Hello friends,
So today we are going to be drilling on #meditation
Meditation is one of the most popular wellness practices around, but almost no one actually meditates.
They talk about it; they dabble with it, but few persist.
Why?
It seems meditation is too difficult for most people. But there is a method of meditation that is simplicity itself. That’s what this article is about.
Some people thrive when there are lots of meditation instructions to follow and tasks to complete. Other people prefer their meditation stripped down to its essence — they like it simple. Me too.
- I want a meditation method so simple an idiot could do it.
- I want a meditation so simple it could be done by accident.
My chosen method of meditation is the Zen method called just sitting, or in Japanese, shikentaza. The late Chan master Sheng Yen (1931–2009) called just sitting “The method of no-method.”
The 12th-century Zen master Eihei Dogen, the founder of the Soto Zen School, made just sitting the centerpiece of his teaching. I’ve been practicing Soto Zen for 25 years.
The Most Important Thing You Need To Know About Meditation
“When you meditate, observe everything, inside and outside of you with total acceptance.”
_JUST SITTING
The Most Important Thing You Need to Know About Meditation
And how to apply it in your everyday life
Meditation is one of the most popular wellness practices around, but almost no one actually meditates.
They talk about it; they dabble with it, but few persist.
Why?
It seems meditation is too difficult for most people. But there is a method of meditation that is simplicity itself. That’s what this article is about.
Some people thrive when there are lots of meditation instructions to follow and tasks to complete. Other people prefer their meditation stripped down to its essence — they like it simple. Me too.
I want a meditation method so simple an idiot could do it.
I want a meditation so simple it could be done by accident.
My chosen method of meditation is the Zen method called just sitting, or in Japanese, shikentaza. The late Chan master Sheng Yen (1931–2009) called just sitting “The method of no-method.”
The 12th-century Zen master Eihei Dogen, the founder of the Soto Zen School, made just sitting the centerpiece of his teaching. I’ve been practicing Soto Zen for 25 years.
The Most Important Thing You Need To Know About Meditation
“When you meditate, observe everything, inside and outside of you — with total acceptance.”
Just sitting is sitting silently with an open mind and open heart, accepting non-judgmentally whatever your mind comes up with. Just sitting is not exciting or interesting to think about.
Just sitting requires no effort to follow your breath, let go of your thoughts, or recite a mantra. It doesn’t make good press — it’s actually kind of boring to talk about. Just sitting will not become the next big fad in meditation.
There is no technique involved with just sitting. Just sitting is not a technique that can be justified by science. It is a spiritual discipline aimed at discovering your Buddha nature, your true self. These things are not in the domain of science.
But just sitting can be a vital part of your spiritual life if you do it daily. And although just sitting is a spiritual practice, you’ll get all of those science-backed benefits of meditation as a bonus.
Just Sitting --- How To Do It
Once you are relaxed on your meditation cushion or chair, sit with the overall awareness of your body just sitting there. You are aware of your breathing, your butt on the cushion or chair, your feet flat on the floor, your hands resting on your thighs, and the sounds and sights around you.
You remain aware of all this OVERALL, without focusing on any one part of the meditation process, such as the breath. You keep your awareness on the overall sensation of your body sitting there and accept what happens.
Like Listening To Music, or a Mountain Stream
Think of just sitting like listening to music. You don’t analyze each note. Your mind flows along with the sounds as you take in the totality of the performance. You don’t question the music, you just listen and accept it.
You could fall into just sitting meditation by accident.
Sitting by a mountain stream, you could fall silent as the sound of the water plays with your ears. You could momentarily forget where you are and who you are. The pleasant, mesmerizing sounds of the stream have disabled your thinking mind.
When you momentarily forget yourself, you are closer to your Buddha nature
According to Buddhism, every being is endowed with Buddha nature — the potential for any sentient being to become a Buddha. The pure, luminous mind of enlightenment resides in everyone.
The Clear, Bright Mind Of Enlightenment
According to Zen Buddhism, you live and breathe from that clear, bright mind of enlightenment, but you don’t yet know it. You already possess the lottery prize you’re trying to win.
But it’s buried among the thousands of buzzing thoughts in your mind.
But if you stop trying to win the Lottery and ACCEPT your thoughts — and the whole universe as it is — uncovering your Buddha nature is possible.
The purpose of just sitting is to discover your true self. And even if you never reach the level of satori or enlightenment, it will change your life forever.
There Is One Caveat
Uncovering your true self cannot be accomplished on weekends. You’ll need to apply yourself every day. A small effort will produce small results. A big effort will produce big results.
