How To Meditate

Survival Concepts, Ideas

howmeditate — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 10:52:31 +0000

Survival Concepts, Ideas, and Names are Prisons, they are useful to use, but they are also prisons.If you want to free the mind you have to find what they really are, their limitations, how they affect you and also go beyond concepts, words and ideas.So this is one form of reality.If we don’t interpret things in the right way we will not survive.So this is necessary for our survival.In the evolution process we have learned to interpret things the right way. But to go to beyond ordinary reality you leave these things behind.Knowing your wandering mind is Cittanupassana but on a very gross level.Knowing what you are hearing, is not Cittanupassana it is just hearing.When you’ve been meditating for some time you don’t stop looking at the subtle object and not let the subtle object disappear.this takes more skill and strength from the mind but now you have that.So exert energy and keep going. In Burmese ‘meditate’ also means exert energy. So try a bit harder, wake up!e samadhi required to look at the gross object, and the samadhi required to look at the subtle object is not the same.By trying to stay with the subtle object the level of samadhi increases. And only when you look at more and more subtle objects, only when it gets very subtle, you get closer to paramattha. Before that, you are with lots of concepts yet.In daily activities practice, look and watch the mind, don’t follow it. Look into it, watch what its doing, what’s happening in the mind and don’t force anything.e mind always compares, you always like some dislike some, You don’t have to follow the mind.Some times it is more effective to look at the vedana (feeling), what is happening, what does it feel like, then the next thing you know is the presence of mind.Focusing on pure reality is helpful. Just sensation.
 Right attitude helps immensely to go through difficult times: painful times, tiredness, boredom, so check that state of mind always.When you see the object and the knowing mind arising and passing away together then you understand the watching mind, because it’s the watching mind that sees that.e watching mind is also a knowing mind, which appears when we want to observe the knowing mind.If the watching mind is not so interested in the object, it tends to fly away. then wandering mind appears.Try to look at many objects and keep the momentum happening so that wandering mind does not interfere. If the momentum slows down then patches of wandering mind will appear.

From – THE WAY OF ATTAINMENT OF GENIUS

Why Cittanupassana – part 3

howmeditate — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:39:06 +0000

To teach Cittanupassana effectively the teacher and the student must have a close relationship and close contact and the student must be very honest and be able to explain his experiences very clearly and openly.e kind of mind and attitude one practices with is very important.Satipatthana is the most important thing.It is the way of continuously practising and if you are practising really continuously there is no way you are not going to see the mind. Your sati and samadhi will be so strong that you are going toknow that this is the mind; you need a lot more strength of mind to see citta than to observe rupa.If you want to be very effective you have to practice really hard. e mind you see is very subtle and very fast. You really need to apply your self.If the mind is really completely relaxed then the body will be relaxed too. If there is some tension in the body it means that the mind is not completely free of tension.at is why you have to continue to watch what you can watch, that is, the tension in the body.When the tension in the mind becomes completely zero all this will be very clear to you. (Zero is a balanced level where everything is nice and balanced and makes you feel very awake and light).So remember, body relaxed, and mind relaxed — but alert!First you have to ask the yogi to watch his mind or what does he feel in the mind. If he can feel the mind that is fine. So it is not so much to look but feel it and observe it like this.Pay attention to the feeling rather and not the place (where one imagines the mind to be).As a teacher you always have to separate the conceived reality from the absolute reality for the student. You always have to remind them that this part is concept, and that part is reality.Ask the yogis: what is the mind doing now? Everyone can tell you what their mind is doing now. ey know what the mind is doing but they can’t observe it. If you know what the mind is doing, you get to learn how to observe the mind. But it’s difficult to explain the whole thing, you have to let them practice, explain, practice, explain and so on.e other thing is you have to tell them to make the sati-samadhi strong. How you do this? Continuous practice. You practice continuously, moment-to-moment awareness.

Why Cittanupassana – part 2

howmeditate — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:57:53 +0000

Every practice must come to this point.Knowing mind is the mind that knows the object, watching mind or ‘one step up mind’ is the one that knows of both of them.Most people don’t know the knowing mind, and don’t get to the point where they can see the knowing mind that knows the object.ese cittas-consciousnesses that arise one after the other and ‘know’ of the process of consciousness that proceed them can actually arise infinitely, according to the Abhidhamma, but to know just these two or three, is enough for you to be able to see that process and not confuse it with a ‘self ’or ‘personality’.It’s only when you get to the mind that you get to real paramattha. When you get to reality you don’t see any more concepts. You see just the basic reality; only paramattha and you can see this only through the mind.If you don’t see how the mind works you don’t know how the mind creates these concepts. Concepts are created by the mind.If you do not see that the concept is created by the mind you can’t stop it. (i.e. when we sit and we think that our bodies are going very big or very small and we don’t know that the mind is imagining this).About the practice, when you are very high level and your sati and samadhi is very strong then what happens is, that you are looking at the knowing mind and the objects come to the knowing mind.You don’t have to go looking for the object. e objects keep coming to the mind.You are aware of this, you are aware of that; i.e. the rising and falling, or watching your object, something is always there.Of course you don’t see a head or feet or hands or something like this, there is no concept involved, but some object is coming to the knowing mind.It is not that we are aware of being aware of nothing, the object doesn’t disappear. e objects are always there, we don’t need to go down and focus on the objects, like you don’t have to chose what object you want to know; you know the mind and the mind knows objects continuously one after the other. Objects do not stop.With Cittanupassana you have to have a teacher who teaches from experience, it can not be taught from the book.

