by Zasep Tulku Rinpoche
Before you meditate it is necessary to know how to meditate and to have the
correct motivation and the correct position. You must not have too many expectations.
One should begin meditation with the pure motivation of the Bodhisattva. You
wish to practice for the benefit of yourself and all sentient beings. In order
to help other sentient beings you must first have realizations; you must have
compassion, wisdom and power. You should decide for the sake of all sentient
beings that you want to become an enlightened Buddha, and for this reason you
are going to meditate.
Before you meditate it is necessary to know the seven positions of Vairochana.
These are as follows:
1) One should sit on a comfortable cushion with the back slightly higher that
than the front.
2) One should sit with the legs folded in the full lotus position if possible
or the half lotus position or just cross your legs. This is called sitting in
the meditation position. This way of sitting is ancient and is a position used
to develop meditation. It is good for meditation because you can not topple
over as you can when sitting on a chair or couch. The spine should be straight.
When your back is straight your breathing and your circulation will be smooth
and even. Do not sit leaning forward, as it is incorrect.
3) The hands should be in your lap with the left hand cupping your right hand
the thumbs touching each other at the level of your navel. The hands describe
a circle. The touching thumbs symbolize the union of wisdom and method and thus
form the mudra for sunyata or emptiness. In the Tantric practice joining the
thumbs at the level of the navel helps to generate heat which arises from the
navel sunyata
4) Holding the arms close to the body can result in their getting warm, especially
in summer and can lead to dull or sleepy mind. Therefore, your arms should be
held out to the side.
5) The head should be bent slightly forward.
6) The eyes can be kept open or closed. If your mind becomes dull or sleepy
you should open your eyes and look around or look at a window or wherever there
is bright light. Then when you are no longer sleepy you should half-close your
eyes. Closing your eyes completely may result in your becoming sleepy again.
7) The lips and jaw should be held in their natural position and the tongue
should gently touch the gum behind the upper front teeth. This helps keep the
mouth moist while preventing excessive saliva production during long periods
of meditation.
Sitting Meditation Instruction
Now it is time to meditate. According to tradition you should first clean up
your room, make offerings, such as flowers, candles, incense or water filled
offering bowls on your alter and then do a minimum of three prostrations to
your Gurus, to Buddha, to the Dharma and the Sangha before you actually sit
and meditate.
To meditate one must have a clear mind without either doubts or expectations
regarding your meditation. You should then regard your breath. Observe with
your mind the breath coming in and the breath going out. This is called "following
the breath" and is the first stage of mindfulness of breathing.
While following the breath one should stop excessive thinking about where the
breath is going to or coming from. Just follow the breath. The manner of your
breathing is dependant on your mind and on your mood. If your mood changes to
one of anger, or if you become agitated then your breathing becomes short and
rapid. If your mood is good, if you are at peace inside then your breathing
pattern is slow and even. This is the first stage of mindfulness of breathing.
The second stage is to watch your breath. This means that you concentrate on
a point of contact between your breath and your nostrils. The most appropriate
point is inside your nostrils. Try to develop a sensitivity for the point of
contact. Watching the contact of your breath with your nostrils is many times
more difficult than following the breath coming in and going out. The mind can
easily wander from the contact point.
If your mind wanders from its object you should breath more heavily while concentrating
on the breath as it touches the nostrils or tip of the nose. Continue to watch
this point until your mind stops wandering. Then just focus on the contact between
the breath and nostrils.
If your mind becomes dull and you feel sleepy then you should look at a bright
window or wherever is light or just look around you. Another method is to gently
rub the muscles of the sides and back of your neck. This will help you to wake
up. If you are sleepy take a break or do walking meditation for five to ten
minutes. Walking meditation is very helpful if you are doing a long sitting
meditation.
Walking Meditation Instruction
The method of walking meditation is as follows: First you should stand. Just
stand and observe with your mind and your breath. Then begin to focus your mind
on the soles of your feet. Think that you wish to walk, then lift up your right
foot. Move it slowly and let is slowly touch the ground in front of you. As
you lift up your foot be aware of the sensation of movement of the foot, particularly
of the sole of the foot as it moves and touches the ground. Then lift up your
left foot, move it and touch the ground ahead of your. Then again with your
right foot - lift up, move, and touch - slowly and gently. Not too slowly and
of course not too quickly. Walk straight to the end of the room, or wherever
your are walking then turn around slowly and come back.
