Showing posts with label Vipassana practice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vipassana practice. Show all posts

Friday, August 16, 2013

How to Be With the Breath

U Pandita says to watch the abdomen rise and fall:

Now place your attention at the belly, at the abdomen. Breathe normally, not forcing your breathing, neither slowing it down nor hastening it, just a natural breath. You will become aware of certain sensations as you breathe in and the abdomen rises, as you breathe out and the abdomen falls. ~ In This Very Life ~

Ayya Khema instructs us to pay attention to the nostrils:

This [breath] is ideally experienced at the nostrils. Breath is wind, and as it hits the nostrils, there is feeling. That feeling helps us to focus at this small point. ~ Being Nobody, Going Nowhere ~

Ajahn Chah is more inclusive:

Simply take note of this path of the breath at the nosetip, the chest and the abdomen, then at the abdomen, the chest and the tip of the nose. We take note of these three points in order to make the mind firm, to limit mental activity so that mindfulness and self-awareness can easily arise. When our attention settles on these three points, we can let them go and note the in and out breathing, concentrating solely at the nose-tip or the upper lip, where the air passes on its in and out passage. ~ On Meditation ~
It seems that every teacher have his or her own way with the breath.

I find the Buddha's way to be the one most in accord with my own experience:

He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to the entire body.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.' 

No need to restrict the field of our investigation with the breath. The natural flow of inhale and exhale touches every part of our body, and we need to embrace it all.

How do you sit with the breath?

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Playing With Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a serious matter, no doubt. There is also a real danger in taking one's practice too seriously. A persistent frown, jaws clenching, shoulders becoming stiff, shallow breath, knot in the stomach . . . these may all be manifestations of an overzealous attitude, a case of practice taking a wrong turn. U Tejaniya spends a lot of time on this, teaching about the right attitude:
You have to double check to see what attitude you are meditating with. A light and free mind enables you to meditate well. Do you have the right attitude?
There is a game I play often during practice, and that helps me stay light and concentrated. I call it playing catch with the breath. Sitting with the intention of resting in the breath, I allow myself to be surprised by each new inhalation. Over and over, breath out, noticing pause, and then, the delight  of breath coming in. Sweetness of body being breathed once more. Being grateful for yet another moment, alive. 

Friday, April 13, 2012

How Much Meditation?

Ask around how long to sit each day, and you are likely to get many different answers. Some believe, the longer the better. Others like Mingyur Rinpoche, advocate 'short times, many times'. At Zen Hospice, short 5 to 10 minutes mindful checkins before each shift appear to have a significant impact on the well-being of the volunteers and their ability to provide mindful, compassionate care. It certainly did for me. Yet others advocate a middle road. The standard length at IMC is 45 minutes, same as in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction training. Ayya Khema recommends a minimum of 30 minutes every day. Intuitively, and also from personal experience, it seems that the mind needs a minimum amount of time in order to settle, and also that the longer, the more settling is to be expected, as in the case during retreats for instance. I make it a point to sit at least 30 minutes every morning. I also do shorter sittings throughout the day, and once in a while, I will do 45 minutes sittings, mostly when I sit with the IMC sangha. 

Turning to neuroscience research, there does not seem to be any conclusive answers, or at least not yet. 

An important question that deserves more investigation, it seems . . . 

Monday, March 26, 2012

Not Resting on Our Laurels

I always learn so much from listening to Ayya Khema. This time, she makes very clear the need to constantly practice, not just to move forward on the path, but also to not go backward. 


Mindfulness practice is work, constant work. This is why it is called practice. This week, I visited the Mindful Living page on the Huffington Post and was struck by the number of articles attempting to trivialize mindfulness as something that can be easily captured with minimum effort. Headlines such as   'Are You Up For The 24-Hour Mini-Mindful-Moment Challenge?', 'Momentary Mindfulness', 'One Minute to Stress Less', 'Mindfulness in 60 Seconds or Less', . . . The truth is mindfulness practice flies in the face of our fast, flashy, pleasure seeking, goal oriented culture. Mindfulness practice is tedious, often times boring, and mostly about effort.



There is no such thing as taking a vacation from practice. 

