Everything up to this point has been theory. Now let's
dive into the actual practice. Just how do we go about this thing called meditation.
First of all, you need to establish a formal practice
schedule, a specific period when you will do Vipassana meditation and nothing else. When
you were a baby, you did not know how to walk. Somebody went to a lot of trouble to teach
you that skill. They dragged you by the arms. They gave you lots of encouragement. Made
you put one foot in front of the other until you could do it by yourself. Those periods of
instruction constituted a formal practice in the art of walking.
In meditation, we follow the same basic procedure. We set
aside a certain time, specifically devoted to developing this mental skill called
mindfulness. We devote these times exclusively to that activity, and we structure our
environment so there will be a minimum of distraction. This is not the easiest skill in
the world to learn. We have spent our entire life developing mental habits that are really
quite contrary to the ideal of uninterrupted mindfulness. Extricating ourselves from those
habits requires a bit of strategy. As we said earlier, our minds are like cups of muddy
water. The object of meditation is to clarify this sludge so that we can see what is going
on in there. The best way to do that is just let it sit. Give it enough time and it will
settle down. You wind up with clear water. In meditation, we set aside a specific time for
this clarifying process. When viewed from the outside, it looks utterly useless. We sit
there apparently as productive as a stone gargoyle. Inside, however, quite a bit is
happening. The mental soup settles down, and we are left with a clarity of mind that
prepares us to cope with the upcoming events of our lives.
That does not mean that we have to do anything to force
this settling. It is a natural process that happens by itself. The very act of sitting
still being mindful causes this settling. In fact, any effort on our part to force this
settling is counterproductive. That is repression, and it does not work. Try to force
things out of the mind and you merely add energy to them You may succeed temporarily, but
in the long run you will only have made them stronger. They will hide in the unconscious
until you are not watching, then they will leap out and leave you helpless to fight them
off.
The best way to clarify the mental fluid is to just let it
settle all by itself. Don't add any energy to the situation. Just mindfully watch the mud
swirl, without any involvement in the process. Then, when it settles at last, it will stay
settled. We exert energy in meditation, but not force. Our only effort is gently, patient
mindfulness.
The meditation period is like a cross-section of your
whole day. Everything that happens to you is stored away in the mind in some form, mental
or emotional. During normal activity, you get so caught up in the press of events that the
basic issues with which you are dealing are seldom thoroughly handled. They become buried
in the unconscious, where they seethe and foam and fester. Then you wonder where all that
tension came from. All of this material comes forth in one form or another during your
meditation. You get a chance to look at it, see it for what it is, and let it go. We set
up a formal meditation period in order to create a conducive environment for this release.
We re- establish our mindfulness at regular intervals. We withdraw from those events which
constantly stimulate the mind. We back out of all the activity that prods the emotions. We
go off to a quiet place and we sit still, and it all comes bubbling out. Then it goes
away. The net effect is like recharging a battery. Meditation recharges your mindfulness.
Where To Sit
Find yourself a quiet place, a secluded place, a place
where you will be alone. It doesn't have to be some ideal spot in the middle of a forest.
That's nearly impossible for most of us, but it should be a pace where you feel
comfortable, and where you won't be disturbed. It should also be a place where you won't
feel on display. You want all of your attention free for meditation, not wasted on worries
about how you look to others. Try to pick a spot that is as quiet as possible. It doesn't
have to be a soundproof room, but there are certain noises that are highly distracting,
and they should be avoided. Music and talking are about the worst. The mind tends to be
sucked in by these sounds in an uncontrollable manner, and there goes your concentration.
There are certain traditional aids that you can employ to
set the proper mood. A darkened room with a candle is nice. Incense is nice. A little bell
to start and end your sessions is nice. These are paraphernalia, though. They provide
encouragement to some people, but they are by no means essential to the practice.
You will probably find it helpful to sit in the same place
each time. A special spot reserved for meditation and nothing else is an aid for most
people. You soon come to associate that spot with the tranquility of deep concentration,
and that association helps you to reach deep states more quickly. The main thing is to sit
in a place that you feel is conductive to your own practice. That requires a bit of
experimentation. Try several spots until you find one where you feel comfortable. You only
need to find a place where you don't feel self-conscious, and where you can meditate
without undue distraction.
Many people find it helpful and supportive to sit with a
group of other meditators. The discipline of regular practice is essential, and most
people find it easier to sit regularly if they are bolstered by a commitment to a group
sitting schedule. You've given your word, and you know you are expected. Thus the 'I'm too
busy' syndrome is cleverly skirted. You may be able to locate a group of practicing
meditators in your area. It doesn't matter if they practice a different form of
meditation, so long as it's one of the silent forms. On the other hand, you also should
try to be self-sufficient in your practice. Don't rely on the presence of a group as your
sole motivation to sit. Properly done, sitting is a pleasure. Use the group as an aid, not
as a crutch.
When To Sit
The most important rule here is this: When it comes to
sitting, the description of Buddhism as the Middle Way applies. Don't overdo it. Don't
underdo it. This doesn't mean you just sit whenever the whim strikes you. It means you set
up a practice schedule and keep to it with a gently, patient tenacity. Setting up a
schedule acts as an encouragement. If, however, you find that your schedule has ceased to
be an encouragement and become a burden, then something is wrong. Meditation is not a
duty, nor an obligation.
Meditation is psychological activity. You will be dealing
with the raw stuff of feelings and emotions. Consequently, it is an activity which is very
sensitive to the attitude with which you approach each session. What you expect is what
you are most likely to get. Your practice will therefore go best when you are looking
forward to sitting. If you sit down expecting grinding drudgery, that is probably what
will occur. So set up a daily pattern that you can live with. Make it reasonable. Make it
fit with the rest of your life. And if it starts to feel like you're on an uphill
treadmill toward liberation, then change something.
