Insight Meditation Awareness_Part I

Vippassanā Meditation Guidelines

Vippassanā or insight Meditation is above all, an experiential practice, based on the systematic and balanced development of a precise and focused awareness. By observing one’ moment-to-moment mind/body processes from a place of investigative attention, insight arises into to true nature of life and experiences. Through the wisdom acquired by using insight meditation one is able to live more freely and relate to the world around with less clinging, fear and confusion. Thus one’s life becomes increasingly directed by consideration, compassion and clarity.

The guiding principle in Vipassanā practice is to observe whatever arises at the moment of its occurrence – by noting the present, one lives in the present. Note attentively and precisely. Superficial noting may make the mind more distracted.

When the concentration is weak, the tendency to skip over things can be checked by using the divice of ‘labelling’.

Labelling is not meditation and so is not really necessary, but it is helpful in the beginning. It helps the noting mind to concentrate on the object deeply and precisely.

Do persist with the labelling until mindfulness becomes very attentive and sharp, concentration deep, and insight penetrating naturally.

Then you may drop it.

The meditator will get an appreciation of the purpose of Vipassanā meditation by bringing an investigative quality to the ‘noting practice’.

This exploration can lead to the discovery of the true nature of the mind/body process.

To prepare for sitting meditation, let body and mind relax as much as possible. Maintain the body in a well-balanced posture. Do not change the posture abruptly or unmindfully during the sitting. If you are about to move, note the intention to move before actually moving.

To give balance to the practice, every sitting should be preceded by an hour of walking meditation.

In the changeover from walking to sitting practice, or vice versa, be careful to keep your mindfulness and concentration continuous.

The starting point in the sitting practice is to establish the attention on the sensations of the abdomen caused by the rise and fall movement.

This is done by synchronizing the mental noting or labelling of the movement with the actual experience of those sensations.

As the movement of the abdomen becomes steady and clear, increase the number of notings.

If the movements are complicated, note them in a general way.

If there is a gap between the rising and falling movement of the abdomen, insert the noting of ‘sitting’ and/or ‘touching’ (noting ‘sitting’ is awareness of the characteristic of support of the wind element)

Do not disturb the natural breathing by taking sharp or deep breaths. This will make you tired. The breathing should by just normal.

When secondary objects predominate, such as sounds, thoughts, sensations, etc., note ‘hearing, hearing’,’thinking, thinking’, ‘feeling, feeling’ and so on.

At first, it is not easy to note such a variety of objects, but with increased mindfulness one is able to do so.

So, when secondary objects have passed, then one goes back to noting the primary object, i.e., the rising and falling movements of the abdomen.

Although one is taught to begin with watching the rising and falling movement of the abdomen, one must not get attached to it.

For it is not the only object, but one of the many varieties of objects in Vipassanā meditation.

Mindfulness of the movement of the abdomen leads to the direct experience of the wind element.

That is, to its specific characteristics of motion, vibration and support.

It is then that one can rightly know the real nature of the wind element, thereby destroying the false view of self.

Take the walking meditation seriously as well. By merely doing the walking meditation alone, it is possible to attain the highest Enlightenment (Arahantship).

Begin this practice by bringing your attention to the foot. Then note the step part by part as you follow the movement with sharp attention.

Mentally noting ‘right, left’ as you make the steps while walking.

Keep the eyes half-closed and fixed on the ground about 6 feet ahead of you.

Avoid looking at the foot during walking, or you will become distracted by it.

Do not let the head bend too low because this will very quickly cause strain and tension in your posture.

The objects to be noted are increased gradually. That is, the number of parts of the step observed is gradually increased.

At the beginning of a walking meditation period, note one part only for about 10 minutes: ‘left, right’ and so on.

Then note your walking in 3 parts, ‘lifting, pushing, dropping’, etc.

Finally, increase the noting to, ‘intending, lifting, pushing, dropping, touching, pressing’.

Please consider this. The mind is sure to wander off quite a few times during a walking period of one hour. So do not look around here and there during walking meditation. You have had, and will have, many more years to look around. If you do it during the retreat, you cannot attain deep concentration.

The wandering eye is a difficult problem for the meditator.

So notice the desire to look around until it has disappear.

Awareness of daily activities is the very life of a meditator.

Once one fails to observe an activity, one loses one’s life, as it were.

That is, one ceases to be a meditator, being devoid of mindfulness, concentration and wisdom.

The faculty of mindfulness becomes powerful by constant and uninterrupted awareness of every activity throughout the day’s practice.

Failing to note daily activities creates wide gaps of unmindfulness. Continuity of noting is needed to carry the awareness forward from one moment to the next. With this kind of practice there are many new things to discover every day.

During the retreat, all you need to do is to be mindful. There is no need to hurry. The Venerable Mahāsī Sayādaw compared a Vipassanā meditator to a weak invalid, who by necessity moves about very slowly.

