The information here is meant in a general sense, and does not assume a student - teacher relationship.
Meditation is the cultivation of positive mental qualities such as concentration and penetrative insight into the nature of reality, leading to greater mental and physical well-being, self-mastery and happiness. Depending upon what you wish to get out of a meditative practice, it can either be a career or a hobby, and the instructions found here will enable you to develop a firm practice to enable either.
The teacher and their instructions
The teacher-student relationship is like a craftsman and their apprentice’s relationship. The instructions should be followed almost dogmatically until the student is competent and well-grounded in the practice. This is not to say that every teacher is right for every student or they are always correct, only that they are providing help from their experiences.
Breaks
Breaks from the practice should not be considered with-out the guidance of the teacher.
When to meditate
The best time to sit for meditation will depend, in part, on one’s personal daily routine. Many people benefit from sitting either in the morning before breakfast or at the end of the day. Some will meditate both morning and evening. Meditation directly after meals and just before sleep should be avoided to minimise the influence of sleepiness.
Initially, the length of each session need not be very long. Just like physical exercise, mental cultivation (meditation) is a gradual training. One starts off with short sessions with basic instructions and incrementally increases the duration and fine tuning the practice according to the instructions and one’s experiences.
Many meditators' begin with five to fifteen minutes per ‘sit’ once or twice daily. The important point when learning how to meditate is to acquaint oneself with the physical and mental aspects of the practice. Then increasing the duration when one becomes more physically comfortable and familiar with the instruction. Ensure that you do not over-reach by attempting to meditate for longer than can be consistently done each day.
The meditators' physical environment and posture
The environment where one practices meditation should be free from distracting influences such as clutter, noise, light or excessive warmth or cold. It should also be clean and ideally reserved for meditative practice.
Meditation need not be austere and can be practised in comfort. Settle into a comfortable position in a firm, straight-backed chair or a cushion on the floor. The back should be vertical, with a natural “S” shape incline – neither stiff nor rigid. The shoulders should be rolled back so that the scapula is relaxed and the shoulders balanced by the weight of the arms. One's hands can either be placed cupped together, without linking the fingers together, on one's lap, or placed one on each thigh, in a loose and comfortable manner.
The neck should be relaxed and straight. The head should be balanced on the neck and inclined slightly forward with the chin tucked in a little. A useful exercise to achieve good posture is to imagine a thread attached to the crown of one’s head that is gently pulling and extending the head, and the vertebra of the neck and back. Another useful exercise is to gently rock the upper body from the hip from side-to-side as well as forward-to-back in-order to centre oneself.
This posture should support itself although the muscles will need training to keep the posture naturally, so adjustments will be required from time to time.
If using a straight-backed chair it is best to choose one which is both sturdy and level so that one is less likely to lean back in an overly relaxed fashion. One should sit with the back away from the back rest so that the spine supports itself with the feet flat on a mat or cushion. This adjustment helps evenly distribute the weight supported by the spine and pelvis and reduces pressure on the knee joints and surrounding tendons.
The eyes can either be slightly open or gently closed, and how you close your eyes need not always be the same. Opening your eyes is also a useful tool to minimise the influence of sleepiness.
It is not important to sit in a particular posture, but it is important to be comfortable in whatever posture one adopts for the entirety of the meditation session. Everyone is different and things change so it is important to experiment and make adjustments to one’s posture.
When assuming any posture always work within your own range of abilities and limits.
Shrines and ritual
Using rituals in meditation can be useful for new comers. Practising chanting, ringing a bell, and prostration, all have their time and place.
Ritual can support the activity and help set yourself up for the practice. And can be as simple as walking to your meditation area in quiet awareness, or you may wish to start and end sessions with the ringing of a bell and prostrations, with the inclusion of chanting at the beginning or end. Taking ones time, and not rushing any methods being used.
Ringing a Bell can be like the siren at work marking the end of the working day. Here the bell marks the beginning of practice so can be rang once at the beginning and three times at the end.
Bowing should be used to clear the mind, a physical act of setting aside your troubles. When Bowing First kneel with the knees apart, up on one’s toes, with the hands together at one’s chest in añjali. When making añjali the palms should be touching and the fingers and thumbs not spread apart. Raise the gesture of añjali up to one’s face or forehead. Then bend at the waist, keeping the back straight. The hands go down before the torso and gradually separate. As the head goes down make sure your behind doesn’t come up. The forearms are placed on the floor with the elbows just in front of or outside of the knees. The hands are placed flat on the floor about 6 inches apart1 with the fingers and thumbs together. Remember to keep the back straight. The face then comes down to the floor between the hands. The thumbs should be located at either side of the eyes. At this time your behind should be resting on your heels.
