written by Malinee

Meditation &Vipassana Techniques

Sitting Meditation

Find a quiet place, away from other people and noise. Ware comfortable clothes, and relax. Put away all thoghts for a while, make yourself feel free from the part, and the future. At this moment you are only aware of your movements.

Arrange your seat. The best is to sit on a sitting pad or you can just fold a blanket and sit on the floor. A good sitting pad should give you a stable feeling when you sit on it.The sitting pad should not be too high or too thin. Now you sit cross leg and sit straight up. Close your eye, breathe in and out long and slowly. Let your body relax in a straight position. Please understand that what you start your practice with, it becomes your style. Start well is half way progress in a deeper level. Aware that you are practing toward a real happy feeling. These type of happiness is profound feeling, no compatible to any kind of happiness from the material world. We have a word for this type of happiness called ’Piti’ (It is Pali Language which we use worldwide for Buddhist Meditation Practice). ’Piti’ is much more meanings than just a great feeling, of which I will explain more in the higher level of pratice. Now you are aware only of your breath until you feel more relax. While you are concentrating on your breath, other thoughts might arise from times to times, cut them. Remind yourself that this is just a short moment to experience something great. You have planty of times to think later. Now when you are breathing in think of the word Bud and when you are breathing out think of the word Dho. Buddho means To Awaken. Awaken from unaware, Awaken from not understanding the truth of life & not actualizing the true nature. You will stay with only your breath and the word Buddho. Any thought arises, cut them, come back to your breath and Buddho.

You can begin your practice for 15 min. sitting meditation, then change to 15 min. walking meditation.

Walking Meditation

You understand that you can practise in every actions, sitting, walking, standing or laying. In any action of your body movement, you can meditate. Concentrate on your breath with the word Bud-Dho and aware of your movement.

Walking is one of a good action for meditation practice. Before you sit down to practise your meditation, start with walking meditation, it helps calm down your mind easier and also making good progress in your practice. Please find a quiet place away from other people. The place can be inside your room, or outside in the garden. It should be a long straight path. The lenght of the path should be long enough for walking at least 10 steps. If you can find a 20 meters path in lenght, would be the best. Now you can begin your walking meditation. Stand at one end of the path, and hold your hands to your front or to your back. You also understand that while you are walking, you can switch your hand from front to your back or from your back to the front. Only you are always aware of your actions. Now be relaxed and take a few deep breaths. Feel your right foot. Step forward slowly and think of the word ’Right’. Now feel your left foot. Step forward slowly, and think of the word ’left’. Keep walking slow steps and think of the words ’Right, Left, Right, Left’.until you reach the other end of the path and stop. Slowly turn right, stop half way, one foot at a time and think of the word ’Haft Right". Turn right haft way again, one foot at a time and think of the word ’Full Right’. Now you face your walking path again.You keep walking back and fort with the thoughts of ’Right-Left’ for 15 min., then get out from walking mediation to carry on another 15 min. sitting meditation.

Your practice will start with 15 min walking meditation and follow by 15 min sitting meditation, then meditate longer 5 more mins.every day or every other days. Until you can meditate upto 1 hour. That means your mind is calm down to one good state of peace. During this time of practice, something might happen and you might want the answer. You can find your answer in the following section. The best answer for this starting moment is, put away all the question, just learning by doing. To many memories can slow you down as well, and thing of which has happened might be part of the expecting or memory has created it.

It is advisable to start your practice by taking a meditation course somewhere in your area where it is convenient to go. To get the fundamental of practice and has some clarifies when you need. Then you can be on your own way at anywhere of your interest.

Vipassana Techniques

Vipassana is to practise your awareness or your consciousness. When you finish your sitting and walking meditation, you will learn to aware of every movements. When you walk you know that at this moment you are walking. When you are sitting your know that you are sitting, when you are thinking, eating, talking and so on. When you are going to sleep you are also know that you are going to sleep. You will aware of every movement of your body action, and your thought.

When you have practised Vipassana well, you will find that your meditation will fast improve too. Most of all Wisdom up to transcendental abilities are proved to obtain from both meditation and Vipassana practice together.