How to Meditate
If you are wondering why you should meditate, please scroll down past this article for a review of the possible benefits of meditation practice. In the meantime, I would like to offer the following instructions for the basic Buddhist practice of silent sitting meditation:
Sit down in a comfortable and stable posture. There are a variety of postures that are acceptable, as long as you are upright, stable, and comfortable. If you are going to use a chair, sit on the edge of it so that your legs are level and the knees bent at a 90˚ angle. Do not rest your back against the chair but keep it upright. You can also sit in seiza (正座), which is sitting with your legs tucked straight back underneath you with your buttocks resting on your heels and the big toes touching. This can be done with a cushion or seiza bench so that one’s weight is lifted off the legs and the knees are not as strained. If sitting in one of the varieties of cross-legged posture on the floor, use a cushion to lift the buttocks so that one does not need to lean forward to maintain one’s balance but can keep the back straight. The easiest cross-legged posture is the Burmese wherein you simply fold your legs in front of you with one foot just in front of the other leg. One can also rest one foot on the calf of the opposite leg for the quarter lotus, or rest one foot on the thigh of the opposite leg for a half-lotus posture, or cross the legs and have both feet resting on the opposite thighs for a full lotus. While the lotus or half-lotus is the most stable for the body, they are difficult for most people. Another important point is to make sure the knees are lower than the abdomen. In a full lotus posture, both knees should touch the floor, whereas, in the other postures, the knees are at least lower than the abdomen. Having the knees lowered allows for more stability and opens up the abdomen to make it easier to breathe from the diaphragm.
Your back should be straight, without tilting forward or backward or to either side. If you catch yourself slumping, restore your posture. This is usually a sign that you are getting either distracted or drowsy and restoring your posture usually helps to recenter attention as well. To do so, with the in-breath, imagine a string gently pulling straight upward from the crown of your head.
Your chin should be tucked in slightly so that your eyes, open or semi-closed, can rest their gaze downward at about a 45˚ angle. If you get drowsy and your eyes start to close, or you catch yourself looking around, that is a sign to refocus and return to a restful gaze on the spot in front of you. To cut down on distractions, it is best to have an uncluttered floor or wall in front of you. Make sure that your head does not slump forward, but remains upright with the ears above the shoulders and the top of the head aligned with your spine. Your mouth should be closed with your tongue against the roof of your mouth.
Your open left hand should rest lightly on your open right hand with your thumb tips touching as if to form a triangle. The triangle represents the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. This position of the hands is called the “Dharma-realm Concentration Mudra” (S. dharmadhātu samādhi mudrā, J. hokkai jōin; 法界定印). Hold this mudra against your abdomen just below the navel. If the thumb tips break apart, the hands slip down into your lap, or you find yourself pressing down too hard with your hands, that is a sign to recenter your attention on the subject of meditation and to either restore or relax your hands as the situation calls for.
Once you are settled into the posture for sitting simply follow the breath. Breathe in a natural rhythm from the abdomen and try to center your awareness on the tanden. It can be difficult to just stay with the breath, so it can be helpful to count your breath cycles from one to ten. Breathe in and out through your nose and then silently count “one,” in and out then “two” up to “ten.” Don’t try to force your breathing to be fast or slow, just breathe naturally and count after each cycle of inhalation and exhalation. Thoughts and feelings will arise and dissipate. Let them. If you get caught up in them and lose count, do not get upset. Just be aware that you lost your focus and bring it back to the tanden and the counting of the breath cycles starting with “one” again. Sometimes you might have to repeatedly go back to one. Sometimes you won’t get past two or three or four. That is fine. Just keep going back to one and be aware of it. Again, as long as you are sitting there and being present to whatever is happening you are having a good meditation session.
If you can keep your focus on the tanden and breathing without having to count, that is good. Just stay with the breath and be aware of its qualities, long or short, even or uneven, and so on. Alternatively, you might want to recite the Odaimoku silently to yourself. What works for me is to silently recite “Namu” as I am inhaling, and then “Myoho Renge Kyo” as I am exhaling. Other variations are possible. Find whatever works for you.
Don’t try to fight off thoughts and feelings, and don’t try to judge them or analyze them. If you do find yourself getting caught up in trains of thought, just be with that too and, if you can, bring your focus back as above. The same applies to any distracting noises or physical sensations or other phenomena that may arise. Just be aware of it and let it go without getting caught by it.
These methods of counting, or silently reciting a mantra, or even focusing on the tanden are all just training wheels to keep you upright and aware. In time you should be able to maintain clear upright awareness without being fixated on any particular thing. The point is to cultivate a clear and open awareness that takes in everything that arises and dissipates without judging or interference. You may have thoughts and feelings but do not get involved in them, just watch them come and go like passing clouds or leaves floating by in a stream. This is what “no-thought” in terms of meditation means. It does not mean having a blank mind with no thoughts or feelings. It means not fixating on thoughts and emotions, or being caught by them, perpetuating them, or struggling to suppress them, but just letting them come and go in full awareness. If you can maintain this kind of open awareness without a specific focus like the tanden, or the breath, or some active practice like mantra recitation and can just sit calmly abiding, open to whatever insights may arise or not, then that is optimal. This kind of meditation with no object or focus but just “clear awareness in the tranquility of no-thought” is very difficult to do. Most of us, including those who have done a lot of silent sitting, do end up getting sleepy and dozing off or else getting caught up in schemes, daydreams, or daymares. Then it is time to go back to using the earlier techniques to recenter. However, there is no such thing as a bad meditation session. You sit just to be with whatever is there — even if it means you fall asleep or spend the time worrying or scheming or fantasizing — just be with it and aware of it.