How To Apply Just Sitting To Your Everyday Life — Just Doing
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Saah Princely Sidney
Change Your Mind Change Your Life
Published in
Change Your Mind Change Your Life
JUST SITTING
The Most Important Thing You Need to Know About Meditation
And how to apply it in your everyday life
A woman meditating high on a cliff on the California coast.
iStock Photo by DianaHirsch
Meditation is one of the most popular wellness practices around, but almost no one actually meditates.
They talk about it; they dabble with it, but few persist.
Why?
It seems meditation is too difficult for most people. But there is a method of meditation that is simplicity itself. That’s what this article is about.
Some people thrive when there are lots of meditation instructions to follow and tasks to complete. Other people prefer their meditation stripped down to its essence — they like it simple. Me too.
I want a meditation method so simple an idiot could do it.
I want a meditation so simple it could be done by accident.
My chosen method of meditation is the Zen method called just sitting, or in Japanese, shikentaza. The late Chan master Sheng Yen (1931–2009) called just sitting “The method of no-method.”
The 12th-century Zen master Eihei Dogen, the founder of the Soto Zen School, made just sitting the centerpiece of his teaching. I’ve been practicing Soto Zen for 25 years.
The Most Important Thing You Need To Know About Meditation
“When you meditate, observe everything, inside and outside of you — with total acceptance.”
Just sitting is sitting silently with an open mind and open heart, accepting non-judgmentally whatever your mind comes up with. Just sitting is not exciting or interesting to think about.
Just sitting requires no effort to follow your breath, let go of your thoughts, or recite a mantra. It doesn’t make good press — it’s actually kind of boring to talk about. Just sitting will not become the next big fad in meditation.
There is no technique involved with just sitting. Just sitting is not a technique that can be justified by science. It is a spiritual discipline aimed at discovering your Buddha nature, your true self. These things are not in the domain of science.
But just sitting can be a vital part of your spiritual life if you do it daily. And although just sitting is a spiritual practice, you’ll get all of those science-backed benefits of meditation as a bonus.
Just Sitting — How To Do It
Once you are relaxed on your meditation cushion or chair, sit with the overall awareness of your body just sitting there. You are aware of your breathing, your butt on the cushion or chair, your feet flat on the floor, your hands resting on your thighs, and the sounds and sights around you.
You remain aware of all this OVERALL, without focusing on any one part of the meditation process, such as the breath. You keep your awareness on the overall sensation of your body sitting there and accept what happens.
Like Listening To Music, or a Mountain Stream
Think of just sitting like listening to music. You don’t analyze each note. Your mind flows along with the sounds as you take in the totality of the performance. You don’t question the music, you just listen and accept it.
You could fall into just sitting meditation by accident.
Sitting by a mountain stream, you could fall silent as the sound of the water plays with your ears. You could momentarily forget where you are and who you are. The pleasant, mesmerizing sounds of the stream have disabled your thinking mind.
When you momentarily forget yourself, you are closer to your Buddha nature
A Buddha statue.
Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash
The Clear, Bright Mind Of Enlightenment
According to Buddhism, every being is endowed with Buddha nature — the potential for any sentient being to become a Buddha. The pure, luminous mind of enlightenment resides in everyone.
According to Zen Buddhism, you live and breathe from that clear, bright mind of enlightenment, but you don’t yet know it. You already possess the lottery prize you’re trying to win.
But it’s buried among the thousands of buzzing thoughts in your mind.
But if you stop trying to win the Lottery and ACCEPT your thoughts — and the whole universe as it is — uncovering your Buddha nature is possible.
The purpose of just sitting is to discover your true self. And even if you never reach the level of satori or enlightenment, it will change your life forever.
There Is One Caveat
Uncovering your true self cannot be accomplished on weekends. You’ll need to apply yourself every day. A small effort will produce small results. A big effort will produce big results.
How To Apply Just Sitting To Your Everyday Life — Just Doing
After a while, you’ll be able to transform just sitting into just doing in your everyday life.
You can integrate the principles of just sitting into all your activities.
When you eat, you are right there, just eating. When you walk, just walk. When you do the laundry, just do the laundry. By plunging your whole being into what you’re doing, you’re relieved of doing anything else at that moment.
When you’re not multitasking, you can settle into whatever activity you’re doing and do it with a relaxed attitude — and do it better because you’re giving it your full attention.
If you lay down a base of daily meditation, just doing will begin to happen in your everyday life. And the benefits of mindful living are not only spiritual. Your health, concentration, productivity, and financial condition will benefit as well.
Closing Thoughts
Saah Princely Sidney
Change Your Mind Change Your Life
Published in
Change Your Mind Change Your Life
JUST SITTING
The Most Important Thing You Need to Know About Meditation
And how to apply it in your everyday life
A woman meditating high on a cliff on the California coast.
iStock Photo by DianaHirsch
Meditation is one of the most popular wellness practices around, but almost no one actually meditates.