Doing things very slowly helps to make the mind concentrated.

If you want the meditation to develop, you must get accustomed to slowing down.

When a fan is turning fast, you cannot see it as it really is, but when it is turning slowly, then you can see.

Therefore, you need to slow down significantly to see the mental and physical processes as they really are.

Pain is the friend of the meditator. Do not evade it. It can lead you to Nibbāna.

Pain does not have to inform you of its coming. It may not disappear, but if it does, you may cry over it, for your friend has gone away.

Pain is observed not to make it go away, but to realize its true nature.

Pain is the key to the door of Nibbāna.

When concentration is good, pain is not a problem. It is a natural process. If you observe it attentively the mind will be absorbed in it, and discover its true nature.

When pain comes, note it directly. Ignore it only if it becomes overpoweringly persistent. It can be overcome by deep concentration brought about continuous mindfulness.

If intense pain arises during walking meditation, stop occasionally and observe it.

Be patient with anything and everything that stimulates your mind.

Patience leads to Nibbāna – impatience leads to hell.

When noting mental or emotional states, do it quickly, energetically and precisely so that the noting mind is continuous and powerful. Then thinking stops by itself.

Unless you can note the wandering thoughts, you are already defeated when attempting to concentrate the mind.

If your mind is inclined to wander, it indicates that you are not really noting thoughts energetically enough.

The acquired ability to do this is indispensable.

If you are aware of the contents of thoughts, they will tend to go on. If you are aware of the thought itself, then thinking will cease.

Do not be attached to thinking and theory.

Meditation is beyond time and space.

So, do not be caught up with thinking and theory. Insight will arise with deep concentration, but logical and philosophical thinking comes with shallow concentration.

Drowsiness can be overcome by putting in more effort. Labelling activities vigorously is helpful. Note sleepiness energetically, if you accept laziness, you will go on half-asleep.

Actually, the energy to note is always there. The trouble is that you are reluctant to do it.

The mental attitude is very important. So, do not be pessimistic, if you are optimistic, you offer yourself an opportunity.

Then there is satisfaction in every situation and there will be less distraction.

Homage to the Blessed One,

The Noble One, the Fully Enlightened One.

Credit to: INTERVIEW WITH VEN.CHANMYAY SAYĀDAW

---

Vipassanā or insight Meditation

The term “Vipassanā” is composed of two parts, Vi and passanā. “Vi” means “in various way”, such as by understanding the three characteristics: impermanent (Anicca), suffering (Dukkha), and no-soul (Anatta).

“passanā” means “watching or seeing things that come to us at the present moment through the six doors: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.” Thus “Vipassanā” means “watching the things that come to us at the present moment through the six doors in various ways.”

“Bhāvanā” means development by means of thought or meditation. Vipassanā bhāvanā is development of insight, so it is called Vipassanā meditation, Insight meditation, or Mindfulness meditation.

By making mental notes or watching the various things through the sixfold sense-doors, when ayogi practices Vipassana meditation, he will bring awareness to a high level so that he will be able to see the true nature of mind and matter.

“True nature” is the nature of three characteristics: (Anicca) impermanence, (Dukkha) suffering or unsatisfaction, and (Anattā) no-soul or insubstantiality the absence of an unchanging soul.

By seeing the true nature of the mental and physical phenomena, he may have less attachment to mind and matter, and gradually be able to weaken the hold of mental defilements that block the path leading to Nibbāna.

When a yogi practices Vipassanā meditation, he should choose an object on which to focus his mind.

The object chosen by him will be the main object of meditation.

Usually, the breath is taken as the object.

The yogi keeps his mind focused on the breath and makes mental notes “in-out, in-out” along with the breath, when his mind gets lost or wanders, or goes out, he makes notes of them too, such as, seeing, hearing, talking, going out, distraction, or emotions.”

In this way, the yogi keeps himself aware of everything that comes to him through the sixfold sense-doors.

For instance, during keeping his mind on the breath, if he sees something or someone in his thought, he must be mindful of seeing, or must make a mental note, “seeing, seeing, seeing”, until that object disappears from his mind; then he goes back to the main object, the breath.

If there is pain or discomfort, keep the knowing mind on that part of the body where the sensation arises.

Make a mental note of the specific sensation as it occurs, such as painful, aching, pressing, piercing, tired, giddy.

It must be stressed that the mental note must not be forced nor delayed but made in a calm and natural manner.

The pain may eventually cease or increase. Do not be alarmed if it increases. Firmly continue the contemplation.

If you do so, you will find that the pain will almost always cease. But if, after a time, the pain has increased and becomes almost unbearable, you must ignore the pain and continue with the contemplation of rising and falling of the abdomen.

Since the Buddha had claimed that this is the Only Way, it must be remembered that no other way can lead to the attainment of Magga, Phala and Nibbāna.

