week 1
what is meditation? Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better, it’s about befriending who we are. Ani Pema Chödrön
In this chapter you will receive: the definitions of meditation a first basic instruction on how to meditate See this week’s 7-day diary on pages 21–24
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What is your personal definition of ‘meditation’?
Week 1 – 7
the practice of meditation The practice of meditation is very simple. To explain it essentially:
Try it out! Sit upright in a comfortable and relaxed position. Leave your eyes open and allow your gaze to be relaxed and natural. Then, simply relax your mind‌
Allow your mind to be, just as it is: open, spacious, calm and yet completely aware. Simply let your thoughts and emotions, whatever arises, come and go, without clinging to them. Just let go. Relax and remain in the pure awareness of the present moment.
When we allow our mind to settle in its own natural peace, we discover a deep stillness that has always been with us, and whether we are aware of it or not, always will be. We begin to discover the true purpose of meditation, which is to introduce us to the unchanging pure awareness that underlies the whole of our experience. The practice of meditation is to become more and more familiar with this awareness in every aspect of our life.
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Some definitions of meditation Meditation is a process of coming to know your mind. The basic meditation practice is called shamatha. The essence or foundation of shamatha is the state of non-distraction. Shamatha is the practice of ’calm abiding’ or ’peacefully remaining’. A more modern translation would be ’cooling down’ from a state of mental, emotional, and sensory excitement, or ‘remaining in a rested or chilled-out state and allowing the mind to just stay quietly in one place for a while.’ Meditation is a way of gathering the scattered mind, a way of making it more stable.
Star t your 7-day diar y now! p.21
Week 1 – 9
What meditation really is not Replacing whatever you are experiencing with peace, clarity or joy A quick fix A way of stopping thoughts A means of emptying the mind Spacing out Avoiding or escaping reality Daydreaming Self-absorption Something only Buddhists and yoga practitioners do Something only hippy and new-age types do Selfish
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how to meditate If our posture is good, then meditation will arise more naturally. A good meditation posture is neither too relaxed nor too tense. It is a support for helping the mind to rest calmly. Try the posture out for yourself as you read the following points:
Posture Sit cross-legged on a cushion, or sit on a chair. Make sure that you’re comfortable. Gently place your hands on your knees. It’s also ok to leave them in your lap (see page 13). Keep your back straight, but let it keep its natural curve. Spread your shoulders slightly, so that there’s a bit of space between your torso and your upper arms. Keep your chin slightly lowered, just before you reach the point where you start to put pressure on your Adam’s Apple. Your mouth stays slightly open, as if you were about to say, “Aaah.” Keep your eyes open, but relax your focus. There’s no need to focus on anything in particular. Direct your gaze downwards, at a forty-five degree angle. If you’re feeling a bit dull or sleepy, you can bring your gaze up.
Week 1 – 11
! t u o t i y Tr Now you know the posture, try sitting for a few minutes. Just be comfortable in yourself; your body still, your speech silent, your breathing completely natural, and your mind at peace.
Allow yourself to be completely relaxed, free and open, but fully present and undistracted as well.
Remain aware of any sounds that you can hear, and let your thoughts and emotions come and go, without trying to hold onto them, or thinking about the future.
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Try not to have too much hope or expectation about what you might experience or achieve.
Just rest in your natural awareness for a few minutes.
Week 1 – 13
The principles behind finding a relaxed and alert physical posture also apply to finding a balance within the mind. When your mind is poised naturally between relaxation and alertness, its innate qualities spontaneously emerge. If your mind is too tight or too focused, you will end up becoming anxious. If your mind is too loose, you will either get carried away by distractions, or fall into a kind of sleepiness or dullness. What you need to find is a middle way.
Mental attitude Knowing that Shrona had been a famous musician before he became a monk, Buddha asked him: “Weren’t you a vina player when you were a layperson?” Shrona nodded. “How did you get the best sound out of your vina? Was it when the strings were very tight or when they were very loose?” “Neither. When they had just the right tension, neither too taut nor too slack.” “Well, it’s exactly the same with your mind.” Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, page 76.
