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Learning How to Practice Mindful Sitting Meditation
Learning how to become more mindfully aware through a sitting meditation practice, is a deeply rewarding experience. It creates transformation and healing throughout one's life and death experience, and it shines out onto your family, friends, community, and our world. Mindfulness meditation consists of stopping, calming, concentration and insight. This simple yet profound process results in greater loving-kindness towards self, others and all of life, it also helps one develop wisdom. Peace that is founded in contentment and serenity is another one of the rich benefits of mindfulness meditation. Through deep looking and understanding, we are able to relieve suffering, and experience the joyful art of living with others, and ourselves. Although sitting meditation is only one form of mindfulness practice, it will be our subject for this teaching.
Mindfulness meditation is the moment to moment awareness of life, as it actually Is. This powerful awareness of reality in the present moment, is free from the confines of our regular identified self, within our ordinary states of I, Me, Mine consciousness. Being able to remove the veil of self, one can experience the joyful liberation of life, with true freedom from self-grasping, and possessiveness. This enlightened view is often challenging to live within each moment of our daily lives, and for this reason a mindfulness sitting meditation practice, greatly assist us in grounding, within this awakened view. Naturally a meditation student will be able to sit longer and shine the light of mindfulness brighter, as he/she deepens his/her practice.
When practicing mindfulness, we will see all of the positive energy states within us, such as compassion, generosity, determination, wisdom, and kindness to name a few, but we will also discover all the negative energy states as well. These negative energies such as ignorance, greed, hatred, jealousy, anger, and fear can be disturbing to discover. These afflictive energy states have caused us all tremendous suffering. The good news is, there is a way out of these afflictive states, and that is the way of awareness, the practice of mindfulness. When we witness a negative energy within us during our mindfulness practice, we only need to recognize it, greet it, embrace it with our loving-kindness as a parent would a troubled child, and then let it go. We can never progress on the path of awareness by harming ourselves with negative judgments and criticisms that left to have free rein may lead to self-hatred. Loving-kindness and compassion towards our Self is a required part of mindfulness practice. When learning how to begin a sitting meditation practice, we first must consider your environment. It is good to have a dedicated space for daily sittings. This space can be anywhere within the place we live, like a corner of our bedroom or a small room in our dwelling. It should be a place that can be made free from distractions, and is quiet.
Some people like to have a simple altar, made from a small wooden table, on which a few objects of inspiration or nature are placed. On my small altar at home I have a flower, incense bowl, meditation bell, and a candle, as well as my favorite meditation books. This is not necessary for the practice but I have included it as an option.
The next step in our sitting practice is to understand, and develop a good meditation posture. As is appropriate for your physical condition, you can sit on a meditation cushion and or pillows, or a straight sturdy chair. If you do choose a chair please learn to sit with your back upright, not touching or using the backrest of the chair. Once you enter your sitting meditation space, sit down gently on your cushion or chair with mindfulness. If you are using a meditation cushion, make sure only your bottom is on the cushion. Your legs should be folded or crossed and resting on the rug. If flexible, you may want to try the lotus position (legs crossed with feet resting on your inner thighs, and soles facing up).
Let your mind be one of relaxation, awareness and letting go. Once you sit down, adjust your body so that your back, and head is straight. During longer sittings you may need to readjust your posture if your back or head starts to bend downwards, as this may cause some strain. Place your hands in your lap, gently resting near your navel. To do this, place your left hand down first, place your right hand down on top of your left, with your two thumbs touching, and both palms facing up. With this hand position you can relax, and support your shoulders, and body during meditation. Make a final body scan of your posture, as you remember to relax, and ease any tensions in the body, and mind. Sitting in this position is like being a mountain, solid, stable and free.
Our breath will be the first object of our sitting meditation practice. The foundation of mindfulness meditation is the breath. We will return again and again to our breath, over the lifetime of our practice, because breathing consciously nourishes our body, and calms the mind. When we bring our attention to our breath, we come in contact with the present moment. This is the only place we can truly be alive. If our mind is focused on the past or concerned with the future, we will miss the opportunity to live in the present. Over time, as our concentration strengthens we will move onto other objects, such as our body, feelings, our actions, the nature of life or any object we choose. Breath unifies the body with the mind. If you are just learning to meditate, sit for fifteen to twenty-five minutes and then gradually increase your sitting time to an hour.
To begin your mindful sitting practice, breathe through your nose and bring your full attention to your breathing. Breathing in, follow your breath all the way into your body. Notice the slight tingling sensations as the breath enters your nostrils, the subtle wind like sensation as it goes deep into your lungs. Breathing out, follow the breath as it gently pushes up and out the nostrils. Does it feel warmer going out than coming in? Continue this mindful enjoyment of breath for the whole practice period. Breathing is such a joyful and pleasant experience when we are mindful of it. When you first start meditating it is good to sit for smaller amounts of time like ten to thirty minutes, gradually we can increase this as we enjoy our firm, and gentle presence, and the insight we gain from looking deeply.
We are constantly thinking, fantasizing, remembering, feeling, and generally very busy in our minds. We often live much of our lives this way, unable to truly rest and be free from this dispersed mind. By focusing on our breath, we can finally stop this kind of habitual mind activity, and begin to experience the nourishment, and calm of mindfulness. The actively thinking mind will return again and again as we practice but we only need to let go of the discursive thinking, and return to our wonderful breathing. When you realize that you have been caught up within this thinking just refocus and enjoy your breathing again. This process builds concentration, and develops our ability to go deeper, thereupon giving us insight into the nature of our mind and life. Enjoyment is one of the keys to being successful on the path of awareness. When you end your meditation, spend a few moments feeling love and gratitude for what you have just experienced and then send that love out to all living beings. You may want to say, “May all living beings be free from suffering. May all beings become awakened. May all beings be liberated”.
This practice, if committed to, can lead the meditation student to complete liberation in this very life. It needs to be acknowledged that a meditation teacher with great integrity and experience is invaluable. A good teacher can help guide a meditation student through areas of doubt, confusion, and strong emotions that may arise along the path. Nevertheless, one can begin meditating and living more mindfully right here and now. There is a fountain of wisdom within each of us that only needs favorable condition to manifest. Practicing mindful sitting creates a great environment for our wisdom mind to arise, and help us become a source of healing, and joy for others as well as ourselves. We can live each moment of our lives in awareness, and everyday brings countless opportunities to awaken or sink back into forgetfulness. It is always our decision and responsibility.
The essence of mindfulness meditation can only be directly experienced. These words are only useful if they awaken a desire within you, to see for your self. One can never fully benefit from mindfulness with only a book level knowledge. The path of awareness asks that we realize the truth within ourselves. This lifelong experience of awareness deepens with time. Only poetry can summarize.
In True Meditation, Only Mindfulness, No Meditator
True Practice is always Non Practice, Real Effort results in Effortlessness,
May you become that which you seek May you be liberated
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