So as to escape from all suffering and to attain the Magga, Phala and Nibbāna one must practice this Mindfulness Meditation to the best of his ability.

Credit to: INTERVIEW WITH VEN.CHANMYAY SAYĀDAW

---

INTRODUCTION TO VIPASSANA MEDITATION

Vipassanā meditation is an awareness meditation. It teaches you to be with the present moment, to live in the present moment. It teaches to be aware of everything that comes to you and is happening to you.

Only the present moment is important.

And everything that comes to you at the present moment through the six sense doors-eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind-is to be noted, to be watched, to be observed as the object of awareness.

When you practice Vipassanā meditation, by making mental notes or just watching the various things that come to you, you will bring awareness to a high level so that you will be able to see things as they truly are.

You will come to see the true nature of mind and body, of the mental and physical phenomena of which you are composed.

“True nature” means the nature of impermanence, the nature of unsatisfaction, and the nature of insubstantiality or the absence of an unchanging self or soul.

It is important to see these three characteristics of nature so that you can have a correct view of things, so that you may have less attachment to mind and body, and gradually be able to weaken the hold of mental defilements that prevent enlightenment.

When you practice Vipassanā meditation, you choose an object on which to focus your mind. That object will be the “home” object of meditation.

Traditionally, the breath is taken as the object. You keep your mind focused on the breath and make mental notes “in-out-in-out” along with the breaths. During the notings of the breath when your mind gets lost or distracted, you make notes of them too, such as “thinking” or “hearing” or “distractions” or “emotions”, etc.

And also, you make notes of the feelings in your body.

In this way, you keep yourself aware of everything that is happening in you or that comes to you through the six sense doors.

By keeping your mind on the object of meditation, you are able to develop concentration or one-pointedness of mind which is necessary for the penetrative knowledge into the true nature of mind and body to arise.

Without concentration this cannot happen.

So, what you need first is concentration.

And in order to have concentration, you must first keep your mind focused on one object.

If you can keep your mind focused on one and the same object for some time you can get the necessary concentration.

But you will find that in the beginning that is very difficult to do even for a short time.

That is because you are dealing with the mind which is very unruly and difficult to control. You can keep a wild bull by tying it with ropes.

But you cannot tie your mind with ropes, so you tie your mind to the object with awareness or mindfulness.

In the beginning, mindfulness may not be strong enough to tie the mind down to one object and you may have many distractions to interfere with your meditation.

But when distractions come to you, whether through the eyes, ears or nose, etc., do not get irritated or upset.

Just turn them into the objects of meditation by making notes of them too.

The beauty of Vipassanā meditation lies in the fact that all things are the object for this meditation. The breath is only the “home” object. If you have no other object to note, just keep noting them too.

Whether you are keeping your mind on the breath or on other distractions, you are doing good meditation if you are aware of them.

When you practice Vipassanā meditation, you have to be patient and persevere. And do not get discouraged, if you cannot get concentration at the beginning.

Everybody has that experience.

And leave all your expectations behind when you are meditating. Just be in the present moment.

And if these thoughts come to you in spite of the instructions, just make them the object of meditation.

In this way, you can effectively deal with everything that comes to you.

MAY ALL BEINGS BE WELL,

HAPPY AND PEACEFUL!

Credit to: Venerable U Sīlānanda Meditation Instructions, Published by Dhammackka Meditation Center, California

---

INTRODUCTION TO VIPASSANA MEDITATION (Part II)

Vipassanā meditation chiefly comes from the tradition of Theravāda Buddhism.

There are two major divisions of Buddhism in the world to-day – Mahāyana and Theravāda.

Mahayana tradition developed as Buddhism spread to the Northern Asian countries of Tibet, China, Japan, etc.

Theravada tradition stay in Southern Asian and spread to Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

The word Vipassanā is composed of two parts – “Vi” which means in various ways and “passanā” which means seeing. So Vipassanā means seeing in various ways.

The ultimate purpose of Vipassanā is to eradicate mental impurities from your mind altogether.

Before that stage, there are benefits of tranquility, peace of mind and the ability to accept things as they come. Vipassanā helps you to see things as they truly are, not as they appear to be. Things appear to be permanent, desirable and substantial, but actually they are not.

When you practice Vipassana meditation, you will see for yourself the arising and disappearing of mental and physical phenomena.

And you will have a clearer comprehension of what is going on in your mind and body.

You will be able to accept things as they come to you with less agitation and deal with situations in a more positive way.

Vipassanā meditation is for the cure of diseases of the mind in the form of mental defilements like greed, hatred, delusion, etc.

We all have these mental diseases almost all the time. In order to at least control them we need Vipassanā meditation. So Vipassanā is for all people.

Since mental impurities are almost always with us, we need Vipassanā meditation almost all of the time. There is no fixed time for the practice of Vipassanā. Morning, during the day, before bed….anytime is the time for Vipassanā.

And Vipassanā may be practiced at any age.

