Meditation

 

          Sitting meditation and the keeping of the Buddhist Precepts are the essential elements of Serene Reflection Meditation.  Sitting meditation is the practice of quiet contemplation facing the wall; the keeping of the Precepts is the practice of meditation in your everyday life.  Each supports and supplements the other.

The main points to remember in doing sitting meditation are:

Physical Posture:

           Wear loose, comfortable clothing.

          You can use a chair, meditation bench or meditation cushion.  The most important thing about posture is that you sit up straight with a natural, inward curve in the small of your back so that the weight of your head and shoulders is supported by your spine.  Although this posture may take a bit of time to get used to, it should, in the long run, be comfortable and not cause strain on your muscles or joints.

          Keep your eyes open and slightly lowered, resting on a point in front of you.

          Rest your hands in your lap with your thumbs arched up, touching lightly.

Breathing:

          At the beginning of meditation, take two or three good, deep breaths, then let your breathing be natural.

Attitude of Mind:

          Everyone meditates naturally to some degree and the purpose for practicing meditation is to cultivate this innate sense of serene reflection.  Don’t try to think; don’t try not to think: don’t concentrate on any particular thought or image, and don’t try to stop the thoughts, images and feelings that arise.  When you find that you have become distracted, bring your attention back just to sitting still.

          At the beginning, a simple method that will help to establish your meditation in the right pattern is to trace with your mind’s eye the flow of breath-energy up your spine as you breathe in, and down your front as you breathe out, “circulating the breath” up your back and down your front as you continue breathing.  Do this with the first two or three breaths at the beginning of your meditation, then meditate without continuing to concentrate on this pattern.  If you become excessively distracted, take a couple of deep breaths and trace the pattern again.

Time and Place:

          It is helpful to have a place that you dedicate to meditation and a regular time when you can be undistracted.  The place shouldn’t be too bright or dark, too warm or cold.  In the beginning, don’t try to meditate for too long.  Regularity of practice is much more important than amount of time spent: it is much more valuable to do five or ten minutes a day well than to try to meditate for long hours less frequently.  Work out a manageable schedule.  Many people will meditate for a short period every morning and/or evening and have a day with no meditation every week or so.  If you want to meditate for longer periods, extend the length of time gradually.  Never meditate for more than forty-five minutes at a time without getting up to do some walking meditation or other quiet activity.

Walking Meditation:

          If you want to meditate for longer than forty-five minutes, or if you find that you are nodding off when you sit in meditation, you can do walking meditation.  Find a place where you can walk in a circle, or back and forth, freely.  Stand and make a fist with your fingers folded around the thumb of your left hand and fold your right hand over it.  Hold your hands a little above the level of your navel with your elbows slightly out from your body.  Walk slowly in a clockwise direction taking small steps.  Practice the same attentiveness of mind that you do in sitting meditation.  At a meditation retreat it is usual to do walking meditation for about five minutes between sitting meditation periods.

Meditating with Others:

          Many people find it helpful to meditate with a group.  Also, it can be helpful to consult a priest, lay minister or other experienced meditator if you have questions about your practice.

Meditation in Daily Life:

          While sitting meditation is the wellspring of Buddhist training that one always returns to, meditation practice also includes

the activities of your everyday life.  As you go about your day, give your full attention to each thing that you do.  When you find that

you are becoming distracted, bring your attention back to the matter at hand in the same way that you do in sitting meditation. 

When you find that you are excessively distracted, worried or upset, take a moment to collect yourself and be still inside, then go

on with what you need to do next.  The Buddhist Precepts can be a valuable guide, and a useful indicator of when you are

wandering away from the mind of meditation.

The Sixteen Buddhist Precepts:

         The Three Refuges.

Homage to the Buddha,

Homage to the Dharma*, 

Homage to the Sangha*.

 

         The Three Pure Precepts.

Cease from evil,

Do only good, 

Do good for others.

 

 

         The Ten Great Precepts.

Do not kill,

Do not steal,

Do not covet,

Do not say that which is not true,

Do not sell the wine of delusion,

Do not speak against others,

Do not be proud of yourself and devalue others,

Do not be mean in giving Dharma or wealth,

Do not be angry,

Do not defame the Three Treasures (of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.)               

 

* The Dharma is the teachings of Buddhism; the Sangha is the Buddhist community.

 

          The Precepts are the moral foundation of Buddhism.  They are not commandments, nor are they a system of social restraints.  Their purpose is to point out the Life of Buddha, the true nature of yourself and all things, in your everyday activities so that you can awaken to, and learn to rely on It.  One form in which the Ten Precepts are phrased is, “I vow to train myself to refrain from … (killing, stealing, lying, etc.),” thus the keeping of the Precepts is a resolve that you take upon yourself to take refuge in the Three Treasures, to refrain from doing that which perpetuates suffering and to do that which benefits self and others.  Everyone has some inborn sense of the Precepts in the same way that everyone meditates naturally to some degree.  In cultivating this sense, it can be helpful to take some time to reflect on your day, to have a look at yourself, to areas where you are breaking the Precepts and how you can do things differently.  Usually there are one or two Precepts that you know you need to work on.  Every Precept can be understood literally and also in much subtler ways.  For example, you may refrain from killing other human beings, but how about killing another’s reputation by speaking ill of him or her, or about wishing someone would just “go away,” and what about killing animals, insects, or plants?  In fact, no one can keep the Precepts perfectly and yet, as you do your very best to try to keep them, you get a clearer sense of the Life of Buddha which is their source.  In your deepest heart you clearly know what is right and wrong without blame or judgment.

          It is important to understand that the Precepts help you to be aware by showing you areas where you wander away from, and cloud, the mind of meditation.  When you see that you are wandering away, simply bring your attention back to being still, in the present.  As you do this you will be more able to recognize and admit to yourself mistakes that you make and have made, to make amends if need be, and then to go on.

          As with formal sitting meditation, it can be very helpful to train with others in the keeping of the Precepts by participating in the activities of the Sangha.

Further Information:

          For more detailed teaching on Serene Reflection Meditation see The Rules for Meditation and The Shushōgi by Great Master Eihei Dōgen and his exposition on the Precepts with commentary by Rev.

Master Jiyu-Kennett entitled The Kyōjukaimon and Commentary. These can be found by going to the Shasta Abbey website and looking for two booklets that are in downloadable format there, Introduction to Serene Reflection Meditation and Serene Reflection Meditation. 

          A very helpful lecture entitled “Introduction to Zen Training” by Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett can be found on the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives website.

            The website of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives is: 

             www.obcon.org

            The Shasta Abbey website is:

             www.shastaabbey.org.

 

             The Sandpoint Meditation Group website is: 

              Sandpointmeditationgroup.org

 

 

                              Rev. Zenshō Roberson

                              Benewah Buddhist Temple

                              Post Office Box 74

                              Saint Maries, ID 83861

 

                              Telephone (208) 245-4950