Tony
19th September 2011, 18:43
Meditation for Beginners
This is about methods of meditation for beginners. It is all about practice – not theory!
Meditation is very simple, but unfortunately many endless words are used to describe it.
Meditation is the method of seeing through this illusory existence.
If you do not want to change, then do not meditate.
Meditation will change everything.
Meditation is merely a tool to realise one's true nature. However, once one's true nature is realised, then meditation can be seen as just a continuity of that realisation. This is known as 'conduct'. We
start from being part time meditators to full time meditators. Meditation is not just sitting on the bum, as it has to be integrated with daily life (we are known as householders).
Generally, I try to write in non-sectarian terms, but this post is from the Buddhist perspective - Tibetan Buddhism. Most methods of meditation start off in a similar way, but as we progress, there will be differences. This is meant to give you a firm foundation. The meditation that suits you will depend on your temperament and capacity. There is also the path of non-meditation for the “town yogi”, which is to do with clear recognition.
This is really an alternative media forum, so meditation is not its main theme - but it is still very important! The understanding of the unity of consciousness and beyond is what we are all about.
I am not a teacher, but just a student who wishes to share information which is not easy to access. Remember - this is just information.
Your practice will turn it into knowledge, and then we can discuss wisdom!
Although I have been meditating for many years, I still regard myself as a beginner: it keeps one's feet on the ground...in pictures of Buddha, he often has one hand touching the earth (this was also an indication to the demons that he could not be touched).
So, the point of meditation is to become familiar with one's absolute true nature, but that is not the complete story!
Why do we meditate? It is a method of seeing clearly. We are confused about our true existence.
We have created a fabricated idea about ourselves, which causes negative emotions to arise when these ideas feel threatened. These negative emotions are fear, pride, desire, jealousy, anger and ignorance.
Most of our lives, we are controlled by these emotions, believing these thoughts to be us.
Of course, there are 'good' emotions - happiness, joy, contentment. But these can quickly turn into
my happiness, my joy, and my contentment, taking us neatly back to the negative emotions!
There are these good qualities, but we cannot claim them as our own. If we do, we suffer, and so do those around us. However, happiness, joy, contentment and knowing are qualities of our true nature, but it is all too easy to twist these qualities into a demonic form, via the ego.
We believe that 'things' and an 'acquired self' are real, and must be improved upon. This is how the mind gets distracted from its original natural state.
Other distractions are the two extremes nihilism and eternalism. Nihilism means nothingness (which could lead to depression), with the idea of everything being pointless.
Eternalism means we are a fixed entity/identity (with no possibility of change).
Buddhism is in the middle – In the space between.
At every stage of our path, perception changes. Together with this, is ego's deception lying in wait...it's all about me! Unfortunately, we also have to deal with an outside deception, but this can be used to our advantage, as a clear reminder.
Bum on Cushion
As long as you are relaxed and your back is straight, you can sit on a chair or cushion.
Lying down is possible, but one tends to go to sleep. Sitting straight helps with natural breathing and flow, and keeps your mind alert.
Hands on lap or thighs, eyes slightly open, or open.
If there are many thoughts, just lower the gaze.
If you are feeling sleepy, raise the gaze.
Nothing forced, everything relaxed.
The senses are wide open.
Here we may have to make a distinction between paths. This is called Shamata meditation, and it uses the breath as a focus. Merely noticing the inhalation and exhalation, thoughts will come - just return to watching the breath. The thoughts may seem to get worse. They are not - you are just noticing more! The point here is that it is your time to relax, rest and be at peace. The body is still, and gradually the mind becomes still...but aware! You can go back to thinking later. This is called Shamata with support.
Sometimes, we find ourselves in a vacant state, a dreamy state, which can be mistaken for meditation, but it's not.
It is a state of ignorance...not knowing. When we are day dreaming, we are cut off from our senses, and from what is around us.
Now the distinction has to be made, and this may cause confusion.
You have a choice between the path of the sutras, or the path of the tantras.
