I sit on a cushion for fifteen minutes or so, sitting cross-legged so that my back is relatively straight and my knees keep the whole posture relatively stable.
Beyond that, it's just sitting and observing. If (ok, when) I notice my focus has drifted and I'm getting caught up in thoughts, I stop feeding into them and return focus to my breath, posture, and surroundings.
It can be dreadfully boring, but when I do it periodically, it really does help - like taking the lid off a pot on the verge of boiling over. (It's an especially direct way to train your mind to stay focused, too.)
There's a decent chapter about sitting meditation in Brad Warner's _Hardcore Zen_, which I also recommend because it isn't a bunch of new-age-y sunshine and lollipops. (Looking at a lot of other Western books on Buddhism, you'd think Zen had antioxidants or something.)
You needn't sit on a couch, cushion cross-legged ..
You can very well walk in a park and keep your focus on breath or feet or on the ground in front, or the bushes and greenery, all the while ignoring any thoughts that come up.
You can also sit on a park bench looking at the trees, focusing on the looking, being aware of looking.
This is known as awareness of awareness, or consciousness of consciousness which does sound fake but its very simple and effective. You soon start getting a feeling of what you really are as opposed to the belief of being a body/mind.
Being aware of this "I-feeling" is considered by many to be the fastest or direct path. This I-feeling is also found in the present moment when there is no past or future.
or Be aware of what is present between thoughts.
or Put your focus on what is conscious of existing.
There are tonnes of references that point to the same thing in different words:
- Power of Now (Tolle)
- Michael Langford (albigen.com - full book available)
- Youtubes of Papaji, Mooji, Tolle and many others
I've only read the google books previews of Brads books, but im impressed. As a hardcore punk fan myself i wasn't as surprised as most to the connection the Brad Warner made between punk and zen. Also anybody who puts dirty toilets, and tattooed Buddhas with mohawks on the cover of his zen books gets my respect. People should also check out his blog: http://hardcorezen.blogspot.com/
As for meditation practice, just sitting is enough, every time i have a thought or a disturbance of any kind i just readjust my pose.
Yeah, usually when my mind starts to wander, it's reflected in slouching. I don't know which (if either) comes first, though.
BTW, if you're getting hung up on having a perfect cushion, let it go. You can sit zazen on the corner of a couch cushion. Seiza (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seiza) works, too, but I wouldn't unless you're already used to it.
Comments
I sit on a cushion for fifteen minutes or so, sitting cross-legged so that my back is relatively straight and my knees keep the whole posture relatively stable.
Beyond that, it's just sitting and observing. If (ok, when) I notice my focus has drifted and I'm getting caught up in thoughts, I stop feeding into them and return focus to my breath, posture, and surroundings.
It can be dreadfully boring, but when I do it periodically, it really does help - like taking the lid off a pot on the verge of boiling over. (It's an especially direct way to train your mind to stay focused, too.)
There's a decent chapter about sitting meditation in Brad Warner's _Hardcore Zen_, which I also recommend because it isn't a bunch of new-age-y sunshine and lollipops. (Looking at a lot of other Western books on Buddhism, you'd think Zen had antioxidants or something.)
You needn't sit on a couch, cushion cross-legged .. You can very well walk in a park and keep your focus on breath or feet or on the ground in front, or the bushes and greenery, all the while ignoring any thoughts that come up. You can also sit on a park bench looking at the trees, focusing on the looking, being aware of looking.
This is known as awareness of awareness, or consciousness of consciousness which does sound fake but its very simple and effective. You soon start getting a feeling of what you really are as opposed to the belief of being a body/mind.
Being aware of this "I-feeling" is considered by many to be the fastest or direct path. This I-feeling is also found in the present moment when there is no past or future.
or Be aware of what is present between thoughts.
or Put your focus on what is conscious of existing.
There are tonnes of references that point to the same thing in different words:
- Power of Now (Tolle) - Michael Langford (albigen.com - full book available) - Youtubes of Papaji, Mooji, Tolle and many others
I've only read the google books previews of Brads books, but im impressed. As a hardcore punk fan myself i wasn't as surprised as most to the connection the Brad Warner made between punk and zen. Also anybody who puts dirty toilets, and tattooed Buddhas with mohawks on the cover of his zen books gets my respect. People should also check out his blog: http://hardcorezen.blogspot.com/
As for meditation practice, just sitting is enough, every time i have a thought or a disturbance of any kind i just readjust my pose.
Yeah, usually when my mind starts to wander, it's reflected in slouching. I don't know which (if either) comes first, though.
BTW, if you're getting hung up on having a perfect cushion, let it go. You can sit zazen on the corner of a couch cushion. Seiza (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seiza) works, too, but I wouldn't unless you're already used to it.