Chanting can either be done aloud or internally to oneself, combined with prostrations or not. The key to chanting is to not worry about getting it right with perfect pitch, tempo, pronunciation and melody, rather to developing a conductive mind-state for meditation. Here I shall describe some simple methods combining bowing and chanting.
During chanting many only bow once, although as an act to begin or end a meditative session it is usual for three prostrations to be done. If doing three prostrations it is beneficial to have an object of veneration for each prostration. One beneficial method is to remember the Buddha, or the importance of clarity of mind; the Dhamma, or the importance of truthfulness; and the Sangha, or an admiral friend(s) who helps you develop skilfulness. If preforming a single prostration it is best to simply focus on the act itself.
Each of the three prostrations can be combined with a verse you find inspiring, or a personal affirmation of the precepts. For an example here are two versions of the chanting with prostration.
The teacher and their instructions
The teacher-student relationship is like a craftsman and their apprentice’s relationship. The instructions should be followed almost dogmatically until the student is competent and well-grounded in the practice. This is not to say that every teacher is right for every student or they are always correct, only that they are providing help from their experiences.
Breaks
Breaks from the practice should not be considered with-out the guidance of the teacher.
When to meditate
The best time to sit for meditation will depend, in part, on one’s personal daily routine. Many people benefit from sitting either in the morning before breakfast or at the end of the day. Some will meditate both morning and evening. Meditation directly after meals and just before sleep should be avoided to minimise the influence of sleepiness.
Initially, the length of each session need not be very long. Just like physical exercise, mental cultivation (meditation) is a gradual training. One starts off with short sessions with basic instructions and incrementally increases the duration and fine tuning the practice according to the instructions and one’s experiences.
Many meditators' begin with five to fifteen minutes per ‘sit’ once or twice daily. The important point when learning how to meditate is to acquaint oneself with the physical and mental aspects of the practice. Then increasing the duration when one becomes more physically comfortable and familiar with the instruction. Ensure that you do not over-reach by attempting to meditate for longer than can be consistently done each day.
The meditators' physical environment and posture
The environment where one practices meditation should be free from distracting influences such as clutter, noise, light or excessive warmth or cold. It should also be clean and ideally reserved for meditative practice.
Meditation need not be austere and can be practised in comfort. Settle into a comfortable position in a firm, straight-backed chair or a cushion on the floor. The back should be vertical, with a natural “S” shape incline – neither stiff nor rigid. The shoulders should be rolled back so that the scapula is relaxed and the shoulders balanced by the weight of the arms. One's hands can either be placed cupped together, without linking the fingers together, on one's lap, or placed one on each thigh, in a loose and comfortable manner.
The neck should be relaxed and straight. The head should be balanced on the neck and inclined slightly forward with the chin tucked in a little. A useful exercise to achieve good posture is to imagine a thread attached to the crown of one’s head that is gently pulling and extending the head, and the vertebra of the neck and back. Another useful exercise is to gently rock the upper body from the hip from side-to-side as well as forward-to-back in-order to centre oneself.
This posture should support itself although the muscles will need training to keep the posture naturally, so adjustments will be required from time to time.
If using a straight-backed chair it is best to choose one which is both sturdy and level so that one is less likely to lean back in an overly relaxed fashion. One should sit with the back away from the back rest so that the spine supports itself with the feet flat on a mat or cushion. This adjustment helps evenly distribute the weight supported by the spine and pelvis and reduces pressure on the knee joints and surrounding tendons.
The eyes can either be slightly open or gently closed, and how you close your eyes need not always be the same. Opening your eyes is also a useful tool to minimise the influence of sleepiness.
It is not important to sit in a particular posture, but it is important to be comfortable in whatever posture one adopts for the entirety of the meditation session. Everyone is different and things change so it is important to experiment and make adjustments to one’s posture.
When assuming any posture always work within your own range of abilities and limits.
Shrines and ritual
Using rituals in meditation can be useful for new comers. Practising chanting, ringing a bell, and prostration, all have their time and place.
Ritual can support the activity and help set yourself up for the practice. And can be as simple as walking to your meditation area in quiet awareness, or you may wish to start and end sessions with the ringing of a bell and prostrations, with the inclusion of chanting at the beginning or end. Taking ones time, and not rushing any methods being used.
