Yahoo Tuning Groups Ultimate Backup tuning Re: meditation

Hi Marc,

Actually, it is okay to use the breath whatever ones condition.

The breath is just a support, that is there all the time,
and aim isn't to do anything with it, or to focus on it
even particularly.

May depend on the tradition. The one I follow particularly
stresses that aspect of it.

Sometimes one hears of meditation used to help develop concentration,
and in that approach, breath is used as a meditation object
and aim is to settle ones attention on it to get single pointed
concentration. In that case, one would choose a meditation
object appropriate to one, and indeed other objects are used, could
be e.g. a yellow disk, say, or some colour appropriate to
ones practice. Or something more complicated.

However, it is possible to meditate without ever trying to
develop concentration on a single object as such. The tradition
I follow works like that.

That's why, in this tradition, meditation is really very
much the same as non meditation. Out of meditation, breath
is still there. Only difference in meditation is that you
are sitting still, and there is a kind of awareness instruction
that one is following, but it is incredibly light, almost
nothing to do. As one isn't even particularly trying to
be aware of the breath, it is much the same as when one
isn't meditating. It rather works, that occasionally
the breath, coupled with the meditation instruction one
is following, brings one back to the meditation, rather
than the other way round.

In this tradition one meditates with ones eyes half open,
to keep this connection with the waking world. Things may
happen, dogs barking, traffic, someone may bang on your door
and want you to ask you about something, and that is no
problem as it is all part of the meditation - in the case
where one needs to get up, there's an instruction to help
one notice the transition from "meditation" to
"non meditation", and the way one makes distinctions between
the two; rather amusing when one notices it. The instruction
is lighter than one can imagine, so light that it is
inevitable that one will make more of it than is there,
and part of the meditation adventure is noticing that
in all its ramifications - happens not just for beginners
but all the way along the path.

At later stages people may have visions and amazing
experiences and so forth, and I'm not sure, have a feeling all
that would count as making somewhat more of the
meditation instruction than one really needs to.
(I'll have to ask my teacher about that).

However, it is one thing to have been taught how to meditate
and another to explain it to anyone else, and I'm not
qualified to do that.

The connection one has with whoever gives the instruction
is considered something of value, and an essential part
of the process. One could learn to meditate from a book,
but it perhaps wouldn't work so well - too easy to
get ones own idea about how it should work, and
then one has none of the necessary feedback to get
one back on track.

One can talk about it in a general way, as I'm doing a bit
here, but to go into details is another thing.

My teacher goes into more detail in a booklet, but
doesn't give "how to" instructions in print.

You will find meditation instructions in print of course,
so much gets printed, but whether they will be helpful
is another matter, for the reasons explained.

Anyway, sorry not to be more helpful,...

I believe there is some inspiration in just hearing
about meditation, even if one doesn't do it as such,
so perhaps that's the point in saying all this.

Have a nice break.

Robert

Re: meditation

🔗Robert Walker <robertwalker@...>

🔗Robert Walker <robertwalker@...>

🔗M. Edward (Ed) Borasky <znmeb@...>

🔗Orphon Soul, Inc. <tuning@...>