Meditating on...

[MalleableGirlParts]

Hi,

Can anybody explain what it means to "meditate on..." something? I'm not sure I understand what the actual process of that is.

I had heard that the Dalai Lama spends two hours every morning meditating on scriptures. But I don't understand the nuts and bolts of that. Is it just repeating them over and over? Dissecting individual words? Placing them into hypothetical scenarios?

Maybe it's unique to everybody. Maybe it can't be explained and can only be experienced by the person (me). Maybe that's my problem. I wanna know how to do something. I want to understand before I do.

Maybe I should sit down and shut up. :-)

[mdonnoe]

Hello Jenn!

From a uniquely Soto Zen point of view, I haven't really heard people use that expression - our practice being more "shikantaza" - "just sitting" rather than thinking of something.

That being said, I've been in Buddhist communities for over two decades, and I've heard people over the years (myself included) say things like, "Sit with that." Like - "take that thing you're dealing with to the meditation cushion." As I've used that expression, I've never meant to refer to a particular practice or structure, but more like - let that thing you're dealing with right now have space in your heart, and add in the medicine of stillness and silence to it (in meditation), but don't "work on it" on the cushion. I've always understood people saying that to mean "bring stillness and silence to your heart/mind" rather than "go wrestle with that until it's solved."

In Christian meditation (which I'm also quite familiar with), there's a monastic contemplative practice called "Lectio Divina," where people do actually meditate on a piece of scripture. Also, having practiced in the Gelugpa tradition of the Dalai Lama for several years, I doubt he meant that, though - more likely, he meant that he either chants the scripture (such as a sutra), or reads it and then sits meditation.

In any case, my thoughts are - study is nice, and so is shikantaza. But they are two different things.

Of course, to quote LeVar Burton, "But don't take MY word for it..." I'm just a student too, and I leave space to be wrong, to be corrected, or to learn more about everything.

Gassho,

Michael
SatLah

[MalleableGirlParts]

Hello Jenn!

From a uniquely Soto Zen point of view, I haven't really heard people use that expression - our practice being more "shikantaza" - "just sitting" rather than thinking of something.

That being said, I've been in Buddhist communities for over two decades, and I've heard people over the years (myself included) say things like, "Sit with that." Like - "take that thing you're dealing with to the meditation cushion." As I've used that expression, I've never meant to refer to a particular practice or structure, but more like - let that thing you're dealing with right now have space in your heart, and add in the medicine of stillness and silence to it (in meditation), but don't "work on it" on the cushion. I've always understood people saying that to mean "bring stillness and silence to your heart/mind" rather than "go wrestle with that until it's solved."

In Christian meditation (which I'm also quite familiar with), there's a monastic contemplative practice called "Lectio Divina," where people do actually meditate on a piece of scripture. Also, having practiced in the Gelugpa tradition of the Dalai Lama for several years, I doubt he meant that, though - more likely, he meant that he either chants the scripture (such as a sutra), or reads it and then sits meditation.

In any case, my thoughts are - study is nice, and so is shikantaza. But they are two different things.

Of course, to quote LeVar Burton, "But don't take MY word for it..." I'm just a student too, and I leave space to be wrong, to be corrected, or to learn more about everything.

Gassho,

Michael
SatLah

Hi Michael!

This is a great answer, thank you! I'm sure I'm already reading too much into it. I like the idea of adding the medicine of stillness and silence. I actually did that earlier today. I had some kind of stressful news and the first thing I did was sit. I felt like I needed to. Not to get an answer to my next steps, but just to let it be processed, I guess. I think it helped.

Thanks!

[mdonnoe]

I've found over the years that shikantaza is great medicine! Haha, it even works on hiccups! (The last time I had bad hiccups, I got on my zafu and sat... and no kidding, the hiccups were gone in 10 seconds!).

Gassho,
Michael

SatLah

[Bion]

From a uniquely Soto Zen point of view, I haven't really heard people use that expression - our practice being more "shikantaza" - "just sitting" rather than thinking of something.

That being said, I've been in Buddhist communities for over two decades, and I've heard people over the years (myself included) say things like, "Sit with that." Like - "take that thing you're dealing with to the meditation cushion."

My own take on ¨sit with that¨ is sit next to it.. let go of it, let go of wrestling with it, dissecting it, abusing it, trying to fix it and change it. Just make space for it and let it be still next to you and experience the radical equanimity of letting it be what it is for a little bit. See if after sitting together it might look differently.

Gassho
sat lah

[Jundo]

What those guys said.

Gassho, Jundo
stlah

[John MacBrayne]

Tibetan meditation involves a lot of visualisation, ( although not exclusively) and has some complex visualisations involving symbols, letters, deities etc. There is usually a requirement (Samaya) for practitioners who have received certain empowerments to recite a Sadhana daily, some of which can be quite lengthy, especially in the Vajrayana tradition.

[MalleableGirlParts]

What those guys said.

Gassho, Jundo
stlah

[Matt Johnson]

Anything that you have the ability to pay attention to for a defined period of time is your object of attention. Most of us can't even sit still for 5 minutes let alone pay attention to any one thing (like the breath or a koan) for more than 30 seconds. Even those that think they can may be surprised that they are still only "half-assing" it.

_/\_
sat/ah
matt

[MalleableGirlParts]

My own take on ¨sit with that¨ is sit next to it.. let go of it, let go of wrestling with it, dissecting it, abusing it, trying to fix it and change it. Just make space for it and let it be still next to you and experience the radical equanimity of letting it be what it is for a little bit. See if after sitting together it might look differently.

Gassho
sat lah

Thank you!

[Jundo]

Anything that you have the ability to pay attention to for a defined period of time is your object of attention. Most of us can't even sit still for 5 minutes let alone pay attention to any one thing (like the breath or a koan) for more than 30 seconds. Even those that think they can may be surprised that they are still only "half-assing" it.

_/\_
sat/ah
matt

In Shikantaza, we do not sit seeking to pay attention to any one object. We may lightly follow the breath in and out, without particularly thinking about it. We may sit in choiceless, open awareness. But we do not hold attention to one thing, such as the breath or a Koan.

We certainly don't undertake those Tibetan complex visualisations involving symbols, letters, deities etc.

Gassho, Jundo
stlah

[Matt Johnson]

In Shikantaza, we do not sit seeking to pay attention to any one object. We may lightly follow the breath in and out, without particularly thinking about it. We may sit in choiceless, open awareness. But we do not hold attention to one thing, such as the breath or a Koan.

We certainly don't undertake those Tibetan complex visualisations involving symbols, letters, deities etc.

Gassho, Jundo
stlah

Ohhh so that's what we are supposed to be doing!!! Ill try to not try harder next time!

_/\_
Sat/ah
matt