You can walk around your room or in your hose, wherever you choose to practice
walking meditation. It is better not to wear shoes during walking meditation,
unless you are doing it outside.
After walking meditation you should sit down and continue to meditate. If your
mind wanders or too many thoughts arise you should try to follow your breath.
You can also count your breath as it comes in and goes out of the nostrils.
Count each breath in from one up to ten and then again count from ten down to
one. Repeat this counting five to seven times. Now stop counting the breath
and watch it. See if your mind still wanders or not. If your mind no longer
wanders keep concentrating on the point of contact of the breath with your nostrils.
If your mind continues to wander after counting your breath, if doubts, fears
or delusions arise such that you feel that you cannot meditate or concentrate
then you should stop sitting. If your mind constantly wanders while you are
sitting it is not one pointedness meditation. Instead study and read Dharma
books, especially Lam Rim books on impermanence, death, dying and the value
of a precious human rebirth. This will help stop a wandering mind. You should
also read biographies and accounts of great yogis, meditators, Bodhisattvas,
and Lamas such as Milarepa.
It is very important to have complete and proper instructions before one starts
any type of meditation. A lack of such instruction is regarded to be one of
the hindrances of meditation . Without instruction from qualified and experienced
teachers it is difficult to progress in ones own meditation. It is like being
a blind man walking though the city streets without a guide. Such people do
not know where they are going. They can spend hours walking in the wrong direction
or even in a circle, ending in the same place from which they started. Such
persons cannot find their way. Meditation without proper instruction has also
been compared to a one-armed man trying to climb a mountain.
For this reason Lama Tsong Khapa said that every practitioner must study the
three pitika's - the Sutrapitika, the Abidharmapitika, and the Vinayapitika
- in order to practice Bodhicitta [method], Sunyata [wisdom], and Vinaya [discipline].
When you practice Dharma it is very important to meditate in the right environment.
There are many conditions necessary for samadhi [one pointed concentration],
and also for meditation in general. In the Sutras it says that you should choose
the best place to meditate. If you can find a calm quiet place in a forest,
stay there and meditate. If that is not possible stay at home and select a comparatively
calm and quiet room or corner and be satisfied with it. If you cannot find a
quiet room or corner you should practice or sit wherever you stay. Maybe your
room or place is not always noisy or busy and at certain times it is quieter
or more peaceful than at others. So whenever there is comparative calm and quiet
try to arrange your schedule to meditate at that time. If that is not possible
you should sit and meditate in your room regardless of how busy or noisy it
is.
It is very important for you to learn how to meditate and practice in all environments.
If you feel that you will not meditate until you have a lot of time and find
a calm and peaceful place you may never find either the time or the place to
meditate. This means that you may never meditate or practice. So it is very
necessary to decide to meditate wherever you are and to learn how to meditate
in all places.
I think that the problem of finding the right place can be solved by being indifferent.
Do not think "this place is terrible, I cannot meditate". Do not complain
that a calm or quiet place is not available. If on the other hand you can find
a place to suit your needs, in a jungle or cave or somewhere else, that is good.
A good place, however, does not guarantee good meditation. Sometimes you may
find, as it says in Sutras, a "perfect place"; that is not too hot
or too cold, a place with no distractions and where there are all the necessities,
even a good spiritual companion such as your teacher living at the same place.
In spite of this though you may not have a good meditation due to your own mind.
Due to desire, ignorance and discontent your mind keeps wandering or becomes
muddy so that your meditation cannot be very good.
Generally it is good to meditate in the morning. In the morning the mind is
fresher and there are fewer distracting thoughts. Meditation at the beginning
of the day helps to generate energy and inner peace so that your day will be
peaceful and productive. After you awaken; wash or bathe and the perhaps have
a cup of tea, prepare your room and altar as mentioned earlier, make your prostrations
and then meditate. For some individuals the evening is a better time to meditate
if they are not too tired or full from a large dinner. It depends on the person
and their lifestyle. In general it is not good to meditate right after you eat.
Of course you could try and watch your own mind after you eat to see if you
can meditate or not. That itself can be meditation.
There are numerous benefits that mindfulness of breathing meditation can have.
The ultimate benefit is enlightenment and perfect samadhi. There are also many
temporary benefits. You will have proper breathing patterns, better health and
you will begin to be more mindful, have more energy and inner peace.