Ringing a Bell can be like the siren at work marking the end of the working day. Here the bell marks the beginning of practice so can be rang once at the beginning and three times at the end.
Bowing should be used to clear the mind, a physical act of setting aside your troubles. When Bowing First kneel with the knees apart, up on one’s toes, with the hands together at one’s chest in añjali. When making añjali the palms should be touching and the fingers and thumbs not spread apart. Raise the gesture of añjali up to one’s face or forehead. Then bend at the waist, keeping the back straight. The hands go down before the torso and gradually separate. As the head goes down make sure your behind doesn’t come up. The forearms are placed on the floor with the elbows just in front of or outside of the knees. The hands are placed flat on the floor about 6 inches apart1 with the fingers and thumbs together. Remember to keep the back straight. The face then comes down to the floor between the hands. The thumbs should be located at either side of the eyes. At this time your behind should be resting on your heels.
Chanting can either be done aloud or internally to oneself, combined with prostrations or not. The key to chanting is to not worry about getting it right with perfect pitch, tempo, pronunciation and melody, rather to developing a conductive mind-state for meditation. Here I shall describe some simple methods combining bowing and chanting.
During chanting many only bow once, although as an act to begin or end a meditative session it is usual for three prostrations to be done. If doing three prostrations it is beneficial to have an object of veneration for each prostration. One beneficial method is to remember the Buddha, or the importance of clarity of mind; the Dhamma, or the importance of truthfulness; and the Sangha, or an admiral friend(s) who helps you develop skilfulness. If preforming a single prostration it is best to simply focus on the act itself.
Each of the three prostrations can be combined with a verse you find inspiring, or a personal affirmation of the precepts. For an example here are two versions of the chanting with prostration.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammā-sambuddhassa (X3)
Homage to the Blessed, Noble, and Perfectly Enlightened One.
First Prostration Buddhaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
I go to the Buddha for refuge.
Second Prostration Dhammaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
I go to the Dhamma for refuge.
Third Prostration Saṅghaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
I go to the Sangha for refuge.
or
First Prostration <So buddhe aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti ->2
<One gains confirmed confidence in the Buddha through reflecting upon him in this way ->
[Iti pi so Bhagavā] arahaṃ sammāsambuddho;
Thus it is declaired that he, the fortunate, worthy, Completely Upright Enlightened One;
Vijjācaraṇa-sampanno;
is accomplished in conduct & understanding;
Sugato;
A happy traveller;
Lokavidū;
Knower of the World;
Anuttaro;
Without a superior;
purisadamma-sārathi;
Guiding those who are to be trained;
Satthā deva-manussanaṃ;
Teacher of divine and human beings;
Buddho bhagavā'ti.
awake & fortunate.
Second Prostration <Dhamme aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti - >
<One gains confirmed confidence in the trachings through reflecting upon them in this way ->
{Svākkhāto} bhagavatā dhammo;
The Dhamma is taught well by the Fortunate One;
Sandiṭṭhiko;
Visible here and now;
Akāliko;
Not pertinent to any one time;
Ehipassiko;
Open for all to test
Opanayiko;
Leading toward nibbana;
Paccattaṃ veditabbo viññūhi'ti.
To be understood individually by wise people.
Third Prostration <Saṅghe aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti ->
<One gains confirmed confidence in the Sangha through reflecting upon them in this way ->
{Supaṭipanno} bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho;
The Fortunate One’s assembly of disciples are those who have thoroughly entered upon the path;
Ujupaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho;
The Fortunate One’s assembly of disciples are those who have reaching for the straight path;
Ñāyapaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho;
The Fortunate One’s assembly of disciples are those who have following the right method;
Sāmīcipaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho -
The Fortunate One’s assembly of disciples are those who have entered the proper course -
Yadidaṃ cattāri purisayugāni aṭṭha purisapuggalā -
That is the four pairs & eight kinds of noble being -
Esa bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho
These are the Fortunate One’s assembly of disciples
ahuṇeyyo;
and they are worthy of offerings;
pāhuṇeyyo;
worthy of hospitality;
dakkhiṇeyyo;
worthy of gifts;
añjali-karaṇīyo;
and ought to be respected;
anuttaraṃ punnakkhettaṃ lokassa
as they are the best place where skilful qualities can be found in the world.
For affirming the precepts you may simply wish to say the precepts
1. Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the precept to refrain from taking the life of any living creature.
2. Adinnādānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the precept to refrain from taking that which is not given.
