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Thread: Correct Meditation

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    Default Correct Meditation

    I just started meditating and I was wondering if there were any way to know that I was meditating correctly. I mean, is there a certain feeling that must happen while in meditation, or something?

    Jon
    Jonathan Wood

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    The best thing you can do is get guidance from a qualified teacher. There are a vast number of different mediation techniques, due to the vast number of traditions included in Buddhism/Yoga/Hinduism. Find a suitable teacher and do what they say, and whatever you do, don't try to mix and match different techniques you find in books, online texts etc.
    Peter Ross

    Waiter: "Can I tell you about today's specials?"
    Patrick Bateman: "Not if you want to keep your spleen"

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    Default

    Alas, I have checked and there are none even remotely near. Until I do decided to move to a more urban place where it is available I guess I shall continue the way I am currently meditating. I've done it a full week now, though I'm not exactly sure if I notice anything yet, I am starting to feel a bit more calm. I was at work today and they asked me to do something that had usually made me a bit uneasy, but today I felt fine with it. I guess that is what meditation helps to do.

    Jon
    Jonathan Wood

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    Jon,

    Do you do martial arts? If so, do you feel that meditation is needed, i.e. is it something lacking in your training?
    John Lindsey

    Oderint, dum metuant-Let them hate, so long as they fear.

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    I do Aikido. I do some what feel that meditation is needed in my overall training.

    Jon
    Jonathan Wood

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    Default zen

    As a previous poster said, there are many traditions and the best way is to find a good teacher (just like MA). However in the meantime, you might like to check out this link http://www.jikishoan.org/ and go to "what is zen practice". It is a very clear and straightforward description of the basic steps to starting "shikantaza" (just sitting) by a very reputable teacher of the Soto zen tradition.

    HTH

  7. #7
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    Default i broke my nose during sampai and now it's bleeding into my genmai

    Excellent site. For a more precise description of the body position during Zazen, have a look at this page:

    New Orleans Zen Temple

    I wouldn't exactly call the NOZT Soto lineage reputable, though, Deshimaru was a shameless self-promoter, much the same as Ralph Severe.



    ---
    Jason Leonard

    PS- Read everything by Deshimaru you can get your hands on.

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    Default

    Thanks for the sites guys. I'm sure they will suffice until I get some formal training.

    Jon
    Jonathan Wood

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    Default Zen & zen

    With Capital "Z" Zen considered as a group of sects centered on a particular style of meditation, and little "z" zen recognized as east asian pidgin for dhyana or simply...."meditation" we have a field ripe for confusion here.

    Yes, the Japanese Zen Lineages and all of their cultural and aesthetic trappings have been the most common face of the practice of meditation and it is natural to refer inquiries back to major data points within those lineages.

    But....Shikantaza (or "just-sitting" practice) is only simple in the same way that an all-white minimalist field painting seems simple. Underlying that apparent simplicity is a couple of thousand years of practice, history, and theory.

    The best book I've found on fundamentals of meditation practice is

    Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratna

    Of course, I didn't exactly find the book....first I found a qualified teacher and she said: "you might want to read this."



    Fred Little

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    Default

    Fred, thanks for the book recommendation. I followed the link to amazon.com and read a bit of the exerpt it provided and it looks good. I believe I shall pick up a copy.

    Jon
    Jonathan Wood

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    Default Re: Zen & zen

    Originally posted by kokumo
    With Capital "Z" Zen considered as a group of sects centered on a particular style of meditation, and little "z" zen recognized as east asian pidgin for dhyana or simply...."meditation" we have a field ripe for confusion here.

    But....Shikantaza (or "just-sitting" practice) is only simple in the same way that an all-white minimalist field painting seems simple. Underlying that apparent simplicity is a couple of thousand years of practice, history, and theory.

    Fred Little
    Interesting clarification Fred. I like to use lower case because it implies a directness and lack of ostentation without dependence on honourifics. Besides I never know when to capitalise since Japanese doesn't have caps.

    I agree that shikantaza is a bit like a Malevich. But you don't *need* to know that there's thousands of years of tradition in order to "just sit". Just a good teacher and a mind that sincerely seeks the way.

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    Thumbs up Jikishoan Website

    Hello,

    Just a note that the Jikishoan website is now www.jikishoan.org.au

    I am glad people find it useful. There will be some new Zen Buddhist information and links there soon. Anyone visitig Melbourne, Australia would be most welcome to visit.

    _()_
    Regards, Richard.

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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Richard H
    ...Just a note that the Jikishoan website is now www.jikishoan.org.au

    ...Regards, Richard.
    Thanks for the updated Web link, Richard.

    [Moderator hat on] Please remember to sign all posts with your full name as you agreed to do when you joined E-Budo.

    The easiest way to do this is to go to your User Control Panel and add an automatic signature so you don't have to type it in each time.

    Thanks.[Moderator hat off]
    Yours in Budo,
    ---Brian---

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    Exclamation

    Quote Originally Posted by meat
    and whatever you do, don't try to mix and match different techniques you find in books, online texts etc.
    @ Peter Ross : I agree that finding a good teacher is always the best thing to do. But it won't hurt you experimenting with different methods, even when they are found on the internet. After all, if you do it wrong, it'll probably just fail to work. As a genreal guideline in this particular field : if it works, it's okay.

    -sorry for barging in like this, but I thought it was worth dropping a note-

    cheers, Christophe.


    Regards,
    Christophe van Eysendyck.

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    Default

    I think the best book I've found on the subject is "Meditation: Now or Never" by Steve Hagen. He describes it in very accessable language, and the book is in print and available through amazon.

    Kevin P. France

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