Now sit again for a few minutes.
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How was your meditation?
Remember: whether you were peaceful or agitated, clear or confused, there is no right or wrong answer. As one great meditation master said: “It does not really matter whether your practice is any good or not. The important point is that you had the intention to meditate. That alone is enough…“ Week 1 – 15
d n e p s e l Peop r i e h t f l a h ‘ s r u o h g wakin ’ g n i m a e daydr In November 2010, Harvard University published the results of a study conducted via iPhone. The study consisted of 2,200 volunteers downloading an app and recording their thoughts and mood at random times of day and night.
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The conclusion was that people spend 46.9% of their waking time with their minds wandering. Dr Killingsworth said: “This study shows that our mental lives are pervaded, to a remarkable degree, by the non-present.” Why should we be concerned about that? Because another main conclusion of the study is that people who were most distracted from the task in hand were more likely to report feelings of unhappiness. Dr Killingsworth said: “Mind-wandering is an excellent predictor of people’s happiness.”
Consider these quotations by Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programme: • From the point of view of the meditative traditions, the entire society is suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. • The habit of ignoring our present moments in favour of others yet to come leads directly to a pervasive lack of awareness of the web of life in which we are embedded. This includes a lack of awareness and understanding of our own mind and how it influences our perceptions
and our actions. It severely limits our perspective on what it means to be a person and how we are connected to each other and the world around us. Mindfulness meditation is an attempt to appreciate the deep mystery of being alive and to acknowledge that we are vitally connected to all that exists. • Meditation is simply about being yourself and knowing about who that is. It is about coming to realize that you are on a path whether you like it or not, namely the path that is your life. ■
Week 1 – 17
attention wandering? try this method! When you first begin to sit, you may find that you are easily distracted, and that your mind gets swept away by all kinds of thoughts and emotions. Fortunately, there are many different methods that we can use to help the mind stay calm and focused. Try this one first:
Watching the breath One of the simplest methods of meditation is watching the breath. You don’t need to change your breathing in any way. As you sit comfortably, you gently bring your attention to the natural flow of your breath.
As you breathe out, simply know that you are breathing out, and as you breathe in, simply know that you are breathing in. There’s no need for any running commentary (“Now I’m breathing in, now I’m breathing out”) or analysis.
There’s just pure knowing, pure attention and pure presence.
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The main point is to keep your attention lightly focused on the breath. If you find that your mind drifts off and you get lost in daydreams, that’s not a problem. Just recognize that you’re distracted and bring your attention gently back to the breath. There’s no need to fixate on your ‘mistake’, or become tense.
Simply return to being mindful of your breath, to being aware of whether or not you are distracted, and remain, spaciously.
Keep trying this method out as a support for your meditation over the coming weeks.
Week 1 – 19
Su ke MMa y P ry oIn of TS
Seven-point posture 1. Legs crossed (it is also fine to sit on a chair) 2. Hands on knees or in your lap 3. Back straight 4. Shoulders spread 5. Chin slightly lowered 6. Mouth slightly open 7. Eyes open, gazing slightly downward Most important is 1. Just keep your back and spine straight, and 2. Keep the rest of your body as loose and relaxed as possible.
Remember... • Relax! Sit comfortably—body still, breathing naturally, mind at peace • Let thoughts and emotions come and go, without trying to hold on to them • Rest your attention lightly on the breath • When distracted, simply come back to the breath
Just be... • mindful of the breath • aware of whether or not you’re distracted • and stay, open and spacious
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7-day diary
Diary Try meditating for at least five minutes each day over the next week. Of course, if you want to sit for longer, or more than once a day, that’s great! The main thing is to find a routine that works for you. Record your experiences in the 7-day diary below.
How long did you meditate for today? Monday
Week 1 – 21
7-day diary Tuesday
Wednesday
22
7-day diary Thursday
Friday
Week 1 – 23
7-day diary Saturday
Sunday
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Find out more about meditation courses in your area by visiting our websites:
This workbook is an excerpt from the the ​ What Meditation Really Is​ course workbook.