Chapter 10 - Basic Methods Of Meditation

I am now going to present eight basic methods of meditation. They are simple and seemingly easy to follow; however, they are difficult to execute to perfection by most beginners. The practitioner may choose to work continually on one of them, rotate and practice all of them, or practice any one of them, which seems appropriate to the situation.

These basic methods consist of three practices on concentration, three practices on observation and two practices on the unification of concentration and observation.

1. Concentration Practice

1.1 Chanting

Chant the name of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, or a mantra continuously and single mindedly. For example, chant Amitabha or Om Ma Ni Bei Mi Hong.

Traditionally chanting is not considered a concentration practice because it is not attending to a fixed point; however, this book is an introduction to meditation for the very beginners, and I believe that chanting is quite appropriate to begin with. For a rather thorough exposition on chanting practice please read my book titled "The Buddhist Practice of Chanting "Amitabha.""

1.2 Counting the Breath

Breathe normally. During one breath, i.e., from the beginning of one inhalation to the end of one exhalation, chant silently: One, one, one,... Then, during the next breath, chant silently: Two, two, two,... Continue in this manner until one reaches chanting five, and then start over with chanting one again.

Simply do the silent counting during breathing without paying any attention to the quality or change of one"s breath. However, in the course of this practice the breathing will naturally become subtler and subtler.

1.3 Visualizing One Point

Think of one"s body as transparent and insubstantial as a rainbow or air bubble, and that at the level of the navel, right in the center of the trunk there is a sky blue ball of light, the size of a pea. Set one"s mind on this ball during the whole session. If one"s mind tends to become sleepy, one may raise the level of this ball up to that of the heart, throat or forehead; nevertheless, during one session the position of the ball should remain the same throughout.

2. Observation Practice

2.1 Observing Sensations

Observe all the various sensations of the body as they come and go; remain neutral all the time, i.e., refrain from becoming attached or displeased; let the sensations come and go on their own without anticipation or clinging. Beginners may restrict their attention to only a small area of the body or a certain type of sensation such as sounds, smells, etc.

2.2 Observing Thoughts

Observe the natural coming and going of thoughts in one"s mind without getting entangled with them; pass no judgment and do not engage in the thinking process; be an impartial onlooker.

2.3 Observing Breaths

Let one"s attention follow the flow of breathing: While breathing out one"s attention flows out and dissolves into the universe; while breathing in one"s attention draws in and rests at the center of the abdomen. Be mindful of the variations in one"s breathing such as long or short, coarse or subtle, and present or absent—sometimes the breath is present in only one nostril and during meditation the breathing may stop for an indefinite period.

The essential point of these observation practices is to observe things as they are, without making judgmental distinctions. Usually our conceptual mind is operating and casts a blinder over our immediate experience, consequently we fail to experience things as they are and we live almost exclusively within our thoughts. Therefore, objective observation of our immediate experience is used to help pull us gradually out of conceptual frameworks. Through long term practice of objective observation one naturally realizes the impermanence, Limitless Oneness and intangibility of phenomena and gradually becomes free from the net of conceptual illusions.

3. Unification of Concentration and Observation

3.1 Unification of Mind and Wind

A detailed description of this practice is contained in Appendix A.

3.2 The Practice of Singing Along

A detailed description of this practice is contained in Appendix B.