There is nothing which can be called particularly Buddhist in Vipassanā meditation.

There is no element of religion. It is a scientific investigation and examination of yourself. You just observe closely everything that comes to you and is happening to you in your body and mind at the present moment.

Is Vipassanā meditation difficult to practice?

Yes and no. Meditation involves control of mind and mind is most unruly. You come to know this personally when you practice meditation. So it is not easy to practice Vipassanā meditation because it is not easy to control the mind … to keep the mind on one and the same object.

In another way, Vipassanā meditation is easy to practice. There are no elaborate rituals to follow or much to learn before being able to practice. You just sit, watch yourself and focus your mind on the object. Just that.

You need a genuine desire to practice and a readiness to follow the instructions closely because if you do not practice properly, you will not get the full benefits of meditation.

You also need to have confidence in the practice and the teacher and an open mind to try it and see what it can do for you.

Patience is also very important. When you meditate, you have to be patient with many things. There will be distractions, sensations in your body, and you will be dealing with your mind.

You must persevere when these distractions come and you cannot concentrate on the object.

Also, in Theravada Buddhism, purity on morals is emphasized because without pure moral conduct, there cannot be good concentration or peace of mind. Thoughts of something wrong you have done will come to you again and again, especially when you are in meditation, and it will be more difficult for you to get good concentration.

What gadgets do you need for Vipassanā meditation?

Actually, you do not need anything at all. All you need is a place where you can sit down, close your eyes and focus on the object. But I am not against using cushions, benches or even chairs and other things because in order to practice meditation, you need some degree of comfort.

But while you do not need to inflict pain on yourself unnecessarily, you should take care not to be too much attached to comfort, or sloth and torpor will come to you and you will go to sleep.

Vipassanā meditation can and should be practiced in all postures-sitting, walking, and lying down. Whatever you do, you should be mindful.

Cross-legged posture is not essential in sitting meditation. Although it is customary and traditional to sit on the floor to practice meditation, it is not essential in Vipassanā.

If you cannot sit cross-legged, you may sit any way you like as long as it is comfortable for you. What matters in Vipassanā is just the awareness, not the posture. It is better to keep your eyes close, but you may leave them open if you like, whichever is least distracting for you.

But if you happen to look at anything, then you have to be aware of the “looking” and note it. The important thing is to have good concentration. There are no strict rules as to how to put your hand in Vipassanā. You may put them any way you like. The most usual position is on the lap one over the other. Or you may put them on your knees.

Practicing at a time is depends on how much time you can spend for meditation. There is no fixed rule. It is good if you can sit for one hour. But if you cannot sit for one hour at the beginning, then you may sit half an hour or fifteen minutes, and little by little extend the time, until you can sit longer. And if you can sit for more than an hour without much discomfort, you may sit two or three hours if you like.

Should we practice every day? Yes, we eat every day, also we should care for our bodies every day, too. Since we almost always have mental defilements with us, we need to cleanse our minds every day. I recommend the morning hours because then your body and mind are rested and you are away from the worries of the previous day. It would also do you good to meditate in the evening before you go to bed.

But you may practice any time. And if you make it a habit to practice every day, it will be good and beneficial to you.

Remember that, whenever you learn a new skill, you need a teacher. This is important. With the advice of a teacher, you learn quicker and you cannot go wrong. You need a teacher who is competent to give instructions, correct your mistakes, and give guidance when you have trouble in the course of meditation.

If you cannot find a teacher, you may rely on books, although no book can entirely take the place of a teacher. You may be able to do fairly well by reading the instructions and following them carefully. But even then, you may have need for discussion with a teacher occasionally.

Vipassanā meditation can be applied to daily life. You can have awareness of whatever you do whether you are working, walking, doing, etc. It will not be as intense as in meditation or during a retreat, but a more general awareness. And when you apply mindfulness to problems in your life, you will be able to deal with them more effectively.

A meditation retreat provides an opportunity to deepen meditation practice in a supportive environment with the guidance of an experienced teacher. Everything you do at a retreat becomes the object of meditation. A retreat day consists of alternate periods of sitting and walking meditation, a nightly lecture and personal interviews with the teacher.

Continuity of practice is developed by bringing mindfulness to all other activities throughout the day as well. Noble silence is observed during the retreat. Retreats can last for one day, a weekend, a week or longer.

The intensive practice of a retreat is very beneficial for developing good concentration and quieting the mind. Since concentration is essential for penetrative wisdom to arise, a meditation retreat gives you the best possible opportunity to be able to experience for yourself the true nature of reality.

Credit to: Venerable U Sīlānanda Meditation Instructions, Published by Dhammackka Meditation Center, California

---

INTRODUCTION TO VIPASSANA MEDITATION (Part III)

(For loving-kindness Meditation and Vipassanā Meditation – Part I)

[The instructions given here are for those who want to practice meditation for an hour or so. So detailed instructions are given only for sitting meditation and walking meditation.]

