11
votes
Accepted
My short story with anxiety problems - could meditation be the cause?
Pleased to meet you Robert.
It is very difficult to answer your question precisely however it is certainly likely/probable that practicing the meditation & the accompanying mental solitude is ...
- 40.5k
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 ...
- 58.3k
6
votes
More self control - Beginners
One starts by seeing with insight how the old habits are disadvantageous, unsatisfactory (incapable of bring lasting hapiness), dangerous, harmful &/or promote suffering.
One starts by seeing ...
- 40.5k
5
votes
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 ...
- 951
4
votes
Is it dangerous to focus on ticks from childhood during meditation?
Acknowledge the tick only a few times as it appears, but then acknowledge what else appears, your mind reacts to it somehow -- fear, anxiety, memories, analyses etc. And go back to the anchor (step or ...
- 951
4
votes
How to find motivation to overcome a hindrance in the moment of truth?
the only motivation possible is the internal readiness to cultivate the mind and the virtue, understanding that this is what's the Noble Eightfold Path is about
the motivation to follow the path ...
- 1,683
4
votes
Head oscillations, magnetic force movement, dizzy head after Vipassana
When you do meditation you stop creating new Sankhara. The implication of this is past Sankhara surfaces and gives minute results and pass away. When this happens you get positive or negative out of ...
4
votes
Accepted
Retaining courage during mediation
The fear is instinctual (due to the ego fading/dissolving/melting somewhat). This instinctual fear can only be endured with composure & with the full acknowledgment it will pass. After the mind ...
- 40.5k
4
votes
Can't meditate anymore
It's not a problem. It's the human mind. Meditation is not meant to stop thought. It's meant to help you notice "what is". You have noticed how busy and restless your mind is. That is good. As you get ...
- 2,730
4
votes
Is there a 'dead zone' in meditation effort?
Yes, it has been pointed out in texts:
During the K'ai Yuan era (713-741) an ascetic Mazu was dwelling in the Ch'uan Fa Temple. All day he sat meditating. Zen Master Huairang knew that he was a ...
- 58.3k
4
votes
Accepted
Which of the five hindrance does 'comparison' fall in?
Specifically "comparison" sounds to me like (i.e. it reminds me of the doctrine about) one of the 'fetters', i.e. "conceit" -- see this answer -- then see also this Wikipedia.
I ...
- 46.3k
3
votes
Faintness of Object of Meditation
As far as I've been taught (specifically by Richard Shankman), it's fine to pick a place where the breath is strongest for you (for example the rise and fall of the chest), rather than one proscribed ...
- 161
3
votes
Is attachment to the word "Meditation" a problem?
Here is the thing about attachment...
New Buddhists learn how bad attachment is and they immediately thing\k all attachments are bad. Any ironically no one care to ask "Are all the attachments bad?". ...
- 3,953
3
votes
Is it dangerous to focus on ticks from childhood during meditation?
Yah, those damn ticks have bothered me too! Around the time I broke through some of my old baggage I had continuous eye ticks for almost a year.
My advice is to not pay attention to ticks themselves, ...
- 58.3k
3
votes
Accepted
Why is mentally reproducing music so hard to control? How can it be counteracted?
Sounds are processed in the temporal lobes, which have a very strong connection with the limbic system (the one that processes, among others, memory and emotion). Just to have an idea about how strong ...
- 601
3
votes
During meditation how do I focus
To focus, you remember to keep the mind on the meditation object (breathing) &, when the mind strays, just bring it back to the object.
When the mind strays, it is not "you" that is ...
- 40.5k
3
votes
Accepted
What is the logic behind visualization meditation
It depends on the system.
In the sutra system, there are analytical meditations involving visualizing the form of the body of the Buddha, for instance. You do this in order to achieve calm abiding on ...
- 5,206
3
votes
More self control - Beginners
The short answer is BE WISE. BE PURE IN DEED, SPEECH AND THOUGHT.
The wise are controlled in deed, they are controlled in speech, they are controlled in thought. Only if you could stay heedful, would ...
- 9,695
3
votes
My short story with anxiety problems - could meditation be the cause?
I must say that I had a similar experience at one point of my meditation/mindfulness development. Personally, meditation opens my mind and makes me more aware of feelings and thoughts. The awareness ...
- 31
3
votes
Can't meditate anymore
Distraction could be due to Restless Worry which is one of the Hindrances.
This is due to unwise attention:
There is unrest of mind; frequently giving unwise attention to it — that is the nourishment ...
3
votes
Need help understanding the meaning of this
Refer to: The Five Mental Hindrances and Their Conquest
Six things are conducive to the abandonment of sensual desire:
1. Learning how to meditate on impure objects;
2. Devoting oneself ...
- 40.5k
3
votes
Formal Meditation Laziness
If you don't have a pull factor (natural inclination), then you need a push factor. These are the two factors of motivation.
Suppose your doctor tells you that you have early stage of lung cancer. He ...
- 37.4k
3
votes
Best meditation techniques (mindfulness,vipassana,yoga,zazen,TM,etc) to beat behavioral addictions (food,sex,porn,gambling,internet,videogames,etc)?
OP: For a layman who wants to overcome behavioral addictions, ...
which meditation techniques are the most recommendable?
Please see this answer about a video talk by Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu on ...
- 37.4k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible