard it before, but that is a spectacular altar Engyo!

I've recently been studying Eastern theology and philosophy more extensively on my "quest" for "religion." I've found that "meditation" can be used virtually anywhere: waiting for a stoplight to change, while standing in an elevator at work (I use this one a lot), walking about campus from class to class, or simply smiling. I suggest reading Thich Nhat Hahn's books.

Meditation isn't completely about sitting in front of an altar and chanting mantras, though there is that aspect of it. Introspection and mindfullness peace can be called upon at anytime, anywhere.

I agree completely. Meditation is the "practice" for quieting the mind so that quieting the mind in not-so-quiet circumstances is much easier. I'd heard before that the phrase, "Practice makes perfect" is not as correct as -


"Practice makes permanent." - Said by a Baptist minister, and I can't remember his name. But so, so true. : hamster :






Peace,
Mystic

 

[groovyable]

Engyo, your (temple) shine rocks! its sooo groovy! am impressed.

When i was a Buddhist, i use to have a small statue of Buddha, on a small table with a small white cloth, with two bowls next to the shine for offerings, with two small candles with insense. It was a small shine yet effective

 

[koan]

I like to meditate for 30-40 minutes a day. However some days I miss. I use the practice of Hwa do ( like a koan) and Breathing.

 

[YmirGF]

I meditate 2 - 20 minute routines per day and subscribe to Transcendental Meditation (TM). I prefer the "altar of the mind" and do not use any kind of outer enhancements or stimulation. Heck, I can meditate in a broom closet, if I had to. I normally use my TM mantra but will often add "Om. Mani Padme. Hum." at the right places. (Some habits are hard to break.)

Curiously, I am never too exhausted to meditate as I realize I will focus more energy by doing so which leaves me feeling great and on top of the world.

I have meditated, in this life, for over 33 years... and counting ... so I am still new to all this.

 

[Ernesto]

Myself, I meditate for roughly an hour every morning and evening; sometimes more, sometimes less. The morning exercise tends to consist of contemplation meditation, and the latter of the insight kind.

 

[Kungfuzed]

This might sound like a really dumb question, but what exactly is meditation? I gather you sit at your altar and do some chanting, but is there anything more to it? What's going on in your head while you are meditating? What is the purpose or goal?

 

[MaddLlama]

I'm glad this thread got bumped because I actually had a question =)

Is it a bad sign if you feel strain on your legs when sitting in the Burmese position (with a cushion)? Maybe it's just because I'm horribly inflexible...

 

[YmirGF]

I'm glad this thread got bumped because I actually had a question =)

Is it a bad sign if you feel strain on your legs when sitting in the Burmese position (with a cushion)? Maybe it's just because I'm horribly inflexible...

Why on Earth would you insist on sitting in a position that was uncomfortable or cuts off blood flow? For god sakes, sit however you wish. There is no reason you cannot meditate sitting on a kitchen chair or a stool... on your bed or even your washing machine if you felt so inclined.

 

[YmirGF]

This might sound like a really dumb question, but what exactly is meditation? I gather you sit at your altar and do some chanting, but is there anything more to it? What's going on in your head while you are meditating? What is the purpose or goal?

Interesting question Kungfuzed. I do not use any kind of ritual or external stimuli and am perhaps a little more advanced than average. I simply go into the light and go whereever my 20 minutes takes me. Often, I have out of body experiences while in meditation. It is fairly common. For me, it is more like you park your body, and then just go play while the mind gets refreshed in the "rinse cycle" of mantra.

 

[Kungfuzed]

Interesting question Kungfuzed. I do not use any kind of ritual or external stimuli and am perhaps a little more advanced than average. I simply go into the light and go whereever my 20 minutes takes me. Often, I have out of body experiences while in meditation. It is fairly common. For me, it is more like you park your body, and then just go play while the mind gets refreshed in the "rinse cycle" of mantra.

So how is that different from daydreaming? Is it just time spent letting the mind wander wherever it wants?