As with any practice, it is best to do it consistently at least once a day and make it a part of your normal routine. Silent sitting in the morning is a good way to start the day, as it can be energizing and will help you feel calm and centered. Silent sitting at the end of the day is good because it can enable you to recenter and try to let go of or at least to calmly reflect upon all that has transpired throughout the day, which can also facilitate restfulness. Silent sitting can also be used as a preliminary and follow-up to Odaimoku chanting, and of course, it is an important part of the Shodaigyo Meditation .
Why Meditate?
Meditation seems to be everywhere these days; in schools, universities, hospitals, military, board rooms, and government. For some, it's therapy, for others, a way to relax, and for some, it's a religious choice. Tens of millions of people say they practice it in North America alone. But what exactly is it and what is it good for? Do I want to do it? Do I need to be a Buddhist to do it?
Did you know you can meditate anywhere? Anytime? Even with your eyes open? Every world religion and wisdom tradition has a contemplative side that involves some form of meditation.
Did you know there are many styles and forms of meditation? One can sit quietly while being attentive to the breath, cultivate positive emotions such as loving-kindness, visualize a peaceful garden or religious figures and events, chant a mantra or prayer out loud or silently, or even walk slowly and mindfully as a form of meditation. Even things like flower arranging, calligraphy, painting, tea ceremony, martial arts, music, dance, and contemplative reading can be done meditatively.
Ultimately, meditation is a simple, practical resource to manage our attention and awareness and is excellent at reducing stress.
“Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally.” – Jon Kabat Zinn 1994
William James, considered the “father of American Psychology,” wrote in 1890, “the faculty of bringing back a wandering attention over and over again is the very root of judgment, character and will.”
‘It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it’ - Aristotle
“If the heart wanders or is distracted, bring it back to the point quite gently… and even if you did nothing during the whole of your hour but bring your heart back… though it went away every time, your hour would be very well-employed.” Francis Xavier 1622
We are wired to flit. Saint John Cassian, a fifth-century monk, complained that the mind “seems driven by random incursions.” This is not entirely bad. Without a jumpy mind, we'd be less creative and experience less joy, surprise, and spark, but this architecture also leaves us vulnerable to attack. Social media companies, advertisers, opinion makers, and media companies have grown ever better at luring us into a distracted state. But we can take back control over our minds by training them just like we do with our bodies in the gym!
Neuroscientists and researchers have documented real physiological changes in our brains when we meditate.
• Corpus Collosum grows larger. The Corpus Collosum interconnects the two hemispheres integrating motor, sensory, and cognitive performances between the cerebral cortex on one side of the brain to the same region on the other side
• Amygdala shrinks. The Amygdala is responsible for the perception of emotions such as anger, fear, and sadness, as well as the controlling of aggression.
• Stimulates the Autonomous Nervous System’s Vagus Nerve, calming and soothing us, deactivating the limbic system, and lowering our perceived threat detection radar.
• Activates the thalamus, which is related to sensory perception, and the hippocampus, which is related to memory function, and synchronizes networks in the prefrontal cortex which improves cognitive performance.
Controlling feelings and emotions by reason and thinking alone is difficult, because the power of the Amygdala exceeds the power of the Prefrontal Cortex. There are more nerve fibers from the Amygdala that to the Prefrontal Cortex, than from the Prefrontal Cortex to the Amygdala. Meditation is a technique that directly affects these brain activity centers actually making us calmer and more focused, more able to control and manage strong emotions and live with equanimity.
The five main meditation techniques:
• Focused-Attention meditation (Calming or Shamatha): focuses attention on a single object; i.e.: breath, sound, mantra, or sensation. It emphasizes concentration and calming.
• Open-Awareness meditation (Insight or Vipassana): awareness of all aspects of your environment, thoughts and sense of self, and feelings by “observing” and noting in a non-judgmental way.
• Loving Kindness meditation (Metta): expressing thoughts of friendliness, kindness, and compassion for oneself and others. This especially effective as an anti-dote for anger and hate.
• Visualization meditation: imagining an image and a feeling. Uses the power of creative visualization to invoke or evoke a feeling, intention or state.
• Mantra Chanting Meditation: chanting a word or phrase typically using “primal source” vowels; such as "Ah, U, Eh, Oh. Mm” the vibration and resonance stimulates the Vagus Nerve System and promotes left brain/right brain coherence by balancing the two hemispheres.
All five can be combined in one meditation session.
Since meditating is for your mind what going to the gym is for your body remember to start slowly and build up. Unless you’re an experienced meditator, keep each session 3 – 5 minutes at the start and do it twice a day, in the morning and the evening.
It’s important to be consistent and regular. Set a reasonable goal for duration, frequency and time of day, even if it’s only a couple of minutes twice a day at first until you get used to it and have started to establish a habit.
There are three phases of meditation; Entering – Abiding – Emerging. Ease into and out of meditating so it’s not jarring. Like driving keep things smooth and don’t stomp on the break or accelerator!
“Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit both your emotional well-being and your overall health. If stress has you anxious, tense and worried, consider trying meditation. Spending even a few minutes in meditation can restore your calm and inner peace. Anyone can practice meditation. It's simple and inexpensive, and it doesn't require any special equipment.” – The Mayo Clinic
We’ve learned about the health benefits of meditation, how it’s like going to the gym for your body, how it doesn’t have to be “religious,” and how easy it is to do anywhere, anytime.
So, what is stopping you from trying it? Try stopping for just a minute to think about your breath? 5 to 6 breaths is about a minute.
Please feel free to join us. Check out our Zoom sessions for Shodaigyo Meditation on the event calendar. Happy Meditating!