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Telling th
I have been practicing zen meditation for a couple of weeks now, and although I feel calm after doing it for 30 minutes a day, should I start to have some long term effects, can people tell me what they feel after a while and how long it took to get to that point?
Answer
Even though we say âmy mind,â the mind which belongs to us is not under our control. Because we have not worked on it very much, our mind tends to be very distracted; it switches from one thing to another all the time. For instance, we may decide, âI am not going to get anxious anymore.â Even though we decide this in one moment, we donât have control over our mind and so we fall under the influence of anxiety a little later. So, we think âmy mind is under my control,â but when we look at it carefully there is not that much control there. It is not like our hand. If we want the hand to go somewhere, we can put it there. If we want it to come back, we can bring it back. But the mind is not nearly so tamed and doesnât respond to those commands so well. This is mainly because we havenât really done much work in bringing it under control. The word âmeditationâ has this implication of training or habituating our mind so that it does what we want. We habituate our mind by meditating again and again.
At first, meditation does take quite some effort but you will eventually observe progress. The whole point is to develop a habit of meditation. If one meditates at first for too long, the mind and body just becomes more and more agitated and difficult to control. If one meditates for a short time and renews the session many times, then each time the mind will be fresh and clear and able to settle down more easily. So meditate again and again until the habit of meditation grows stronger.
The meditation typically done as a starting meditation by practitioners of zen is to develop a stable mind, called calm abiding. When you are able to rest the mind successfully in the calm state you may be introduced to vipassana meditation. Vipassana or insight meditation - is seeing the true nature of mind, thoughts, and experience. Here one cultivates recognition of the reality of our condition and establishes the stability of this recognition, ultimately integrating this recognition with all activity, including sitting, reclining, eating, talking, dreaming, and sleeping. This is where we really start to take control of our mind, so that we don't react to things habitually or compulsively, which is called liberation. If you would like more information there's a free book below.
Even though we say âmy mind,â the mind which belongs to us is not under our control. Because we have not worked on it very much, our mind tends to be very distracted; it switches from one thing to another all the time. For instance, we may decide, âI am not going to get anxious anymore.â Even though we decide this in one moment, we donât have control over our mind and so we fall under the influence of anxiety a little later. So, we think âmy mind is under my control,â but when we look at it carefully there is not that much control there. It is not like our hand. If we want the hand to go somewhere, we can put it there. If we want it to come back, we can bring it back. But the mind is not nearly so tamed and doesnât respond to those commands so well. This is mainly because we havenât really done much work in bringing it under control. The word âmeditationâ has this implication of training or habituating our mind so that it does what we want. We habituate our mind by meditating again and again.
At first, meditation does take quite some effort but you will eventually observe progress. The whole point is to develop a habit of meditation. If one meditates at first for too long, the mind and body just becomes more and more agitated and difficult to control. If one meditates for a short time and renews the session many times, then each time the mind will be fresh and clear and able to settle down more easily. So meditate again and again until the habit of meditation grows stronger.
The meditation typically done as a starting meditation by practitioners of zen is to develop a stable mind, called calm abiding. When you are able to rest the mind successfully in the calm state you may be introduced to vipassana meditation. Vipassana or insight meditation - is seeing the true nature of mind, thoughts, and experience. Here one cultivates recognition of the reality of our condition and establishes the stability of this recognition, ultimately integrating this recognition with all activity, including sitting, reclining, eating, talking, dreaming, and sleeping. This is where we really start to take control of our mind, so that we don't react to things habitually or compulsively, which is called liberation. If you would like more information there's a free book below.
Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance - Any Other Books?
Gatlin
Are there any other books or sites on zen meditation & religion that are as powerful as Robert M Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance? Please give me some good links.
Answer
"The Secret Zen" by Masayuki Yokotani
"The Secret Zen" by Masayuki Yokotani
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