BUDDHIST PRACTICE: MEDITATION 3

proper instruction

There are many sources that give proper instructions for meditation. I have personally combined the reading of many books by an assortment of both Western and Eastern authors of Buddhist and Yoga topics with a friend's advice and online instructions. From this point, I practiced for myself and then continued to read and re-read many books, until I accumulated enough information and experience to locate the way of meditating that works best for me. My own preferred method of meditating whilst doing chores and 'living' is considered advanced. Yet, I find it far easier than the basic instruction for sitting and walking meditation, with which I seem to have some difficulty!

There are many online sources that provide instruction, whether a Buddhist website or online Buddhist study group. Just running a search on Buddhist meditation will amass many options. It might therefore be better to visit the library, where they would be limited to around a dozen books dealing with the subject. Methods described in books range from simply sitting still and counting the breath, as can be found in much Western Buddhist literature, to full explanations given in entire books, such as the Dalai Lama's 'Stages Of Meditation', which I have currently read three times.

A third way of learning meditation is to attend a meditation retreat. Meditation retreats come in many forms and styles. Some options will last from a weekend up to ten days, whilst others suited to the serious Buddhist and usually centered in a Monastery, may last for around three years. I have not personally done an official retreat, due to having a teenage son to mind, an aversion to being given 'only one' method of doing something rather than a choice, and not having the funds or time to indulge anyway. I have preferred to read of the many various possibilities, and then to find out which work best for me, rather than to center on one method of meditation and stick with it. I think another problem I might experience with an official retreat is that one generally is expected to sit still during meditation. I find this difficult, for my breathing moves my torso and my legs cramp easily.