Chapter Two: Sitting Meditation

In this chapter, I will explain a formal method of practice according to the framework discussed in the first chapter, using the practice of meditation in the sitting position as an example. Sitting meditation is the most basic of meditation practices. It is a technique that is easy for anyone to perform; if you are able, you can sit cross-legged for greatest stability and concentration, but if you are not you can also practice on a chair or bench. You can even apply the same technique to a lying position if you are not able to sit up straight.

The practice of sitting meditation is based on watching the movements of the body while sitting still. When we sit very still, the whole body is tranquil and there is almost no movement, except at the moment when the breath comes into the body and then when the breath goes out of the body. At each of these moments, there should be a movement of the abdomen - if you place your hand on your abdomen you should be able to feel the rising and falling motion in sync with the breath.

For those who have never practiced meditation, this might be difficult to perceive, it being an unfamiliar phenomenon. If you place your hand on your abdomen, though, you should be able to experience for yourself that when the breath goes into the body, the abdomen rises - maybe just slightly, but it does rise naturally. When the breath goes out of the body, the abdomen will naturally fall.

If it is still difficult to perceive this motion even with your hand on your abdomen, you can try lying down on your back until you are able to perceive the motion. Most often, difficulty in finding the motion of the rising and falling of the abdomen arises for those who lead especially stressful lives; if you are such a person, you should not be discouraged by your inability to experience the motion. You will find that after some time practicing meditation your mind and body will begin to relax until you are able to breathe as naturally sitting up as when you are lying down.

The most important point is that we must observe the breath in its natural state, not forcing or controlling it in any way. In the beginning this may lead to somewhat shallow and uncomfortable breathing but once you practice for some time and your mind begins to let go and stop trying to control the breathing, the rise and fall of the abdomen will become more clear and allow you to practice more comfortably.

It is this rising and falling motion that we will use as our first object of meditation. Once we becomes proficient at watching the motion of the abdomen, it will be a familiar default object of meditation for us to return to at any time.

The formal method for sitting meditation is as follows: [1]

1. We sit with the legs crossed if possible, with one leg in front of the other, or in any position which is comfortable as necessary.

2. Traditionally, we sit with one hand on top of the other, palms up on our lap.

3. We sit with our backs straight, although it is not necessary to have the back perfectly straight if this is uncomfortable; just as long as one is not bending over to the point where one is not able to experience the movements of the abdomen.

4. We practice with the eyes closed. Since our focus is on the stomach, having the eyes open will only distract us away from our object of attention.

5. Once we are in a suitable position, we simply send our mind out to the abdomen; when the abdomen rises, we simply say to ourselves, silently, in the mind, "rising". When the stomach falls, we say to ourselves, "falling". "Rising", "falling" "rising", "falling".

Again we do not speak these words at the mouth. It's important to understand that we're creating this clear thought in the mind, and the mind should be with the abdomen. So, in a way, it is as though we are speaking into the abdomen, saying to ourselves in the mind, "rising" when the abdomen rises, and "falling" when the abdomen falls. This may be carried out for many minutes; five minutes, ten minutes, or for as long as is able to sit still.

Once one has developed an ability to acknowledge the movements of the abdomen, the next step is to incorporate into the practice all of the four foundations outlined in the last chapter: the body, the feelings, the mind, and the mental states.

Regarding the body, here we are already aware of the body in watching the rising and the falling; that should be enough for a beginner. At times when this motion is not clear, one can also acknowledge the position of the body as “sitting, sitting”, or “lying, lying” as the case may be.

As for feelings, when a sensation arises in the body, carrying our mind away from the abdomen, for example a feeling of pain, instead of getting upset and letting the pain be a cause for mental suffering as well, we take the pain itself as our meditation object.

This is because any one these four foundations may serve as a meditation object. All four are part of reality. We don't have to stay with the rising and falling of the abdomen at all times. Instead, when pain arises, we can observe this new object, the pain. We look at it and try to see it clearly, rather than judging or identifying with it. As explained earlier, we simply focus on the pain and say to ourselves, "pain, pain, pain, pain" until it goes away. We do this to avoid getting upset about the pain; instead, we simply see it for what it is and let it go.

If we feel happy, we can say to ourselves, "happy." If we feel peaceful or calm, we can say to ourselves, "peaceful," or "calm" until that feeling goes away, as explained in the first chapter. In this case we are trying to avoid clinging to the feeling as positive, so that we don't require pleasant sensations to make us happy, and when they are gone we are not dissatisfied. When the sensation disappears, we come back again to the rising and falling of the abdomen and continue acknowledgement as “rising”, “falling”.