The sutras start with Shamata and then go on to Vipassana (insight meditation), which is like sharpening a knife on a wet stone - gradually you wear the stone and the knife away until nothing is left.
Others may describe it differently, but that is as far as I can go on that subject. What I will be describing is more towards the tantric path.
Whether the tantric path is suitable or not, will depend on your temperament, on how you relate to life.
It utilises intense intelligence, intense compassion and intense emotions.
It is not at all scary! I am sure you have heard lots of rumours and fuddled ideas about it, but it deals directly with the nature of mind and compassion.
Actually, I spent twenty years solely practising in order to be able follow the vajrayana path...only to find out that it is a 'back-up plan', for directly seeing the nature of mind. I say 'back-up' a little too lightly, as compassion and devotion - or deep appreciation for and understanding of the teaching - is of utmost importance. I'll leave it there for the moment, and will come back to that, but please be wary of making assumptions about a practice, unless you are a practitioner. One has to know precisely what one is talking about, or one is talking from ignorance...
Even in tantra, there are two ways to view meditation.
One is to find the view (empty essence) through the meditation - that is starting at the beginning of the book and going through to the end.
The other is for the view (empty essence) to be pointed out, and then the meditation is merely the continuity of that view.
Wouldn't it be nice if life were simple! It is, when you become more familiar with the process.
The essence is so simple that it goes unnoticed, so we need a few more words.
So, back to Shamata meditation.
Once we are more or less comfortable with watching the breath, we come to Shamata without support. This is simply noticing that at the end and beginning of each breath, there is a gap - or we notice a gap between thoughts.
In that gap, we rest naturally.
There is a still 'nowness' present, and the senses remain wide open.
With the senses wide open and the sense of nowness, one can take the meditation into daily life. One experiences moments of spaciousness.
Shamata with and without support are both still at a conceptual level, but it's a start.
It is building a firm foundation.
It's good to notice the difference between the two, as sometimes we have to return to Shamata with support when thoughts are rampant!
Moving out of Concepts
Dwelling in the now, or in stillness, is still conceptual.
It is dealing with 'me' dwelling in 'nowness'.
This is still duality, but there is an awareness or consciousness, so that is good.
There is a perceiver, and that which is perceived.
At this moment, panic may be setting in...“Er, so where am I?”
You are here, in full glory, but concepts cannot see that.
You are consciousness in unity with emptiness which manifests as compassion.
Here we must talk about consciousness.
All sentient beings are aware or conscious. This is natural.
Even a slug is aware, though it may have a short memory! But it is not aware or conscious of its true nature.
Humans are unique in this, although all sentient beings have a potential awakened nature (Buddha nature). Humans can realise their full potential. This precious human life is a rare as a blind turtle coming to the surface of a ocean once every hundred years and putting its head through a ring...
There are two truths - one is relative truth and the other, absolute truth.
Consciousness is relative truth, and Emptiness is absolute truth.
The trick is to work with then in union, so as not to move to one of the extremes as mentioned before (nihilism and eternalism).
Emptiness means pure and untainted, so pure perception!
This is where we come to another tricky issue.
People are going around thinking that they have pure perception right now.
If you truly had pure perception, you would be a Buddha, and would have transversed the ten Bhumis levels of a Bodhisattva.
We get glimpses of it, as it is our true nature. But the enlightened state is prolonged day and night, and it is said that one can manifest 100.000 emanations for the benefit of sentient beings.
Sorry to say this, but anything to do with 'me' and 'I' is still standing at the bottom of the ladder in a puddle of concepts! Still, it not all bad news - you can only go up!!! And you are not alone...
Consciousness
There are eight consciousnesses.
Five are the consciousness of the senses.
There are three of mind: the sixth is perception, the seventh is judgement, the eighth is the storehouse of thoughts.
In normal life, the interaction between the 6th 7th and 8th happens very quickly.