from – Contemplation of the Mind

Why Cittanupassana – part 1

howmeditate — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:34:34 +0000

Emphasizing the mind is most important.If you know your mind then you use the mind to look at your kaya (body) and vedana (feelings). e kaya you know with your mind, the vedana you also know with your mind.If you get skilful with Cittanupassana then you can do Dhammanupassana.e basics of Vipassana meditation requires that you know both the body and mind, but the mind is more important. So that is why it is emphasised here.When we meditate, we use our minds — that is why we should look at our mind. Cittanupassana is part of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness; therefore we should know the mind. When you observe anything, all four foundations of Mindfulness (Satipatthana) are already there anyway.You must know rupa and you must also know nama — only then you will have an all-rounded view and knowledge. e mind will be able to work smoothly only if you understand the nature of the mind that is working.When you understand the nature of the sati, the samadhi, the viriya, then you can really ascertain whether they are working properly of not.Next, the defilements (kilesa) only happen in the mind. If you are not aware of their presence in the mind, you will find you cannot meditate well.If you don’t know what attitude you are practising with and you are having the wrong attitude, you cannot achieve anything in the Dhamma.Between the knowing mind and the object, if you don’t know the mind, you cannot see true paramattha. If you know-observe just only the object, you cannot be completely free from concepts.And whether you are doing kaya or vedananupassana or anything you have to reach the knowing mind because this is how the Path is. ere is no other way.e practice of the Dhamma is such that you must come to this point where you know the knowing mind, awareness; being aware of your awareness

from – Contemplation of the Mind

How To Meditate For Beginners

howmeditate — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:54:47 +0000

Everyone has to start somewhere. Meditation is no different.

Beginners in meditation often worry about whether they are “doing it right”. And this worry causes them to have a less effective meditation session than if they had cast aside their doubts and worries.

One of the problems we experience in modern day life is that we expect to get instant results from everything. We’re trained to expect to get everything now, this instant. So if it takes more than a few minutes to learn how to do something as seemingly simple as meditation, we are inclined to either give up or think we’re doing something wrong.

Choosing the best meditation method to start with is worth taking some time over. There are so many different meditative techniques available that it can be hard to choose where to start.

I suggest that you start by picking a simple meditation method to begin with. You probably haven’t got the time that a Zen monk has decided to devote to meditation.

Qigong meditation is a good place to start. It’s easy to pick up, so your conscious mind is less likely to question whether or not the meditation technique you’re chosen is working for you.

We’re all after fast results, so why not start with a method that produces good results quickly?

Why Qigong meditation? Well, “Qi” means life-energy and “Gong” means exercise. Combined, these two forces will take your meditation to a good, beneficial level quickly and easily. Getting good, fast results will encourage you to continue with meditation, creating a virtuous circle. Which has got to be good!

By Trevor John

Meditate For Beginner

howmeditate — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:17:54 +0000

With the hectic pace and demands of modern life, many people feel stressed and over-worked. It often feels like there is just not enough time in the day to get everything done. Our stress and tiredness make us unhappy, impatient and frustrated. It can even affect our health. We are often so busy we feel there is no time to stop and meditate! But meditation actually gives you more time by making your mind calmer and more focused. A simple ten or fifteen minute breathing meditation as explained below can help you to overcome your stress and find some inner peace and balance.

Meditation can also help us to understand our own mind. We can learn how to transform our mind from negative to positive, from disturbed to peaceful, from unhappy to happy. Overcoming negative minds and cultivating constructive thoughts is the purpose of the transforming meditations found in the Buddhist tradition. This is a profound spiritual practice you can enjoy throughout the day, not just while seated in meditation.

There are many different ways to meditate. Each one is a different method with broadly the same end result.this is the easiest and simplest meditation for beginner:

At its simplest, you find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed and start to take deeper breaths than you would normally take. Breathe in a long, slow, deep breath. If possible hold it for a second or two before releasing it, again slowly. Repeat this over again, at least 5 times and ideally more. You’ll find that this is a quick way to bring about a more relaxed state in your body.

By : Novdaly Fillamenta