More About Meditation

“Our life is an endless journey… The practice of meditation provides a vehicle to travel on that road.” – Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Introduction

Meditation is a natural state of the human mind—at rest, open, alert. The practice of meditation has been taught for over 2,500 years as a vehicle for realizing the beauty and magic of the ordinary world without aggression or manipulation. Through the discipline of meditation, with gentleness and a sense of humor, practitioners have let go of conflicting emotions and woken up on the spot for centuries!

In the Shambhala tradition, meditation practice offers a pathway of deep connection to our inherent qualities of dignity, kindness, wisdom and strength – all of which are essential on the journey of personal, cultural and societal transformation.

Meditation is a way to cultivate a more stable, clear mind. From this point of view, meditation is not purely a Buddhist practice; it’s a practice that anyone can do and is not necessarily tied to a spiritual tradition.

How to Get Started

The basic guideline of shamatha meditation (the foundational form that we teach in Shambhala, which means “peaceful abiding) is “not too tight, not too loose.” That guideline holds true in every aspect of the practice—finding the right environment, preparing our body and mind to meditate, holding our posture, noticing thoughts and emotions, and bringing our minds back to the breath. The guideline is very clear and we should follow it as much as possible. Gentleness is also necessary, or else meditation becomes a way in which we’re trying to measure up against a hopeless ideal. It’s important not to expect perfection or get hooked on the finer points of meditation. The practice takes consistent effort, and it can also be joyful.

One of the simple things that we can do is to create a good environment for practice—a place that is comfortable, quiet, and clean. A corner of your room that feels uplifted, spacious, and private is excellent. It’s unproductive to get caught up in chasing for “the perfect place to meditate.” Some people from the city will go into the mountains to meditate in peace and find that the crickets and the birds won’t shut up!

Timing is also important. Decide on a regular time to practice each day and try to stick with it. A ten-minute period in the morning is a good place to begin. The more consistent you can be in keeping to the routine, the better.

Planning is another element. It’s better not to just sit down and hope for the best. If you plop down on your seat straight from the office or right after an argument, you may spend the whole session trying to slow down enough even to remember that you’re meditating. If you’re agitated, a slow walk might be in order. If you’re drowsy, a cool shower before beginning the session might help. It can be inspiring to read a little about meditation, first, as a reminder of why you’re practicing. Working with ourselves in ways like this is intelligent and honest and can create the proper mind and body for good practice. But remember, preparation is not meditation, it is just preparation.

Often, half the challenge of meditation is simply getting to your seat. At the beginning of a session you may suddenly discover that you have more important things to do—housework or phone calls to make or e-mails to write. One way to work with this kind of procrastination is to build a routine around preliminary stretching or walking before your session. This gives you a way to ease into it by softening your body and mind before you begin meditating. The more regularly you practice the better you’ll get at reframing the strategies an untrained mind cooks up to keep you from making it to your seat.

Lastly, talk to someone about your practice! Attend a meditation workshop or talk to an experienced meditation instructor.

Technique of Meditation

Our minds usually jump wildly from thought to thought. We replay the past; we fantasize about the future. In meditation we take an upright posture, place our mind on an object, and learn to keep it there. In shamatha, the object of our meditation is the simple act of breathing. The breath represents being alive in the immediacy of the moment.

When you sit down, take a balanced, grounded posture to allow the energy in the center of your body to move freely. If you’re on a cushion, sit with your legs loosely crossed. If you’re in a chair, keep your legs uncrossed and your feet flat on the floor. Imagine that a string attached to the top of your head is pulling you upright. Let your body settle around your erect spine. Place your hands on your thighs, in a place not so far forward that it begins to pull your shoulders down, nor so far back that the shoulders contract and pinch the spine. The fingers are close and relaxed—not spread out in a grip, as if you can’t let yourself go. Tuck your chin and relax your jaw. The tongue is also relaxed, resting against your upper teeth. Your mouth is slightly open to keep from clenching your teeth. Your gaze is downward, with the eyelids almost half shut. It’s a soft focus. The eyes aren’t looking at anything; they simply just see. It is the same with sound—we aren’t listening, but we do hear. In other words, we’re not focusing with our senses.

The basic technique is that we begin to notice our breath. The breath is what we’re using as the basis of our mindfulness technique; it brings us back to the moment, back to the present situation.

Using the breath as the object of meditation is especially good for calming a busy mind. The steady flow of the breath soothes the mind and allows for steadiness and relaxation. This is ordinary breathing; nothing is exaggerated. One simple technique is to count the in-and out-cycles of breathing from one to twenty-one. We breathe in, and then out—one. In and then out—two. Place your mind on the breathing and count each cycle of breath. You can drop the counting when your mind is settled.

When your focus wavers, check your posture. Bring yourself back to the upright position. Imagine the string pulling your spine up straight and relax your body around it. Slouching impairs your breathing, which directly affects the mind. If you slump, you’ll be struggling with your body at the same time that you’re trying to train your mind. What you want to be doing is the opposite: synchronizing your body and mind.

As you focus on the breath, you’ll notice that various thoughts and emotions arise. When this happens, acknowledge that you are thinking and return to your focus on the breath. In focusing, you are bringing yourself back to attention. You are centering yourself in your mind and placing it back on the breath. When you first begin to meditate, the movement of thoughts may feel like a rushing waterfall. But as you continue to apply the technique of recognizing thoughts and returning your focus to the breath, the torrent slows down to a river, then to a meandering stream, which eventually flows into a deep, calm ocean.

Meditation practice predates Buddhism and all of the world religions. It has lasted through the centuries because it is direct, potent, and effective. If meditation becomes part of your life, consider seeking further instruction from an experienced meditator –connect with a meditation instructor here. You may also find it helpful to become part of a community of practitioners. You are welcome to meditate with us during our open community practice times.

Meditation FAQ

Read Frequently Asked Questions about Meditation here:  Meditation FAQ