An example: we see something = 6th consciousness. It immediately goes to the 7th consciousness, which looks into the 8th consciousness to identify what it sees, so that the 7th consciousness can then judge whether it's good or bad. And so we go round in circles, maintaining the concepts held in the storehouse of the 8th (and therefore, karma).
We get into a pattern of behaviour. We program ourselves.
Meditation is about de-programming ourselves.
The closer we look, the more fascinating it is!
The 8th consciousness has two aspect: it is the hard drive, and also the information stored on the hard drive.
Through our practice of letting be, we gradually exhaust this store of information...karma!
The hard drive itself (called 'alaya' or all-ground) is a thought-free state. Unfortunately, it is similar to the 'empty essence', but it is not the same, although it can be mistaken for such. It is still dualistic. But the good news is that it is near enough!
Shamata without support, and the 8th consciousness, are both very close...but they are both still conceptual.
At that stage, all that is needed is awareness of awareness of the emptiness of emptiness.
Merely drop all 'doing' and 'maintaining', and rest in non-modified natural empty awareness. Just note. There is no longer perceiver and perceived...just pure perception.
It is nothing whatsoever, but anything can arise within it.
But...we are still dealing with a mere 'I', as karma has not been exhausted.
When karma has been exhausted, there is “enlightenment”!!!
If you seriously wish to start to meditate, it may be helpful to find a meditation group. When Gampopa asked for a final teaching, Milarepa turned lifted his robes and showed Gampopa his callused buttocks!
There are other types of meditation, such as devotional, compassion and analytical.
In Tibetan Buddhism they can be worked together, but again this will depend on your temperament.
All we have to do is decide to practice - but first we need to be convinced.
We have to recognise and admit that we are suffering. We are not totally happy, not totally satisfied. This is why the Kaliyuga is ideal time to practice - if everything was hunkydory, you wouldn't bother...
Recognise your nature, decide on that, and practise.
It is believed that one must hear the teachings from a lineage holder in order to be of real benefit: this is known as the oral transmission.
It is possible to follow an easy path, but there may be little benefit.
It is also possible to follow a tough path with great benefit.
All the best on your journey!
Tony
This is about methods of meditation for beginners. It is all about practice – not theory!
Meditation is very simple, but unfortunately many endless words are used to describe it.
Meditation is the method of seeing through this illusory existence.
If you do not want to change, then do not meditate.
Meditation will change everything.
Meditation is merely a tool to realise one's true nature. However, once one's true nature is realised, then meditation can be seen as just a continuity of that realisation. This is known as 'conduct'. We
start from being part time meditators to full time meditators. Meditation is not just sitting on the bum, as it has to be integrated with daily life (we are known as householders).
Generally, I try to write in non-sectarian terms, but this post is from the Buddhist perspective - Tibetan Buddhism. Most methods of meditation start off in a similar way, but as we progress, there will be differences. This is meant to give you a firm foundation. The meditation that suits you will depend on your temperament and capacity. There is also the path of non-meditation for the “town yogi”, which is to do with clear recognition.
This is really an alternative media forum, so meditation is not its main theme - but it is still very important! The understanding of the unity of consciousness and beyond is what we are all about.
I am not a teacher, but just a student who wishes to share information which is not easy to access. Remember - this is just information.
Your practice will turn it into knowledge, and then we can discuss wisdom!
Although I have been meditating for many years, I still regard myself as a beginner: it keeps one's feet on the ground...in pictures of Buddha, he often has one hand touching the earth (this was also an indication to the demons that he could not be touched).
So, the point of meditation is to become familiar with one's absolute true nature, but that is not the complete story!
Why do we meditate? It is a method of seeing clearly. We are confused about our true existence.
We have created a fabricated idea about ourselves, which causes negative emotions to arise when these ideas feel threatened. These negative emotions are fear, pride, desire, jealousy, anger and ignorance.
Most of our lives, we are controlled by these emotions, believing these thoughts to be us.
Of course, there are 'good' emotions - happiness, joy, contentment. But these can quickly turn into
my happiness, my joy, and my contentment, taking us neatly back to the negative emotions!