They talk about it; they dabble with it, but few persist.
Why?
It seems meditation is too difficult for most people. But there is a method of meditation that is simplicity itself. That’s what this article is about.
Some people thrive when there are lots of meditation instructions to follow and tasks to complete. Other people prefer their meditation stripped down to its essence — they like it simple. Me too.
I want a meditation method so simple an idiot could do it.
I want a meditation so simple it could be done by accident.
My chosen method of meditation is the Zen method called just sitting, or in Japanese, shikentaza. The late Chan master Sheng Yen (1931–2009) called just sitting “The method of no-method.”
The 12th-century Zen master Eihei Dogen, the founder of the Soto Zen School, made just sitting the centerpiece of his teaching. I’ve been practicing Soto Zen for 25 years.
The Most Important Thing You Need To Know About Meditation
“When you meditate, observe everything, inside and outside of you — with total acceptance.”
Just sitting is sitting silently with an open mind and open heart, accepting non-judgmentally whatever your mind comes up with. Just sitting is not exciting or interesting to think about.
Just sitting requires no effort to follow your breath, let go of your thoughts, or recite a mantra. It doesn’t make good press — it’s actually kind of boring to talk about. Just sitting will not become the next big fad in meditation.
There is no technique involved with just sitting. Just sitting is not a technique that can be justified by science. It is a spiritual discipline aimed at discovering your Buddha nature, your true self. These things are not in the domain of science.
But just sitting can be a vital part of your spiritual life if you do it daily. And although just sitting is a spiritual practice, you’ll get all of those science-backed benefits of meditation as a bonus.
Just Sitting — How To Do It
Once you are relaxed on your meditation cushion or chair, sit with the overall awareness of your body just sitting there. You are aware of your breathing, your butt on the cushion or chair, your feet flat on the floor, your hands resting on your thighs, and the sounds and sights around you.
You remain aware of all this OVERALL, without focusing on any one part of the meditation process, such as the breath. You keep your awareness on the overall sensation of your body sitting there and accept what happens.
Like Listening To Music, or a Mountain Stream
Think of just sitting like listening to music. You don’t analyze each note. Your mind flows along with the sounds as you take in the totality of the performance. You don’t question the music, you just listen and accept it.
You could fall into just sitting meditation by accident.
Sitting by a mountain stream, you could fall silent as the sound of the water plays with your ears. You could momentarily forget where you are and who you are. The pleasant, mesmerizing sounds of the stream have disabled your thinking mind.
When you momentarily forget yourself, you are closer to your Buddha nature
A Buddha statue.
Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash
The Clear, Bright Mind Of Enlightenment
According to Buddhism, every being is endowed with Buddha nature — the potential for any sentient being to become a Buddha. The pure, luminous mind of enlightenment resides in everyone.
According to Zen Buddhism, you live and breathe from that clear, bright mind of enlightenment, but you don’t yet know it. You already possess the lottery prize you’re trying to win.
But it’s buried among the thousands of buzzing thoughts in your mind.
But if you stop trying to win the Lottery and ACCEPT your thoughts — and the whole universe as it is — uncovering your Buddha nature is possible.
The purpose of just sitting is to discover your true self. And even if you never reach the level of satori or enlightenment, it will change your life forever.
There Is One Caveat
Uncovering your true self cannot be accomplished on weekends. You’ll need to apply yourself every day. A small effort will produce small results. A big effort will produce big results.
How To Apply Just Sitting To Your Everyday Life — Just Doing
After a while, you’ll be able to transform just sitting into just doing in your everyday life.
You can integrate the principles of just sitting into all your activities.
When you eat, you are right there, just eating. When you walk, just walk. When you do the laundry, just do the laundry. By plunging your whole being into what you’re doing, you’re relieved of doing anything else at that moment.
When you’re not multitasking, you can settle into whatever activity you’re doing and do it with a relaxed attitude — and do it better because you’re giving it your full attention.
If you lay down a base of daily meditation, just doing will begin to happen in your everyday life. And the benefits of mindful living are not only spiritual. Your health, concentration, productivity, and financial condition will benefit as well.
Closing Thoughts
When you meditate, observe everything, inside and outside of yourself — with total acceptance.
Just sitting is so simple and easy to understand; even an idiot could do it. And you can apply the principles of just sitting to all your daily activities.
Just be advised just sitting is boring as hell in concept. Better to be quiet about it. People won’t say to you, “Wow, you’re just sitting. That’s exciting!” Keep your own council and practice secretly at first. Have faith in this method, and it will work for you.
Thanks for reading
@princekeys