As for the third foundation, the mind, if while watching the rising and falling one's mind starts to wander, thinking about the past or future; whether they be good thoughts or bad thoughts, instead of letting our mind wander and drift away and lose track of reality, we bring the mind back to the reality of the thought and say to ourselves, "thinking", as explained in the first chapter. We can say to ourselves, "thinking, thinking" a few times and it will go away by itself. Then we can come back to the rising and falling and continue our practice as normal.

As for dhammas, when one's mind gives rise to liking, when we are pleased by a certain experience, we can say to ourselves, “liking, liking”. When we don't like something, or become angry, bored, or frustrated, we can say to ourselves “disliking, disliking”, "angry, angry", “bored, bored”, or "frustrated, frustrated". When we feel lazy or tired or drowsy, we can say to ourselves “lazy, lazy”, "tired, tired" or "drowsy, drowsy". When we feel distracted or worried, we can say, "distracted, distracted" or "worried, worried". When doubt or confusion arises in our mind, we can say to ourselves "doubting, doubting" or "confused, confused" and so on.

This set of dhammas, called the “mental hindrances”, are particularly things that create difficulty in the meditation. Without these states, our meditation would proceed quite smoothly; we would be able to watch the rising and falling or the pain, or so on, without break. Because these states exist in our minds, however, we find ourselves becoming incessantly sidetracked by them rather than training our minds to see clearly, and our meditation is unable to progress. So these dhammas are especially important to remember and understand clearly as they arise. When any one of these states arise, we must catch it immediately, remind ourselves of its nature, see it clearly for what it is, and thus bring the mind back again to a clear awareness of the present moment.

Formal meditation practice in this way has many benefits, [2] the first benefit being that our mind begins to calm down become more peaceful. You should see that if you persevere in clear awareness of reality, your mind becomes happier, lighter and freer from the things that bind it to the endless cycle of suffering. Many meditators, even in the beginning stages, when they strive diligently in the practice, not allowing their minds to wander, are able to experience great states of bliss and happiness, such that they have never experienced before, even in a few days of intensive practice with a teacher. It is important, of course, to recognize these experiences as simply a fruit of the practice rather than mistaking the enjoyment of them for proper practice. We must therefore acknowledging them as we would any other object, as in “happy, happy”, “calm, calm”, and so on. Nonetheless, it is clear that these feelings are a true benefit of the practice that one can see for oneself in no long time.

The second benefit is that we begin to realize things about ourselves and the world around us that we did not realize before. We come to understand that inside ourselves we have many things that we would better do without. We come to see why suffering arises in our minds and in our hearts; why we fall into suffering, even though we wish only for happiness. We come to see that those objects of our desire that we thought would bring us true happiness are all merely ephemeral phenomena of the physical and mental aspects of our existence, arising and ceasing incessantly, and are not worth clinging to or striving for in any way.

In the same way, we come to understand other people as well; before when other people became angry at us, we would immediately think poorly of them, giving rise to dislike or even hatred towards them for their actions and speech. Once we practice meditation, we come to understand that we have these same emotions inside of ourselves, and so we come to understand why people do and say and think the things that they do, and so are more inclined to forgive others for their shortcomings.

The third benefit of the practice that we should be able to see is that we become more aware and mindful of the world around us as a result of our practice. We become more aware of our experience of reality, the people and objects of the senses around us and the bodily and mental states inside of us that come and go incessantly. So when difficult situations arise, instead of being caught off guard, falling prey to likes and dislikes, fear, anxiety, confusion, and so on, we are able to respond to situations far better than before we started meditating, and to accept situations and experiences for what they are in a way we were never able before. For example, we are able to bear sickness much better than before; we are able to take difficulty much better than before; even death we are able to take much better than we would have otherwise, through the practice of meditation.

The fourth benefit, what we're really aiming for in the meditation practice, is that through the meditation practice we are able to rid ourselves of the evils in our mind, the unwholesome states that exist in our hearts and cause suffering for ourselves and for those around us; states of anger, greed, delusion, anxiety, worry, stress, fear, arrogance, conceit – all sorts of mental states that are useless, of no benefit to us or to other people and in fact create unhappiness and stress for us and for those close to us.

So, this is an explanation of a basic, formal meditation practice. At this point, I would suggest that you practice according to this method at least once before going on to the next chapter or back to your daily life. Try practicing now, for five or ten minutes or however long is convenient; practice sitting meditation for the first time, right now, before you forget what you have read in this chapter. In this way, rather than being just like a person reading a menu, you will be able to taste the fruit of the meditation practice for yourself. Thank you for your interest, and I sincerely hope that this meditation will bring to you peace, happiness and freedom from suffering in your life.

Notes:

[1] Please see illustration 41 in the appendix for two traditional sitting postures.

[2] The following four benefits are taken from the Saṅgītisutta, Dīgha Nikāya (DN 33).