There are these good qualities, but we cannot claim them as our own. If we do, we suffer, and so do those around us. However, happiness, joy, contentment and knowing are qualities of our true nature, but it is all too easy to twist these qualities into a demonic form, via the ego.
We believe that 'things' and an 'acquired self' are real, and must be improved upon. This is how the mind gets distracted from its original natural state.
Other distractions are the two extremes nihilism and eternalism. Nihilism means nothingness (which could lead to depression), with the idea of everything being pointless.
Eternalism means we are a fixed entity/identity (with no possibility of change).
Buddhism is in the middle – In the space between.
At every stage of our path, perception changes. Together with this, is ego's deception lying in wait...it's all about me! Unfortunately, we also have to deal with an outside deception, but this can be used to our advantage, as a clear reminder.
Bum on Cushion
As long as you are relaxed and your back is straight, you can sit on a chair or cushion.
Lying down is possible, but one tends to go to sleep. Sitting straight helps with natural breathing and flow, and keeps your mind alert.
Hands on lap or thighs, eyes slightly open, or open.
If there are many thoughts, just lower the gaze.
If you are feeling sleepy, raise the gaze.
Nothing forced, everything relaxed.
The senses are wide open.
Here we may have to make a distinction between paths. This is called Shamata meditation, and it uses the breath as a focus. Merely noticing the inhalation and exhalation, thoughts will come - just return to watching the breath. The thoughts may seem to get worse. They are not - you are just noticing more! The point here is that it is your time to relax, rest and be at peace. The body is still, and gradually the mind becomes still...but aware! You can go back to thinking later. This is called Shamata with support.
Sometimes, we find ourselves in a vacant state, a dreamy state, which can be mistaken for meditation, but it's not.
It is a state of ignorance...not knowing. When we are day dreaming, we are cut off from our senses, and from what is around us.
Now the distinction has to be made, and this may cause confusion.
You have a choice between the path of the sutras, or the path of the tantras.
The sutras start with Shamata and then go on to Vipassana (insight meditation), which is like sharpening a knife on a wet stone - gradually you wear the stone and the knife away until nothing is left.
Others may describe it differently, but that is as far as I can go on that subject. What I will be describing is more towards the tantric path.
Whether the tantric path is suitable or not, will depend on your temperament, on how you relate to life.
It utilises intense intelligence, intense compassion and intense emotions.
It is not at all scary! I am sure you have heard lots of rumours and fuddled ideas about it, but it deals directly with the nature of mind and compassion.
Actually, I spent twenty years solely practising in order to be able follow the vajrayana path...only to find out that it is a 'back-up plan', for directly seeing the nature of mind. I say 'back-up' a little too lightly, as compassion and devotion - or deep appreciation for and understanding of the teaching - is of utmost importance. I'll leave it there for the moment, and will come back to that, but please be wary of making assumptions about a practice, unless you are a practitioner. One has to know precisely what one is talking about, or one is talking from ignorance...
Even in tantra, there are two ways to view meditation.
One is to find the view (empty essence) through the meditation - that is starting at the beginning of the book and going through to the end.
The other is for the view (empty essence) to be pointed out, and then the meditation is merely the continuity of that view.
Wouldn't it be nice if life were simple! It is, when you become more familiar with the process.
The essence is so simple that it goes unnoticed, so we need a few more words.
So, back to Shamata meditation.
Once we are more or less comfortable with watching the breath, we come to Shamata without support. This is simply noticing that at the end and beginning of each breath, there is a gap - or we notice a gap between thoughts.
In that gap, we rest naturally.
There is a still 'nowness' present, and the senses remain wide open.
With the senses wide open and the sense of nowness, one can take the meditation into daily life. One experiences moments of spaciousness.
Shamata with and without support are both still at a conceptual level, but it's a start.
It is building a firm foundation.
It's good to notice the difference between the two, as sometimes we have to return to Shamata with support when thoughts are rampant!
Moving out of Concepts
Dwelling in the now, or in stillness, is still conceptual.
