21
votes
Accepted
What are the common buddhist practices to eliminate sleepiness?
Buddha gave his disciple Moggallana a sequence of advice on how to overcome drowsiness during meditation. Moggallana was however continuously meditating for 7 days without sleep when he received this ...
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19
votes
Why is meditation making me more angry?
As one Tibetan lama explained in one lecture I attended, this type of anger comes from attachment to a certain form of clarity.
Because in meditation you experience clarity born of unification of ...
- 55.2k
11
votes
What are the common buddhist practices to eliminate sleepiness?
Actually Buddha called that the Lazyness. It is a one major factor that prevent us from getting in to the path of Nirvana.
Don't eat too much, if you eat until you get the feeling it is full that's ...
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10
votes
Accepted
Why is meditation making me more angry?
Meditation is not something made to clear our thoughts, it is impossible to do so, thoughts come and go, they will never stop, maybe you can increase the gap between thoughts, that is possible, ...
- 9,797
9
votes
Sloth-torpor-Restlessness-worry
You should use the 5 faculties and 5 powers to balance you mind to dispel some the niwarana.
When restless this is because your have become too energetic but lacking in concentration. Best is to do ...
8
votes
Accepted
How to use Sloth and Torpor as an object for meditation
It is an experience, like any other, so you have to face it and recognize it clearly as it is. In our tradition we describe the experience of catching up the fatigue in one's awareness and reminding ...
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7
votes
How can one overcome agitation developed by not sitting regularly?
The effects of meditation are similar to the effects of brushing your teeth: If you don't brush your teeth for one day nothing will happen but if you do for one week... you will suffer the ...
- 9,797
7
votes
Accepted
Overwhelming thoughts - Mindfulness and awareness
If you have thoughts that are repeating in a loop, most likely you are focusing on them or obsessing over them, intentionally or unintentionally, rather than "not resisting" them.
My understanding of ...
- 33.7k
7
votes
The arising of arrogance
The feeling of pride is okay in the sense that it is conditioned so long as you do not act following that feeling.
That you are able to notice the arising of the feeling shows some mindfulness and ...
- 3,380
7
votes
Question about how to generate more motivation to meditate.
It's really important to do wise and healthy things even if they take a bit of effort to get the ball rolling. Very fortunately, we can use habit to overcome our habits, which is something very ...
6
votes
Could meditation help with reducing memory and concentration problems? As with ADD or ADHD?
One of the problems you're going to find with answering this is that most published studies focus on short duration meditation -- 4 to 8 weeks and the like. I personally have an ADHD diagnosis (...
- 3,116
6
votes
What are the common buddhist practices to eliminate sleepiness?
Great tips by the Buddha. To supplemement this I offer a esoteric Buddhist technique taught by Master Huai-Chin Nan:
focus at your navel point and imagine a fine bright red point as bright as you can. ...
- 5,065
6
votes
Accepted
Shamata and vipassana - loss of willpower
I can relate to your question. I too come from a software background and have had a similar set of experiences.
Even though we have had similar experiences, the underlying cause could be different. ...
- 548
6
votes
Accepted
What books address various difficulties that may arise during various stages of meditation practice?
The Five Hindrances disturb one's path in meditation and practice. The canonical description can be found in the Nivarana Sutta.
Here are some useful resources:
Book entitled Unhindered: A Mindful ...
6
votes
Meditation on pain?
To let go of the sensations of pain in the body or of memories of pain, we must practice loving kindness, towards our body and towards our mental contents.
Whenever pain affects us, we must be like ...
- 7,383
6
votes
What are we supposed to do while meditating?
There are many kinds of meditation, and as many ways of explaining them as there are people. After years of study and practice, here is a meditation I recommend. I call this "the coming to one's ...
- 55.2k
5
votes
What are the common buddhist practices to eliminate sleepiness?
You can try focusing primarily on your in-breath during your meditation. Inhalation activates your sympathetic nervous system (which is also activated when you're in flight or fight mode). Every ...
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5
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Suggestions for when practice has plateaued
What do you mean your practice has plateaued?! Are you perfect? Don't you have day-to-day challenges?
Practice is not just meditation. Your "personal issues" are practice too. See if you can trace ...
- 55.2k
5
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Reasons against practicing insight meditation as a main (sitting) practice for medical or other recondite-subject majoring students?
I did my first longer vipassana retreat while I was a postdoc researcher (applied math and numerics), and did many more since then. I found it beneficial to have days/weeks dedicated for intense ...
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