To practice meditation, you have to look first for a suitable place. A suitable place is a place which offers you the necessary seclusion for your meditation. You may find secluded places in nature.

However, when you are meditating inside a house, you have to look for the place which is most suitable for meditation and you will then use this place for meditation each time.

You may want to put up a statue or a picture of the Buddha, some flowers, a candle or some incense to assist your meditation, but these items are not so important as is the necessity for a secluded place where you will always practice your meditation in the future.

To begin your meditation, please be seated in a comfortable posture, preferably in cross-legged position, and keep the upper portion of your body erect, but not stiff or tense.

One of the two kinds of cross-legged position is recommended, namely, the half lotus position or the easy posture, which some teachers call “Burmese posture”.

In the half lotus position one leg is put on top of the other, but in the easy posture one leg is put in front of the other, thus the pressure on either leg is minimized.

If any of the cross-legged position is still too difficult for you, you may take any sitting posture which is most comfortable for you. Because some comfort is necessary to continue the practice of meditation, you may even sit on a cushion, a chair or a bench. Though the cross-legged position is the ideal position for meditation, you have to decide for yourself in which position you can maintain your meditation best.

Important in all sitting positions is that you keep the upper portion of your body erect.

Teachers of meditation suggested that we ask forgiveness from those whom we may have offended by deed, speech or thought; forgiving others and ourselves also clears our minds of ill-will. The practice of loving-kindness is also beneficial in that it calms our minds down so that we can go into Vipassanā meditation smoothly. So, before we practice Vipassanā meditation, we will practice forgiveness (which consists of asking forgiveness from others, forgiving others and forgiving ourselves), and loving-kindness meditation.

We practice forgiveness to remove any guilt feelings, Sometimes you did something wrong to somebody by body, speech or in mind and then you have this feeling of guilt.

Especially, when you are meditating, you want to keep your mind pure but these thoughts come to you again and again and spoil you meditation.

Like cleaning the slate, you first ask forgiveness from others. This is one aspect. The other aspect is to forgive others. There may be somebody who has done something wrong to you and you have some anger or grudge against that person. You have to get rid of this anger or grudge, too.

In order to practice loving-kindness fully, you must be able to send thoughts of loving-kindness fully, you must be able to send thoughts of loving-kindness to all beings without exception.

But if you cannot forgive some people (including yourself), you will not be able to practice loving-kindness meditation fully. So, loving-kindness and forgiveness go together. And thirdly, you forgive yourself.

Sometimes, you find it more difficult to forgive yourself than to forgive others.

If you cannot forgive yourself, you will not be able to practice loving-kindness to yourself, and if you cannot practice loving-kindness to yourself, it is very unlikely that you can practice it to other beings.

Therefore, before entering Vipassanā meditation, you have to practice forgiveness; after that you practice loving-kindness meditation.

Loving-kindness is a kind of love, i.e., love without attachment, craving or lust. It is a wholesome and genuine desire for the well-being of all beings including ourselves.

So when you practice loving-kindness and wish for your own happiness, saying, “May I be well, happy and peaceful”, this should not be interpreted as selfishness because, in order to send out thoughts of loving-kindness to others, we have to generate these thoughts first in ourselves.

Also, when you send thoughts to yourself, you can take yourself as an example. That means, when you say, “May I be well, happy, and peaceful,” you think, “Just as I want to be well, happy and peaceful, so do all other beings. So may they also be well, happy and peaceful.” To be able to practice loving-kindness towards other beings, you first have to practice loving-kindness towards yourself. Then you send your thoughts to other beings. You can send these thoughts in different ways.

You can send thoughts to all beings by location. You can send loving-kindness to all beings in this house. By “all beings” we mean not only human beings, but also animals, insects, etc. Then you send loving-kindness to all beings in this area, in this city, in this country, in this state, in this country, in this world, in this universe, and last, to all beings in general.

When you say the sentences to yourself, please, mean them and try to see and visualize the beings you mention as really well, happy, and peaceful, and your thoughts of loving-kindness reaching them, touching them, embracing them and making them really well, happy, and peaceful. It will take about fifteen minutes.

When practicing forgiveness, fold your hands up, and say,

If by deed, speech or thought,

Foolishly I have done wrong,

May all forgive me honored ones,

Who are in wisdom and compassion strong.

I freely forgive anyone

Who may have hurt or injured me.

I freely forgive myself.

Now you can practice loving-kindness meditation. When practicing loving-kindness meditation, repeat the following sentences silently to yourself, about ten times each.

May I be well, happy, and peaceful,

May all beings in this house be well, happy,

and peaceful.

May all beings in this area be well, happy,

and peaceful.

May all beings in this city be well, happy,

and peaceful.

May all beings in this county be well, happy,

and peaceful.

May all beings in this state be well, happy,

and peaceful.

