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what would you tell sentient beings new to the path of Buddhism?
Be sceptical towards a strangers advice on the internet.
16
The Buddhist 3 Fold Training or main parts of the Noble 8 Fold Path are:
Morality,
Mastery over the Mind and
Wisdom.
You can practice 1 without meditation. But need meditation for to develop the other two. Also if you develop the other two your morality also becomes stronger.
Doing 1 itself gives benefit but this is much more if you practice all 3 ...
answered Sep 3 '14 at 12:08
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena
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15
If you have a smartphone, consider using a meditation timer app for keeping track of sessions. Simple ones like Meditation Helper (Android) or Meditation Timer (iPhone) are free and do the simple job of keeping the time, ringing a bell when finished. This cen perhaps let you just focus on the meditation for the entire session.
Note: I only have experience ...
14
In the Gopaka-Moggallana Sutta (MN 108), Ananda points out that the Buddha didn't speak in praise of all types of meditation:
“The Blessed One, brahmin, did not praise every type of meditation, nor did he condemn every type of meditation. What kind [14] of meditation did the Blessed One not praise? Here, brahmin, someone abides with his mind obsessed by ...
14
When Buddha taught meditation he did not explicitly separate it in different types. If you read Anapanasati Sutta, Satipatthana Sutta, Kimattha Sutta, Cula-suññata Sutta, and any number of suttas mentioning the Jhanas, you will see that the overall progression is to first learn to pacify the mind at will, then learn to gladden the mind at will, then develop ...
13
The best way I've heard to a) keep track of time b) without a clock (or timer) was related to me by my 91-year-old teacher who said in the old days they used to use incense sticks; once the incense stick was finished, they would switch from walking to sitting. For shorter sessions, you could cut the sticks in half, etc. Of course, it still means you need to ...
13
I am a Tibetan Buddhist, and have been for about 50 years.
I don't really know if I can help with that question - but maybe so.
Here are some things that might of use to a beginner.
Learn to develop loving-kindness towards everything and everyone in the past, present and future, without exception.
Recognise that Karma is action - the cause – (NOT the ...
12
My answer is based on oral transmission from Vajrayana teachers and thus I am unable to provide references.
I've been told that every meditation, however short, will bring about positive results and the only worthless meditation is the one you never did. Imagine that over a period of a month one could sit only for one minute a day but never did thinking ...
12
For buddhists, mindfulness meditation and vipassana are pretty much the same. The pali word for mindfulness is sati and the main sutta that describes vipassana practice is the sati patthana sutta ("The four foundations of mindfulness" for one translation).
However, the medical community (many non-buddhists) have stripped down this buddhist meditation into ...
11
Geez, ya'll are crazy. 30 minutes?
I'd say WORK up to that maybe after a few months of practice but in the beginning it is best to LIKE MEDITATION and do PRACTICE PROPERLY rather than just loiter around and try to sit tight for 30 minutes thinking about Jane and Bob.
I have had 3-5 minute sessions where you would NOT believe how much baggage I dropped and ...
10
What are the proper relax / Sleep practices for a practitioner of meditation methods?
If you do Metta meditation before sleeping you are better off, as one benefit of Metta is you sleep well. ((Aṭṭha) Mettânisansa Sutta, (Ekā,dasa) Mettânisansa Sutta)
As to Buddhist point of view what is sleep and how to cope with it?
This is when your Bhavanga is ...
answered Dec 7 '15 at 4:47
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena
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9
This sounds like perfect opportunity to practice insight meditation! If you watch your mind when these noises happen, you can notice how you become unhappy due to the mismatch between "is" and "should" (aka "this" and "that"). If you examine this mismatch very carefully as it happens in your own mind, and learn to let go of the "that" - you will realize the ...
8
No such recommended time. Especially if you are doing Vipassana meditation, you are advised to practice Samma Sati all the time. But early morning(just before dawn) is said to be a good time for meditation since the world is still sleeping and the mind is very clear and less distracted. So you can easily attain Samadhi. You'll find that it's a very good time ...
8
IMO meditation is absolutely critical, but not at beginner's stages. I would even go as far as to recommend at least five years of practice before one tries meditation. What would that practice look like?
