Guidelines for Basic Meditation
Q. (re Concentrative Meditation)
A. I think the best concentrative meditation is always shamatha, [which has] different levels of guidelines.
If you find that concentration is really difficult in the beginning, and your thoughts are very scattered, it’s important to use some outer or inner support for meditation. If you have a meditation instructor, you can talk about this. If you don’t, an outer support is usually any external object you take as a focus. If you’re spiritually oriented, [you can] take an image of the Buddha, a seed syllable, or something [like that] as the focus. If you’re not spiritually inclined, you can take a pencil, a mug, a vase, a flower, or whatever you want as your focus. Then, not thinking about anything in particular, simply look at it, and let all your six senses gather into one alignment. With some amount of focus on the object, remain there completely. The idea is to become more focused, with all six senses coming together completely, complementing one another, and [becoming] one. This is very much the basic meditation.
Gradually, it’s essential [for the meditation to become] more formless, while still having a focus. [Then] you can take your breathing as a focus. Breathing is the essential quality within you, the life force: [it’s] the first activity you do when you are born, and the last activity you do as a live person. It’s also said that the breath is the generator, that everything rides the breath. So as you breathe in and out–two very simple activities–focus on that as you would focus on an outer object. Gather all your concentration into breathing gently in and gently out, making sure that inhaling and exhaling are of the same time span. You can begin by [saying to yourself] "one, two, three" as you’re breathe in, and "one, two, three" as you breathe out; or, more spiritually, "Om, Ah, Hum," "Om, Ah, Hum."
Once you become used to this, stop counting and simply remain [with your] breathing. Breathe gently in and out, without concentrating very much on anything other than your breath; and then gradually lose your sense of breathing in, and just concentrate on breathing out. Then let the mind rest. These are very effective methods for getting the mind to focus on oneness, rather than being scattered in various kinds of distracted thoughts.


On Mutual Appreciation
Q. (inaudible)... [I]n the midst of meditating and finding something true for myself, I’ve come into a lot of resistance from people I love ...
A. I think practitioners, especially buddhist practitioners, must remember that to talk about something, it has to be given a certain name. [For example] what began with Shakyamuni Buddha was then taught in a certain way, emphasizing certain qualities and so forth, and so we talk about "being buddhist" or "Buddhism." Other than that necessity, it is not really important to call oneself "buddhist"–as long as the practices are being done and we’re really able to work with them.
It is not important to try so hard to convince people that what you’re doing is better or different or whatever. Every good thing can be explained without [making] it religious or philosophical, if it is able to be practiced completely and sincerely. It’s really not necessary to call it "Buddhism" or say "Buddha said" or "Buddhistically speaking." (Laughter.) So, if you really feel that you’re a practitioner, a meditator, [you can] work skillfully in this way and keep your practices to yourself–without any intention of changing or transforming another person where it’s not necessary.
Explaining these things in a very simple way might be much more effective and helpful to others. We always feel it would be good if all our family members appreciated the same things that we do. That’s a nice thing, if it happens. If it doesn’t happen, it’s far more important for a buddhist to accommodate [others] and not to use buddhist terminology where it’s not necessary–and not to actually expect another person to change [while] you remain the same. That’s not important at all. Being skillful so that the things that are [mutually] appreciated can be talked about, without making them formal or a kind of system, is OK.


On Positive and Negative Karma
Q. [Are you talking] about getting beyond karma, in a way? Because I’ve read about purifying negative karma and getting good karma, but then you end up in the god realm. (inaudible...) So I guess I’m just a little confused about what it means to "get beyond karma"–if, in fact, that’s what you’re saying.
A. Essentially, yes. And going beyond karma includes good karma too, because everything is an illusion. This form we give to Buddhism is also an illusion. But some things are necessary as tools; and some tools, or causes, are [closer] to absolute truth and realization. Positive karma, for example, is much easier to work with than negative karma, [which] creates more distance between us and [the] cutting through [of] illusion. That’s the greater obstacle. Negative karma–such as killing or other negative actions–creates a very big obstacle, or barrier, in our path of understanding and even to the possibility of a human life. Whereas positive karma–which is also difficult, nevertheless–creates more of a balance of something good. With more goodness and whiteness, more openness and spaciousness, it’s much easier for something good and less distracting to happen.
As long as we’re dependent on existing in a relative world, then creating something good, something spacious in the foundation is more sensible than creating something negative. That’s why accumulating positive karma and abandoning negative karma is an important part of practice. Ultimately, [however], when we talk about letting go of grasping, we’re talking about grasping to any kind of illusion–both positive as well as negative karma.
I think we can stop here. Thank you all very, very much. I would especially like to thank all the people who have worked hard in the New York Shambhala Center for a long, long time, as well as all the senior practitioners who’ve stayed together to really make it possible for people to have a good place of practice. Deep appreciation. Thank you very much.