First thing in the morning is a great time to meditate.
Your mind is fresh then, before you've gotten yourself buried in responsibilities. Morning
meditation is a fine way to start the day. It tunes you up and gets you ready to deal with
things efficiently. You cruise through the rest of the day just a bit more lightly. Be
sure you are thoroughly awake, though. You won't make much progress if you are sitting
there nodding off, so get enough sleep. Wash your face, or shower before you begin. You
may want to do a bit of exercise beforehand to get the circulation flowing. Do whatever
you need to do in order to wake up fully, then sit down to meditate. Do not, however, let
yourself get hung up in the day's activities. It's just too easy to forget to sit. Make
meditation the first major thing you do in the morning.
The evening is another good time for practice. Your mind
is full of all the mental rubbish that you have accumulated during the day, and it is
great to get rid of the burden before you sleep. Your meditation will cleanse and
rejuvenate your mind. Re- establish your mindfulness and your sleep will be real sleep.
When you first start meditation, once a day is enough. If you feel like meditating more,
that's fine, but don't overdo it. There's a burn-out phenomenon we often see in new
meditators. They dive right into the practice fifteen hours a day for a couple of weeks,
and then the real world catches up with them. They decide that this meditation business
just takes too much time. Too many sacrifices are required. They haven't got time for all
of this. Don't fall into that trap. Don't burn yourself out the first week. Make haste
slowly. Make your effort consistent and steady. Give yourself time to incorporate the
meditation practice into your life, and let your practice grow gradually and gently.
As your interest in meditation grows, you'll find yourself
making more room in your schedule for practice. It's a spontaneous phenomenon, and it
happens pretty much by itself--no force necessary.
Seasoned meditators manage three or four hours of practice
a day. They live ordinary lives in the day-to-day world, and they still squeeze it all in.
And they enjoy it. It comes naturally.
How Long To Sit
A similar rule applies here: Sit as long as you can, but
don't overdo. Most beginners start with twenty or thirty minutes. Initially, it's
difficult to sit longer than that with profit. The posture is unfamiliar to Westerners,
and it takes a bit of time for the body to adjust. The mental skills are equally
unfamiliar, and that adjustment takes time, too.
As you grow accustomed to procedure, you can extend your
meditation little by little. We recommend that after a year or so of steady practice you
should be sitting comfortable for an hour at a time.
Here is an important point, though: Vipassana meditation
is not a form of asceticism. Self-mortification is not the goal. We are trying to
cultivate mindfulness, not pain. Some pain is inevitable, especially in the legs. We will
thoroughly cover pain, and how to handle it, in Chapter 10. There are special techniques
and attitudes which you will learn for dealing with discomfort. The point to be made here
is this: This is not a grim endurance contest. You don't need to prove anything to
anybody. So don't force yourself to sit with excruciating pain just to be able to say that
you sat for an hour. That is a useless exercise in ego. And don't overdo it in the
beginning. Know your limitations, and don't condemn yourself for not being able to sit
forever, like a rock.
As meditation becomes more and more a part of your life,
you can extend your sessions beyond an hour. As a general rule, just determine what is a
comfortable length of time for you at this point in your life. Then sit five minutes
longer than that. There is no hard and fast rule about length of time for sitting. Even if
you have established a firm minimum, there may be days when it is physically impossible
for you to sit that long. That doesn't mean that you should just cancel the whole idea for
that day. It's crucial to sit regularly. Even ten minutes of meditation can be very
beneficial.
Incidentally, you decide on the length of your session
before you meditate. Don't do it while you are meditating. It's too easy to give in to
restlessness that way, and restlessness is one of the main items that we want to learn to
mindfully observe. So choose a realistic length of time, and then stick to it.
You can use a watch to time you sessions, but don't peek
at it every two minutes to see how you are doing. Your concentration will be completely
lost, and agitation will set in. You'll find your self hoping to get up before the session
is over. That's not meditation--that's clock watching. Don;t look at the clock until you
think the whole meditation period has passed. Actually, you don't need to consult the
clock at all, at least not every time you meditate. In general, you should be sitting for
as long as you want to sit. There is no magic length of time. It is best, though, to set
yourself a minimum length of time. If you haven't predetermined a minimum, you'll find
yourself prone to short sessions. You'll bolt every time something unpleasant comes up or
whenever you feel restless. That's not good. These experiences are some of the most
profitable a meditator can face, but only if you sit through them. You've got to learn to
observe them calmly and clearly. Look at them mindfully. When you've done that enough
time, they lose their hold on you. You see them for what they are: just impulses, arising
and passing away, just part of the passing show. Your life smoothes out beautifully as a
consequence.
'Discipline' is a difficult word for most of us. It
conjures up images of somebody standing over you with a stick, telling you that you're
wrong. But self-discipline is different. It's the skill of seeing through the hollow
shouting of your own impulses and piercing their secret. They have no power over you. It's
all a show, a deception. Your urges scream and bluster at you; they cajole; they coax;
they threaten; but they really carry no stick at all. You give in out of habit. You give
in because you never really bother to look beyond the threat. It is all empty back there.
There is only one way to learn this lesson, though. The words on this page won't do it.
But look within and watch the stuff coming up--restlessness, anxiety, impatience, pain--
just watch it come up and don't get involved. Much to your surprise, it will simply go
away. It rises, it passes away. As simple as that. There is another word for
'self-discipline'. It is 'Patience'.