Monthly Archives: February 2024

Daily Buddhism, Meditation

Meditation Part 1: Overview and Benefits

3 Comments

Meditation, Part 1

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A Reader recently Wrote:
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I have a quick question. It seems that meditation is at least one of the main hearts of Buddhism. I hear that there are a number of different types of meditation and styles. I am really not sure what this means, but would be very interested. If you ever have time to put that in, I would be very interested in learning more.

Thank you again for putting your knowledge out there. I know there are many of us that truly appreciate it.

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And yet another asks:
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I practice Zen Buddhism but have listened to many pod-casts because there is no zen center near me. In these pod-casts they often refer to other forms of meditation. Some of these are love and kindness or stress a certain aspect of Buddhism. Would you please be so kind as to go over the different types of meditation that you know or are aware off? Great show!!

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My Response:
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Meditation has been defined as: “self regulation of attention, in the service of self-inquiry, in the here and now.‚Äù [Wikipedia]. I found dozens of definitions of meditation to post here, some involved self-healing, some with philosophy, others dealt with spirituality, but the fact is that it’s different things to different people.

There are so many types of meditation and names for styles of practice that it’s hard to keep trackTime Magazine Cover about Meditation. There are literally hundreds of ‚Äúphrases‚Äù that describe various kinds and styles of meditations, but over the next week or so, I am going to focus on a half dozen or so broad categories. Today I want to give a brief overview of meditation in general. We’ve talked about all of this before, but a quick refresher won’t hurt before starting such a big topic.

When you hear the word ‚Äúmeditation‚Äù you probably have a mental picture of someone sitting in the lotus position, hands clasped and eyes closed. That, or something close, is not too far from the truth, but it is an overgeneralized stereotype. Not all forms of meditation involve sitting, but many do. We’ve briefly mentioned walking and working meditations in the past, and those are quite common and easy to perform. If you’re one of the many people who have written in stating that they can’t sit lotus-style, have no fear; I can’t do it either.

All forms of meditation can help you reduce stress and anxiety. Reduced stress is obviously a good thing, both physically and psychologically, and many doctors prescribe meditation to their patients. It’s been proven effective over thousands of years, it’s not some goofy new age thing. It’s safe and its simple, and absolutely everyone can do it, starting with only 10 or 15 minutes a day. It won’t cure cancer or help you lose weight, but it can help reduce physical suffering and give you the mental clarity and fortitude to make big changes in your life. The physical ‚Äúwork‚Äù of meditation can be done with no spiritual or religious trappings, and is a good idea for anyone, of any belief system or any age. Buddhism, of course, adds its own dimension to meditation, but meditation was around long before Buddhism; it goes back at least as far as Hinduism, maybe even further than that.

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Daily Buddhism, Dhammapada

Dhammapada Chapter 8: The Thousands

Chapter VIII
The Thousands

100. Even though a speech be a thousand words, but made up of senseless words, one word of sense is better, which if a man hears, he becomes quiet.

101. Even though a Gatha poem be a thousand words, but made up of senseless words, one word of a Gatha is better, which if a man hears, he becomes quiet.

102. Though a man recite a hundred Gathas made up of senseless words, one word of the law is better, which if a man hears, he becomes quiet.

103. If one man conquer in battle a thousand times thousand men, and if another conquer himself, he is the greatest of conquerors.

104, 105. One’s own self conquered is better than all other people; not even a god, a Gandharva, not Mara with Brahman could change into defeat the victory of a man who has vanquished himself, and always lives under restraint.

106. If a man for a hundred years sacrifice month after month with a thousand, and if he but for one moment pay homage to a man whose soul is grounded in true knowledge, better is that homage than sacrifice for a hundred years.

107. If a man for a hundred years worship Fire in the forest, and if he but for one moment pay homage to a man whose soul is grounded in true knowledge, better is that homage than sacrifice for a hundred years.

108. Whatever a man sacrifice in this world as an offering or as an oblation for a whole year in order to gain merit, the whole of it is not worth a quarter; reverence shown to the righteous is better.

109. He who always greets and constantly reveres the aged, four things will increase to him; life, beauty, happiness, power.

110. But he who lives a hundred years, vicious and unrestrained, a life of one day is better if a man is virtuous and reflecting.

111. And he who lives a hundred years, ignorant and unrestrained, a life of one day is better if a man is wise and reflecting.

112. And he who lives a hundred years, idle and weak, a life of one day is better if a man has attained firm strength.

113. And he who lives a hundred years, not seeing beginning and end, a life of one day is better if a man sees beginning and end.

114. And he who lives a hundred years, not seeing the immortal place, a life of one day is better if a man sees the immortal place.

115. And he who lives a hundred years, not seeing the highest law, a life of one day is better if a man sees the highest law.

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Daily Buddhism, Koans

Koan: The Muddy Road

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Koan: The Muddy Road

Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling.

Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.

“Come on, girl” said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. “We monks don’t go near females,” he told Tanzan, “especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?”

“I left the girl there,” said Tanzan. “Are you still carrying her?”

Daily Buddhism

Taking Refuge in the 3 Jewels

3 Comments

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A Reader recently wrote:
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I’ve posed this question on another site.. wondered what your ‘take’ was.

Following a statement that a Buddhist is someone who takes refuge in the 3 jewels.