Watch the mind for emotions arising due to giving anything high importance. Let go of those.
Watch the mind for signs of behavior targeted at defending or ...
8
You should watch this Youtube video, in which Ajahn Brahm speaks about his experiences with mosquitoes in Thailand, when he first became a monk. As a monk, he is not allowed to kill them and his teacher also did not allow them to use mosquito repellants or coils.
Instead, his teacher Ajahn Chah, told his students to see the mosquito as their teacher. From ...
7
Incense and candles are not essential to a meditation practice. They can aid in concentration, but they can also become an emotional crutch if we become attached to them. I did the ritual of lighting candles and incense during my practice for a few weeks, and quickly got tired of it.
If you are practicing vipassana (a.k.a insight meditation) as opposed to ...
7
Traditionally, both Tibetan as well as Far East meditation masters, use singing bowl as a gong to mark beginning and end of meditation session. In a Korean Zen school I attended, the bowl is struck three times, in the beginning and at the end, with an oddly very slightly longer pause between the second and third strike. Tibetan Dzogchen master I once ...
7
Sensual pleasure is one of the Five Hindrances which are like "canals dissipating the force [awareness/discernment strength] of a river current" as taught by the Buddha in AN 5.51:
"Sensual desire is an obstacle, a hindrance that overwhelms awareness and weakens discernment. Ill will... Sloth & drowsiness... Restlessness & anxiety... ...
7
The guidance I got from one teacher, of Tibetan Nyingma school, is to let the eyes relax. In detail, this includes:
keep them open but not stare-open - don't strain to keep them half-closed either,
relax the muscles around the eyes, so called soft-eyes,
do not focus the eyes on anything in particular, allow them go a little out of focus but don't force it,
...
7
Yes it's a problem.
To some extent an impossible problem, in the sense that ...
The Difficult We Do Immediately. The Impossible Takes a Little Longer.
Quote Investigator also gives that as,
"If it's possible, it's done. If it's impossible it will be done.
I get flustered
Anyway, I read "I get flustered" as saying that when the going gets ...
7
Bhikkhus, the bhikkhu following the practice of my Teaching, having gone to the forest, or to the foot of a tree or to an empty, solitary place, sits down cross-legged, keeping his body erect, and sets up mindfulness, orienting it.
Then with entire mindfulness, he breathes in and with entire mindfulness he breathes out.
Maha-satipatthana Sutta
The above is ...
7
Great question.
There are many things but if i could only choose only one thing; i would advice to be more friendly, polite, tolerant and to avoid confrontational speech whilst learning in general. I wish i had enough wisdom to be more tactful, restrained & diplomatic.
The controversies, theory and practical aspects of the teaching one can figure out but ...
6
Having to look at a clock every few minutes really defeats the purpose!
Have you ever tried telling yourself to wake up at a certain time before you sleep? I can tell you from personal experience that it works.
My meditation teacher asks us not to use any clock. She asks us to train ourselves to emerge from meditation at specified time without external ...
6
One minute of mindfulness is better than none. Just remembering to sit and be mindful IS being mindful. I once read from Sharon Salzberg that she knew a man who always sat on his mat at least once a day. Even if he did not have the time for sitting meditation he at least sat down on his cushion daily if even just for a minute. Forgetfulness can be a ...
6
Would an advanced practitioner ever stop meditating?
If we take the Buddha & his disciples as an example, I would say, no. I would also not see a reason why. In the texts, the jhānas are referenced as pleasant abidings here-&-now and that is what the arahats do.
"Bhikkhus, if wanderers of other sects ask you: 'In what dwelling,
friends, did the ...
6
Generally 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening / night is recommended by Goenka in his teaching. I think this would be a reasonable amount of time to get results though you will occasionally have to complement this with a retreat.
Your target is maintaining mindfulness throughout the day, and hence practice 24/7, not only when you are siting on a ...
answered Sep 9 '14 at 3:16
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena
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6
30 minutes is good. Over time the benefits will build up. In the words of the Dhammapada:
Think not lightly of good, saying, "It will not come to me." Drop by
drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it
little by little, fills himself with good. Dhp 122
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