Sat last down last night wondering if I'd be able to stay awake. I'm struck over and over by how convinced I am before I sit down that I know what I'll be struggling with, and by how wrong I usually am. It wasn't sleepiness I had to deal with, it was insistent vague fantasies of becoming a Great Meditator, adored by thousands. Gak. Give me sleepiness, any time!
Yeah, sat this morning for the full 20 minutes. A bit ho-hum - no great insights. But in a downbeat way, happy to be doing it. Will be interested to read further inputs on your meditation methods. Mine is a cobbled together rag-tag practice of what I have read, advice I have been given, and what seems to work for me. And I have to say, I vary specific techniques from time to time. But the mainstay is that whatever I do, be it chanting and/or observing the breath, I observe the practice and also my reactions to it.
Should perhaps have said "I focus on the practice and observe my reactions". Oh dear, yesterday should have taught me that the Preview button is my friend.
By the way, I am not even sure I am a Buddhist, so feel even more of a fraud using Buddhist techniques. But I acknowledge how effective they are and how much I benefit from the practice.
I've been told that someone once asked Kalu Rinpoche, who founded my center, if he would have to give up being a Christian in order to become enlightened. To the surprise and dismay of his audience -- because he was famously inclusive and ecumenical -- Rinpoche said, firmly, "Yes."
"You will also," he added, "have to give up being a Buddhist."
So I don't think you need worry about whether it's kosher to use Buddhist techniques without being a Buddhist, Mary, since that's what one of the acknowledged great Buddhist masters of our time recommended.
Some of my teachers definitely don't call themselves buddhists, preferring just to talk about teaching or sharing the dharma. And I certainly don't, at present anyway. I espoused too many isms in my youth, and now feel I'm more interested in what people have in their hearts than in how they label themselves.
Shamata, or Samatha (the sanskrit word gets transliterated both ways, and other ways as well; I prefer the first spelling, because it's closer to how I usually hear it pronounced) is pretty much indistinguishable from Zazen. Tibetan Buddhism has thousands of meditation practices, but Shamata's considered the fundamental prerequisite for all of them; it's also considered to be in itself "a complete path" -- meaning that it's thought that a person could achieve enlightenment by practicing it, and nothing else.
The instructions for it are extraordinarily simple: you rest your attention on something (your breathing, say), and when you find that your attention has wandered away from that something, you bring it back. That's it. Eventually the mind settles and clarifies. (Or it doesn't :->)
Vipassana is also a large part of our tradition, but it's thought of as something that you need a foundation of Shamata for -- without some quietness of mind and stability of attention Vipassana isn't very useful.
Hi just wanted to say thanks to you all, I have been along for the ride(though so far in silence.) Your own commitments have encouraged me to be more rigorous about my own practice and it feels nice to settle into a more regular routine of meditation. I have started a couple times earlier to check in, but my time at the office has been scattered and busy these last few weeks. I will say that I reserve Fridays as an 'lax' day as I normally awaken in the middle of the night(actually early morning) to sit and I am committed regular meetings that go late into the night and awaken early for taichi class--does standing/moving meditation count into the mix? But I will still try to sit for at least 10 minutes.
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Sat last down last night wondering if I'd be able to stay awake. I'm struck over and over by how convinced I am before I sit down that I know what I'll be struggling with, and by how wrong I usually am. It wasn't sleepiness I had to deal with, it was insistent vague fantasies of becoming a Great Meditator, adored by thousands. Gak. Give me sleepiness, any time!
Oh dear, are we feeding your ego here Dale? ;-) I'm sure we can rectify that if you'd like.
So is Samatha similar to Vipassana or Zazen? Perhaps this is a silly question and I should rephrase it: can you say something briefly about Samatha?
Dale, heh!
Yeah, sat this morning for the full 20 minutes. A bit ho-hum - no great insights. But in a downbeat way, happy to be doing it. Will be interested to read further inputs on your meditation methods. Mine is a cobbled together rag-tag practice of what I have read, advice I have been given, and what seems to work for me. And I have to say, I vary specific techniques from time to time. But the mainstay is that whatever I do, be it chanting and/or observing the breath, I observe the practice and also my reactions to it.
Should perhaps have said "I focus on the practice and observe my reactions". Oh dear, yesterday should have taught me that the Preview button is my friend.
By the way, I am not even sure I am a Buddhist, so feel even more of a fraud using Buddhist techniques. But I acknowledge how effective they are and how much I benefit from the practice.
:-)
I've been told that someone once asked Kalu Rinpoche, who founded my center, if he would have to give up being a Christian in order to become enlightened. To the surprise and dismay of his audience -- because he was famously inclusive and ecumenical -- Rinpoche said, firmly, "Yes."
"You will also," he added, "have to give up being a Buddhist."
So I don't think you need worry about whether it's kosher to use Buddhist techniques without being a Buddhist, Mary, since that's what one of the acknowledged great Buddhist masters of our time recommended.
Some of my teachers definitely don't call themselves buddhists, preferring just to talk about teaching or sharing the dharma. And I certainly don't, at present anyway. I espoused too many isms in my youth, and now feel I'm more interested in what people have in their hearts than in how they label themselves.
Shamata, or Samatha (the sanskrit word gets transliterated both ways, and other ways as well; I prefer the first spelling, because it's closer to how I usually hear it pronounced) is pretty much indistinguishable from Zazen. Tibetan Buddhism has thousands of meditation practices, but Shamata's considered the fundamental prerequisite for all of them; it's also considered to be in itself "a complete path" -- meaning that it's thought that a person could achieve enlightenment by practicing it, and nothing else.
The instructions for it are extraordinarily simple: you rest your attention on something (your breathing, say), and when you find that your attention has wandered away from that something, you bring it back. That's it. Eventually the mind settles and clarifies. (Or it doesn't :->)
Vipassana is also a large part of our tradition, but it's thought of as something that you need a foundation of Shamata for -- without some quietness of mind and stability of attention Vipassana isn't very useful.
I wrote about calling myself a Buddhist, a while ago -- http://www.koshtra.blogspot.com/2005_01_01_koshtra_archive.html#110720630752666037
oops. That didn't work very well. How about this? -- calling myself a Buddhist.
Hi just wanted to say thanks to you all, I have been along for the ride(though so far in silence.) Your own commitments have encouraged me to be more rigorous about my own practice and it feels nice to settle into a more regular routine of meditation. I have started a couple times earlier to check in, but my time at the office has been scattered and busy these last few weeks. I will say that I reserve Fridays as an 'lax' day as I normally awaken in the middle of the night(actually early morning) to sit and I am committed regular meetings that go late into the night and awaken early for taichi class--does standing/moving meditation count into the mix? But I will still try to sit for at least 10 minutes.
thank you again for sharing your practices!
Glad to have you with us, Kai!
Cool banner!
And thank you for that helpful article, Dale. It settles some of my doubts and misgivings.
sorry not to have been posting
daily updates
to summarize
I've missed a few days
but mainly I have been sitting
30 minutes a day
yesterday I started
really focusing on exhales
long and slow
could it be because I read
how slow breathing (10 breaths a minute)
lowers BP?
YES
it could
and wow it does
took 20 points off my systolic pressure
and 12 off my diastolic
maybe because I am such an
easily distracted person
letting go of the various thoughts that arise
comes fairly easy
no major fantasy building going on
mainly though I can;t say that thoughts do arise
shreds tatters and fragments
happen
across my screen
lots of abstract patterns
occasional swift travelling down
tree lined country roads
seen clearly
I'm counting today as day #1 of my 100 days.
This evening I sat 2 periods of zazen for the beginning of weekend sesshin at the zendo.
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