May all beings in this country be well, happy,

and peaceful.

May all beings in this world be well, happy,

and peaceful.

May all beings in this universe be well, happy,

and peaceful.

May all beings be well, happy, and peaceful.

May suffering ones be suffering free

And the fear – struck fearless be.

May the grieving shed all grief,

And all beings find relief.

Loving-kindness can also be practiced by way of person, as follows:

May I be well, happy, and peaceful.

May my teachers be well, happy, and peaceful.

May my parents be well, happy, and peaceful.

May my relatives be well, happy, and peaceful.

May my friends be well, happy, and peaceful.

May the indifferent persons be well, happy, and peaceful.

May the unfriendly persons be well, happy, and peaceful.

May the meditators be well, happy, and peaceful.

May the beings be well, happy, and peaceful.

May suffering ones be suffering free

And the fear – struck fearless be.

May the grieving shed all grief,

and all beings find relief.

After you have sent thoughts of loving-kindness to the whole world and all beings, you practice Vipassanā meditation.

MAY ALL BEINGS BE WELL,

HAPPY AND PEACEFUL!

Credit to: Venerable U Sīlānanda Meditation Instructions, Published by Dhammackka Meditation Center, California

---

INTRODUCTION TO VIPASSANA MEDITATION (Part – 4)

[The instructions given here are for those who want to practice meditation for an hour or so. So detailed instructions are given only for sitting meditation and walking meditation.]

SITTING MEDITATION; VIPASSANĀ

Breaths as Main Object

Now focus your attention on the breaths; keep your mind at the tip to the nose, or at the entrance of the nostrils.

When you breathe in, be mindful of the in-breath for the whole duration, or from the beginning to the end. And when you breath out, be mindful of the out-breath for the whole duration, or from the beginning to the end.

In-breath and out-breath each last about four or five seconds. Be really mindful of the breaths. You may feel a sensation of the air at the tip of your nose or in your nose. Be mindful of it.

And concentrate on the nature of breath, the moving nature or the supporting nature of breath, rather than the shape or form of the breath.

Try to see the in-breath and out-breath as two separate things, not just one and the same breath going in and coming out.

Do not let your mind follow the breath into your body or outside the body. Your mind is like a gatekeeper standing at the gate, taking note of people going in and coming out. Do not force or strain yourself. Just calmly be mindful and watch the breaths.

You may make a mental note when you breathe in and when you breathe out, as “in”,”out”, “in”, “out”.

Making mental notes, or labeling, is just to help you keep your mind on the object; if it interferes with your meditation, you don’t have to do it, but just be mindful of the object.

What is important in this meditation is mindfulness of the object at the moment, and not the notes you make.

If your mind can be on the breaths only, that is very good.

However, mind has a tendency to wander quite often.

So, if, in the course of keeping your mind on the breaths, your mind wanders or goes out and you are aware of if, do not feel guilty, or be upset; just be mindful of its going out. Or you may say to yourself, “going out, going out, going out,” two or three times and then go back to the breaths.

If you see something or someone in your thoughts, be mindful of seeing, or say to yourself, “seeing, seeing, seeing”, until that object disappears from your mind; then go back to the breaths.

If you hear somebody talking in your thoughts, be mindful of hearing or say to yourself, “hearing, hearing, hearing,” and then go back to the breath.

If you talk to someone in your thoughts, or if you talk to yourself, be mindful of talking, or say to yourself, “talking, talking, talking,” and then go back to the breaths.

If you speculate about something, be mindful of speculating; if you analyze something, be mindful of analyzing; if you make judgments, be mindful of making judgments. In Vipassanā meditation, you pay just bare attention to the object, without any additions of your own, as “beautiful”, “ugly”, “good”, “bad”, etc. Or, in other words, you take the object as it is, without subjective additions of your own.

If you remember something in the past, be mindful of the remembering, or say to yourself, “remembering, remembering, remembering” or “thinking, thinking, thinking,” and then go back to the breaths.

If you think of the future and make plans, be mindful of it, or say to yourself, “thinking of future, thinking of future, thinking of future,” or “planning, planning, planning,” and then go back to the breath.

If you become lazy, be mindful of your laziness, or say, “lazy, lazy, lazy.” The laziness will go away after some moments, then go back to the breaths.

If you feel bored, be mindful of boredom, or say to yourself, “bored, bored, bored,” until boredom goes away, then go back to the breaths.

If you have resistance, be mindful of it, or say to yourself, “resisting, resisting, resisting.” When resistance disappears, go back to the breaths.

If you have thoughts of attachment or greed or lust, again do not feel guilty, but be mindful of these thoughts, or say to yourself, “attachment, attachment, attachment,” or “greed, greed, greed,” or “lust, lust, lust,” until they disappear and then go back to the breaths.