Question: What’s actually involved in ‘taking refuge in the 3 jewels’?

I understand its accepting/realising the way to overcome samsara is through the Buddha, dharma & sangha. The 3 jewels.

However, does this mean ‘joining the sangha’? (bit difficult round here! Buddhists are rarer than a rare thing with a reason to be rare)

Does it involve any ceremony, any ritual?

Or could it just be a personal declaration, in the absence of others?
I’m personally happy to be someone who incorporates what he understands of Buddhism into his life, as opposed to applying a label and proclaiming “I’m a Buddhist!”. Although lately I’m feeling the label possibly does apply.

Currently being a husband and father occupies the vast bulk of my time. I’ll practice mindfulness within my daily life with them, meditate, read my rapidly expanding library of Buddhist/meditation books – Whilst chatting about Buddhism with the new Sri Lankan student, the companys just contracted.

But the ‘taking refuge’ intrigues me. maybe because we think of taking refuge as a physical thing and this is mental/spiritual?

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My Response:
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No, it’s not been any trouble “keeping it fresh” yet- all the emails keep me going with plenty to discuss. And there are thousands of years of material to cover if those ever dry up.

Although the phrase, “I take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha” is indeed used in rituals such as ordination, I can’t say that I ever really gave the phrase itself much in the way of deep thought. I have always taken it at face value:

The First Noble truth is “all life is suffering.” Generally speaking, out in the physical world, “taking refuge” is usually done in order to relieve or remove suffering. If I’m out in the pouring rain, I’m going to take refuge under the nearest roof. It’s the same with the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha; they help remove or alleviate suffering. They are metaphorical “shelters” from suffering. The Buddha is my role model; when I feel bad I read some dharma; I enjoy and learn a lot by interacting with (emailing mostly in my case) other Buddhists. These three sources help relieve my suffering. I’ve “taken refuge in them.”

As far as your sangha problems are concerned, you aren’t alone. I don’t know many Americans who aren’t thrilled with the selection of Buddhist groups in their area, and I’m one of them. I think the best we can do is look at the term “sangha” as a form of “community.” There ARE other Buddhists out there, and we do form a kind of community. You read Buddhist books, and that too is a loose form of community. If you listen to podcasts or watch documentaries on TV, you are still connecting with other Buddhists. You are learning something new regularly. I think that’s really about the best that can be done if there isn’t a “church” in your area.

A Sangha isn’t a building, it’s a community. There are many kinds of communities.

Daily Buddhism, Meditation

Meditation Part 3: Empty Mind Meditation

1 Comment

Meditation Part 3: Empty Mind Meditation

This really is the simplest form of meditation to describe, yet it’s one of the hardest to master. Here are the steps involved:

1. Sit comfortably. Pain of any kind is distracting.
2. Think of … nothing.

Yep. That’s it. Clear your mind. When your mind wanders, don’t chastise yourself of complain about it, just quickly switch back to thinking of nothing. If it helps, visualize blank paper, white void, total darkness, whatever works for you. Just don’t consciously think to yourself, ‚ÄúI’m thinking of nothing,‚Äù or ‚ÄúOh, look, it’s white paper.‚Äù That’s just thinking of a different kind.

The goal is absence of thought entirely. It’s incredibly difficult, because our minds tend to wander or go off about all sorts of odd things. This is where the term ‚Äúmonkey mind‚Äù applies. While your body is just sitting there with your eyes closed, your mind wants to climb trees and shout at the top of it’s lungs.

This form of meditation, above all others, really is done best in a very quiet environment; it’s just so easy to become distracted that anything you can do to remove distractions is a good thing. Once you find that you can easily ‚Äútune out‚Äù everything in the outside world, you are on a good start down the path of meditation. If you find yourself losing track of time doing this, you are doing well; sometimes you can sit for what seems like hours and later find that only a minute or two has passed, and sometimes it works just the opposite. Being able to quiet your mind is essential to meditation and many of the more spiritual aspects of meditation.

Try sitting in silence, not thinking at all for just five minutes. It’s far harder than it sounds.

Just Sit.

.

Daily Buddhism, Meditation

Meditation Part 4: Walking Meditation and Kinhin

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Meditation Part 4: Walking Meditation and Kinhin

We’ve briefly covered this one, but it is essentially what it sounds like: meditating while walking. You can do this while walking, running, or just pacing around the room in a circle. You focus your mind on how your body moves during the activity. This is not sightseeing, so your focus should be internal. How do your arms swing, how do your legs move, what about the muscles in your stomach and back? How does the activity affect your breathing?

As with the other forms, once your mind begins to wander, carefully, bring it back to focus on the action and sensations involved with moving.

I personally find this one very difficult, as I tend to pay too much attention to the world around me. Unlike the other forms of meditation, this might be a good time to listen to soft music on your iPod, since it will help cover up the outside noises.

In Zen, practitioners have ritualized this walking meditation into something called “Kinhin.”Kinhin is a very slow walk, going clockwise around the room. One hand is closed in a fist, while the other hand covers the fist. One step is taken for each full breath, so the circle moves very slowly. It is quite common to do kinhin between long periods of sitting meditations.

I have posted several pictures and a video of Kinhin on the site, but be aware that kinhin is only one form of walking meditation; a faster, outdoor walk can be good for you too.

Youtube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO8N75uJiCA