It is dealing with 'me' dwelling in 'nowness'.
This is still duality, but there is an awareness or consciousness, so that is good.
There is a perceiver, and that which is perceived.
At this moment, panic may be setting in...“Er, so where am I?”
You are here, in full glory, but concepts cannot see that.
You are consciousness in unity with emptiness which manifests as compassion.
Here we must talk about consciousness.
All sentient beings are aware or conscious. This is natural.
Even a slug is aware, though it may have a short memory! But it is not aware or conscious of its true nature.
Humans are unique in this, although all sentient beings have a potential awakened nature (Buddha nature). Humans can realise their full potential. This precious human life is a rare as a blind turtle coming to the surface of a ocean once every hundred years and putting its head through a ring...
There are two truths - one is relative truth and the other, absolute truth.
Consciousness is relative truth, and Emptiness is absolute truth.
The trick is to work with then in union, so as not to move to one of the extremes as mentioned before (nihilism and eternalism).
Emptiness means pure and untainted, so pure perception!
This is where we come to another tricky issue.
People are going around thinking that they have pure perception right now.
If you truly had pure perception, you would be a Buddha, and would have transversed the ten Bhumis levels of a Bodhisattva.
We get glimpses of it, as it is our true nature. But the enlightened state is prolonged day and night, and it is said that one can manifest 100.000 emanations for the benefit of sentient beings.
Sorry to say this, but anything to do with 'me' and 'I' is still standing at the bottom of the ladder in a puddle of concepts! Still, it not all bad news - you can only go up!!! And you are not alone...
Consciousness
There are eight consciousnesses.
Five are the consciousness of the senses.
There are three of mind: the sixth is perception, the seventh is judgement, the eighth is the storehouse of thoughts.
In normal life, the interaction between the 6th 7th and 8th happens very quickly.
An example: we see something = 6th consciousness. It immediately goes to the 7th consciousness, which looks into the 8th consciousness to identify what it sees, so that the 7th consciousness can then judge whether it's good or bad. And so we go round in circles, maintaining the concepts held in the storehouse of the 8th (and therefore, karma).
We get into a pattern of behaviour. We program ourselves.
Meditation is about de-programming ourselves.
The closer we look, the more fascinating it is!
The 8th consciousness has two aspect: it is the hard drive, and also the information stored on the hard drive.
Through our practice of letting be, we gradually exhaust this store of information...karma!
The hard drive itself (called 'alaya' or all-ground) is a thought-free state. Unfortunately, it is similar to the 'empty essence', but it is not the same, although it can be mistaken for such. It is still dualistic. But the good news is that it is near enough!
Shamata without support, and the 8th consciousness, are both very close...but they are both still conceptual.
At that stage, all that is needed is awareness of awareness of the emptiness of emptiness.
Merely drop all 'doing' and 'maintaining', and rest in non-modified natural empty awareness. Just note. There is no longer perceiver and perceived...just pure perception.
It is nothing whatsoever, but anything can arise within it.
But...we are still dealing with a mere 'I', as karma has not been exhausted.
When karma has been exhausted, there is “enlightenment”!!!
If you seriously wish to start to meditate, it may be helpful to find a meditation group. When Gampopa asked for a final teaching, Milarepa turned lifted his robes and showed Gampopa his callused buttocks!
There are other types of meditation, such as devotional, compassion and analytical.
In Tibetan Buddhism they can be worked together, but again this will depend on your temperament.
All we have to do is decide to practice - but first we need to be convinced.
We have to recognise and admit that we are suffering. We are not totally happy, not totally satisfied. This is why the Kaliyuga is ideal time to practice - if everything was hunkydory, you wouldn't bother...
Recognise your nature, decide on that, and practise.
It is believed that one must hear the teachings from a lineage holder in order to be of real benefit: this is known as the oral transmission.
It is possible to follow an easy path, but there may be little benefit.
It is also possible to follow a tough path with great benefit.
All the best on your journey!
Tony