3. Kāmesu micchācārā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the precept to refrain from sexual misconduct.
4. Musāvādā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the precept to refrain from lying.
5. Surāmeraya-majja-pamādaṭṭhānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the precept to refrain from consuming intoxicating drink and drugs which lead to carelessness.
Having a shrine which holds an image of an inspiring practitioner or Buddha can be useful as an area you use to direct and face for rituals and practice. It can either be elaborate or simple, although to start off having a simple shrine is best to minimise distractions. Incense can be used on the shrine either as part of your meditative ritual or as a symbolic way to cleanse the internal and external atmosphere, or as a method of timing a practice session.
An important note to end here is that these aids to practice are no more than aids to practice, and should not be relied upon as they can be both aids and hindrances to progressing.
Notes
1 This is a good test of mindfulness, as you may hit your head on the floor if you are not careful!
2 Text between <...> is not recited although part of the sutta.
Homage to the Blessed, Noble, and Perfectly Enlightened One.
First Prostration Buddhaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
I go to the Buddha for refuge.
Second Prostration Dhammaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
I go to the Dhamma for refuge.
Third Prostration Saṅghaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
I go to the Sangha for refuge.
or
First Prostration <So buddhe aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti ->2
<One gains confirmed confidence in the Buddha through reflecting upon him in this way ->
[Iti pi so Bhagavā] arahaṃ sammāsambuddho;
Thus it is declaired that he, the fortunate, worthy, Completely Upright Enlightened One;
Vijjācaraṇa-sampanno;
is accomplished in conduct & understanding;
Sugato;
A happy traveller;
Lokavidū;
Knower of the World;
Anuttaro;
Without a superior;
purisadamma-sārathi;
Guiding those who are to be trained;
Satthā deva-manussanaṃ;
Teacher of divine and human beings;
Buddho bhagavā'ti.
awake & fortunate.
Second Prostration <Dhamme aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti - >
<One gains confirmed confidence in the trachings through reflecting upon them in this way ->
{Svākkhāto} bhagavatā dhammo;
The Dhamma is taught well by the Fortunate One;
Sandiṭṭhiko;
Visible here and now;
Akāliko;
Not pertinent to any one time;
Ehipassiko;
Open for all to test
Opanayiko;
Leading toward nibbana;
Paccattaṃ veditabbo viññūhi'ti.
To be understood individually by wise people.
Third Prostration <Saṅghe aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti ->
<One gains confirmed confidence in the Sangha through reflecting upon them in this way ->
{Supaṭipanno} bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho;
The Fortunate One’s assembly of disciples are those who have thoroughly entered upon the path;
Ujupaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho;
The Fortunate One’s assembly of disciples are those who have reaching for the straight path;
Ñāyapaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho;
The Fortunate One’s assembly of disciples are those who have following the right method;
Sāmīcipaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho -
The Fortunate One’s assembly of disciples are those who have entered the proper course -
Yadidaṃ cattāri purisayugāni aṭṭha purisapuggalā -
That is the four pairs & eight kinds of noble being -
Esa bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho
These are the Fortunate One’s assembly of disciples
ahuṇeyyo;
and they are worthy of offerings;
pāhuṇeyyo;
worthy of hospitality;
dakkhiṇeyyo;
worthy of gifts;
añjali-karaṇīyo;
and ought to be respected;
anuttaraṃ punnakkhettaṃ lokassa
as they are the best place where skilful qualities can be found in the world.
For affirming the precepts you may simply wish to say the precepts
1. Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the precept to refrain from taking the life of any living creature.
2. Adinnādānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the precept to refrain from taking that which is not given.
3. Kāmesu micchācārā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the precept to refrain from sexual misconduct.
4. Musāvādā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the precept to refrain from lying.
5. Surāmeraya-majja-pamādaṭṭhānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
I undertake the precept to refrain from consuming intoxicating drink and drugs which lead to carelessness.
Having a shrine which holds an image of an inspiring practitioner or Buddha can be useful as an area you use to direct and face for rituals and practice. It can either be elaborate or simple, although to start off having a simple shrine is best to minimise distractions. Incense can be used on the shrine either as part of your meditative ritual or as a symbolic way to cleanse the internal and external atmosphere, or as a method of timing a practice session.
An important note to end here is that these aids to practice are no more than aids to practice, and should not be relied upon as they can be both aids and hindrances to progressing.
Notes
1 This is a good test of mindfulness, as you may hit your head on the floor if you are not careful!
2 Text between <...> is not recited although part of the sutta.
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