Sunday, February 26, 2012

What's Up With the Bell?

Several times, I have been asked how come I don't use 'a bell' in my mindfulness work with clients.

The bell, or rather the sound of the bell, is such a part of the traditional meditative experience. As essential as cushion and timer, and noble silence. The bell invites us to step into a sacred space, where habitual ways of being dissolve, leaving room instead for awareness and experiencing of the now.  At the other end, the bell means returning to the habitual world of daily life. Such a lovely ritual . . . 


and also, something else, maybe not so useful.

I see the bell as yet another man made creation to separate practice from the rest of one's life. Another gadget to please our senses. Another potential source for trouble down the line, when there is no bell, and we are left with just ourselves.

This is why I like to encourage the ones I work with, to practice with no bell, no fancy cushion. Only oneself, and an ordinary place to sit. The main impetus for practice becomes one's intention, and sometimes the sitting together.

Practicing to practice any time, anywhere. No 'equipment' necessary. 

How is your relationship to the 'bell'?

Thursday, September 15, 2011

To Blog or To Sit?

That's the question, often. I When time is scarce, I find myself having to make a choice. Either blog, or sit. There is something ironic about blogging about practice and forsaking actual practice because of it. In any case, this week I knew what mattered most and I chose sitting. 

Hence, no post for the past few days. And today,  just a short one.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Five Easy Ways to Derail One's Mindfulness Practice

How easy it is for the mind to rationalize not practicing, or practicing less and less!

Outer circumstances have made it a bit more challenging for me to sit every morning as I usually do. Lots of stress, many balls to juggle, some difficult people to deal with . . . There has been objective reasons for why I have not be sitting so diligently, or for less time. 

Ever resourceful mind has found ways to maintain the illusion of ardency in my practice, even using trusted teachings to lend credibility to my waning practice. One can only be deluded for so long however! At some point, more and more self-created unhappy thoughts creep in, and the extra-suffering opens the door to clear seeing. 

Minding the ways that one can so easily slip out of mindfulness practice:

The first one:

"I can practice all the time. No need to sit." (Andrea Fella)

The second one:

"No need to wait for the timer to ring. I can just let the sitting unfold, naturally. Ending when the mind calls for it.'' (U Tejaniya)

The third one:

"Sitting, walking, standing, swimming, driving, cooking, talking . . . no difference. All opportunities to practice, just different activities." (the Buddha)

The fourth one:

"Short times, many times." (Mingyur Rinpoche)?

The fifth one:

"I am going through an emotional storm. Reflection, not sitting is what is called for during this time." (Ayya Khema)

Notice the half-truth in all these thoughts. Hence the danger. The reality is yes, these are all accurate. And they also do not dispense one from the unavoidable practice of sitting still for long enough every day. Training the mind, leaving it enough time to settle to clearly see the hindrances, the true nature of life unsatisfactoriness, the emptiness . . . 

Guarding the mind from itself.

What are some of the ways that you slip out of practice?

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Four Resolutions

January 1st, tis the time to make resolutions. 

Mine definitely have an inner flavor:

to remember to be mindful, as often as possible
to practice formal sitting meditation, daily
to be lovingly kind, towards myself, and others, especially the difficult ones
to recognize the hindrances that come my way, and tell them off, in both mind and heart

Whatever happens in the outer life is secondary, and usually largely influenced by the mind's inclination anyway . . . 

What does your new year resolutions look like? Would you care to share?

May you each be well, and happy, and at peace, and at ease, including in the midst of suffering.

Friday, November 12, 2010

It's a Method

(Back from two and a half week retreat with Ruth Denison, at Dhamma Dena Desert Vipassana Center, I am devoting the next few weeks to sharing Ruth's wonderful teachings.)


One of Ruth's long-time students shared, "Other Vipassana teachers talk about liberation, but don't tell you how to get there. Ruth does." I found that to be so true. It is clear that Ruth has walked the path, and teaches from a place of deep knowing. In this short video, Ruth touches upon the method involved in Vipassana practice, that relies on the breath, and the mental faculties of investigation and patience:


No mystery. Just a simple method.