If you are upset or angry for any reason, just be mindful of that anger, or in other words, make that anger the object of meditation. Concentrate on your anger, or you may say to yourself, “anger, anger” or “angry, angry, angry” or “upset, upset, upset.” After some moments, the anger will disappear and when it has disappeared, go back to the breaths.

If you want to swallow your saliva, first be mindful of the intention or desire to swallow, saying to yourself, “intention, intention, intention,” or “desire, desire, desire,” And when you have gathered the saliva in your mouth, be mindful of the gathering, or say to yourself, “gathering, gathering, gathering.” When you swallow it down, be mindful of swallowing, or say to yourself, “swallowing, swallowing, swallowing,” then go back to the breaths.

If you have an itching sensation, do not scratch it right away. Concentrate on the place of that itching and be mindful of it, saying to yourself, “itching, itching, itching.” In most cases, itching will go away after some time. When it goes away, return to the breaths. Sometimes, the itching will not go away, but will even become more intense.

In that case try to be with it, taking note of it and be aware of it, as long as you can. If you think you cannot bear it any longer, you may scratch. But before scratching, be mindful of the intention or desire to scratch; and when you move your hand to the place where you experience the itch, be mindful of moving. Move your hand slowly, following the movement with mindfulness. When your fingers touch the place, say “touching, touching, touching.”

When you scratch, say “scratching, scratching, scratching. When you take the hand back, say “taking, taking, taking” or “moving, moving, moving.” When your hand touches your lap, the knee or the other hand again, be mindful of touching, or say to yourself. “touching, touching, touching.” Then go back to the breaths.

If you have painful or unpleasant feelings in the body-numbness, stiffness, or heat – focus your mind on the place of these feelings and be mindful of them. If you have pain somewhere in the body, focus on the place of that pain, and be mindful of that pain, or say to yourself, “pain, pain, pain,” You will have to be very patient with painful feelings. Pain will not easily go away. You have to be patient and be mindful of it. It may go away or it may become more acute. Stay with it as long as you can.

Actually, pain is a very good object for meditation. It is a strong object. Your mind is pulled towards the place where there is pain. So be mindful of it and try to see it just as a sensation, an unpleasant sensation. And it is important that you do not identify pain with yourself, so do not say to yourself, “It is my pain” or “I feel pain.” There is just the pain, just the sensation. If the pain becomes so intense that you think you cannot bear it any longer, you may ignore pain altogether and go back to the breaths, or you may make movements or change posture to ease pain. But when you make movements or change posture, first note the intention to change, or be mindful of the intention to change and then make movements slowly, one at a time, following each movement with mindfulness. And when you have made the changes, go back to the breaths.

So, the breaths are the home object of your meditation. Whenever there are no other objects to be mindful of, you just continue with being mindful of the breaths. If there are more prominent objects, then you take note of them, be aware of them, or be mindful of them, and then go back to the breaths.

Do not use force, do not strain yourself, just calmly watch the objects, take note of them, or be mindful of them. Do not try to forcefully push distraction or emotions or feelings in the body away, just watch them and let them go by themselves.

Movements of the Abdomen as Main Object

For some people, it is difficult to concentrate on the breath at the tip of the nose. Such people can keep their mind on the abdomen and be mindful of the rising and falling movements of the abdomen.

When you inhale, the abdomen extends or rises and when you exhale, it contracts or falls. These movement – rising and falling of the abdomen – can be the main object of meditation instead of the breaths.

Keep your mind on the abdomen and be really mindful of the rising movement from the beginning to the end, and also of the falling movement from the beginning to the end.

Your mind is like a jockey riding a horse, your mind and your abdomen are both moving.

You may even put your hand on the abdomen to feel the rising and falling movements.

After sometime, you may be able to follow the rising and falling movements without your hand on the abdomen.

Here also, you may make mental notes as “rising, falling”, “rising, falling”, “rising, falling”.

The rest is the same as for taking the breaths as main object. The only difference is to substitute breaths with ‘movements of the abdomen’.

Common to Both Methods

Let your mindfulness be precise, i.e., going concurrently with the objects. Take only one object at a time; take the one which is most prominent and be mindful of it.

If you cannot decide which is most prominent, choose just one and be mindful of it.

What is important in this meditation is to be mindful of the object at the present moment; so whether you are mindful of the main object or the secondary object, so long as you are mindful, you are doing the right thing.

Do not have any expectations, do not expect to experience something strange or to see visions or to get results or even to get concentration.

Expectations are good because they motivate us to practice, but when we are right in the practice, they become obstacles to concentration. That is because they are a mild form of greed or attachment which is a hindrance to concentration.

So, if expectations come up in spite of yourself, do not be irritated by them, but just be mindful of them, or say to yourself, “expecting, expecting, expecting.” Then go back to the breaths or the movements of the abdomen.

When you practice mindfulness you make effort, mental effort; the effort you make thus must be neither too much nor too little; if you make too much effort, you will become agitated and you cannot concentrate; and if you make too little effort, you will become sleepy and again cannot concentrate.

The effort you make must, therefore, be well balanced.

If you miss to be mindful and then remember, then be mindful of that missing, or say to yourself, “missing, missing, missing”, or “forgetting, forgetting, forgetting.” Above all, do not be tight or tense in your mind; be relaxed, and calmly watch, or be mindful, or make mental notes.

MAY ALL BEINGS BE WELL,

HAPPY AND PEACEFUL!

Credit to: Venerable U Sīlānanda Meditation Instructions, Published by Dhammackka Meditation Center, California

---

INTRODUCTION TO VIPASSANA MEDITATION (Part – 5)

WALKING MEDITATION

Having meditated for about thirty minutes or more, you may practice walking meditation. When you practice Vipassanā meditation, it is important to keep mindfulness with you always. So, when you change from sitting to standing, keep mindfulness with you. Before standing up, therefore, be mindful of the intention to stand up or to get up.

You may say to yourself “intention, intention, intention,” or “desire, desire, desire,” Then get up slowly, keeping your mind on the whole of your body, or saying to yourself, “getting up, getting up, getting up,” And when you are standing, be mindful of the standing position, or say to yourself, “standing, standing, standing.”

When you walk, it is better to choose a walking path and stay on it. Walk on it back and forth. When you walk, you walk slowly, keeping your mind on the foot or rather the movements of the foot, being aware of at least four stages of each step. And keep your eyes down always.

In order to make a step, you first raise your foot. Keep your mind on the foot and be mindful of the raising or lifting, saying, “lifting.” Then you push your foot forward, or you move your foot forward. Be mindful of that moving, saying to yourself, “moving”

When you put your foot down on the floor, be mindful of the putting down, or just say, “putting.” Then you shift weight to make the other step. Keep your mind on the whole body and say, “shifting.” Then make the next step, being mindful of lifting, moving, putting down, and shifting, making movements slowly.

Keep your eyes open and look at the floor about three or four feet in front of you. Do not close your eyes. You may fall if you close your eyes. Keep them a little open and look at the floor, or look down.

When you reach the end of the walking space, you stop and be mindful of stopping, or say to yourself, “stopping, stopping, stopping.”

When you want to turn around, be mindful of the desire or intention to turn around, or say to yourself, “intention, intention, intention,” or “desire, desire, desire,” and then you turn slowly. Be mindful of the turning movement, or say to yourself, “turning, turning, turning.”

Then walk again, taking note of the different stages in each step, lifting, moving, putting down, shifting, and so on, until you reach the other end of the walking space.

Stop there and be mindful of stopping.

When you turn around, be mindful of turning around and then walk again.

Also, when you walk, you may keep your hands in front or at the back or on the sides. So, you walk back and forth until the end of the walking period.

Walking meditation is designed to give exercise to the body. When you are practicing for half an hour or an hour, walking may not be necessary.

But when you are on a retreat and practice the whole day, your body needs some kind of movement. Hence the walking meditation. At the end of the walking period, the sitting period begins again. So you go back to the sitting place, walking slowly, making notes, being aware of the different stages and steps.

Before lowering yourself down, be mindful of the desire to sit down. Then lower yourself down slowly, keeping your mind on the whole body. When the body touches the floor, say “touching, touching, touching.”

When you arrange your legs and hands, say “arranging, arranging, arranging.” And then, go back to the breaths and be mindful of the in-breaths and out-breaths and out breaths. This way, you alternate sitting and walking and maintain your mindfulness, trying not to lose it at any moment during the retreat.

During retreats, eating is also done with meditation, for everything has to be done with mindfulness. Even the activities in the bathroom should not escape your mindfulness.

[For full instructions for practice at a retreat, please read “PRACTICAL VIPASSANA MEDITATIONAL EXERCISES” by the Venerable Mahāsī Sayādaw.]

After meditation, we share merit. It is a good practice to share merit with all beings whenever we have done some meritorious deeds. Sharing of merit means letting other beings get a chance to get merit themselves by having them rejoice at our merit. By rejoicing at our merit, they themselves get merit, and that merit of theirs is what gives them happy results.

Our merit does not decrease when we share it; in fact, it increases, because sharing of merit is itself an act of merit which is dāna or giving. Therefore, sharing of merit is beneficial to both the sharer and the recipient.

Please share merit as follows and say,

“Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!” at the end:

May all beings share this merit

Which we have thus acquired.

For the acquisition of

All kinds of happiness.

May beings inhabiting space and earth,

Deities and others of mighty power,

Share this merit of ours!

May they long protect the teachings.

[Everything arises and passes away.” When you see this (with insight-wisdom), you are away from sorrow. Dhammapada verse 277]

Credit to: Venerable U Sīlānanda Meditation Instructions, Published by Dhammackka Meditation Center, California

---

Go to Insight Meditation Awareness_Part II

---