Breathing Meditation [Help]

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Michael91
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Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by Michael91 »

I'm very new to Buddhism and have been asking where to start. I've had numerous friendly replies and I feel breathing meditation would be an ideal place to start as I am all for trying meditation.

Please could you post some information on breathing meditation and hopefully this thread will become useful for all.

Thanks
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justsit
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Re: Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by justsit »

Here is very basic meditation instruction. I posted this in your intro thread, but perhaps you missed it.
hop.pala
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Re: Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by hop.pala »

ok i prefer the breath at begin,but later do not watch your breath.in middletime watch your consciousness and not your breath.The watching the breath is only for that you pull your consciousness from your enviroment,and finally from your body consciousness.And when you pulled it from body consciousness do not think about breathing,because are you no more the breathing,are you only pure consciousness without view of body.
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明安 Myoan
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Re: Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by 明安 Myoan »

Here is what got me started. It's an entire book, but even reading a chapter or two would be beneficial :)

It's primarily about breathing meditation.
http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html

Best wishes :heart:
Namu Amida Butsu
Michael91
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Re: Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by Michael91 »

justsit wrote:Here is very basic meditation instruction. I posted this in your intro thread, but perhaps you missed it.
Thank you, I did see it but was also recommended to start a new topic about Breathing Meditation.

Thank you all for your replies, the book looks like it could help a lot. Hop pala I hope that one day I am able to focus my mind on doing that. At this time I feel that there is too much going on in my head and sometimes find it hard to focus. Too much music, games and other images in my head, hopefully that will change.

And so my path begins... :buddha1:
muni
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Re: Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by muni »

One by Thich Nhat Hanh :

"Our true home is not in the past. Our true home is not in the future. Our true home is in the here and the now. Life is available only in the here and the now, and it is our true home.

Mindfulness is the energy that helps us recognize the conditions of happiness that are already present in our lives. You don’t have to wait ten years to experience this happiness. It is present in every moment of your daily life. There are those of us who are alive but don’t know it. But when you breathe in, and you are aware of your in-breath, you touch the miracle of being alive. That is why mindfulness is a source of happiness and joy.

Most people are forgetful; they are not really there a lot of the time. Their mind is caught in their worries, their fears, their anger, and their regrets, and they are not mindful of being there. That state of being is called forgetfulness—you are there but you are not there. You are caught in the past or in the future. You are not there in the present moment, living your life deeply. That is forgetfulness...
Here more: http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?o ... ew&id=3490
TaTa
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Re: Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by TaTa »

http://podcasts.sbinstitute.com/

All of these are podcast of shamata retreats and they all start with mindfullness of breathing. Alan wallace instructions on shamata are the ones that i found more helpfull till now.
Michael91
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Re: Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by Michael91 »

Some excellent information here, all very helpful!
duckfiasco wrote:Here is what got me started. It's an entire book, but even reading a chapter or two would be beneficial :)

It's primarily about breathing meditation.
http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html

Best wishes :heart:
I have read ten paragraphs of chapter one and amazingly everything has related to me and I will certainly read it all!
muni wrote:One by Thich Nhat Hanh :

"Our true home is not in the past. Our true home is not in the future. Our true home is in the here and the now. Life is available only in the here and the now, and it is our true home.

Mindfulness is the energy that helps us recognize the conditions of happiness that are already present in our lives. You don’t have to wait ten years to experience this happiness. It is present in every moment of your daily life. There are those of us who are alive but don’t know it. But when you breathe in, and you are aware of your in-breath, you touch the miracle of being alive. That is why mindfulness is a source of happiness and joy.

Most people are forgetful; they are not really there a lot of the time. Their mind is caught in their worries, their fears, their anger, and their regrets, and they are not mindful of being there. That state of being is called forgetfulness—you are there but you are not there. You are caught in the past or in the future. You are not there in the present moment, living your life deeply. That is forgetfulness...
Here more: http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?o ... ew&id=3490
Again... This is exactly what I believe and understand. I just need to learn how to achieve it. Thanks for the podcasts too, I seriously appreciate all the help!
elf girl
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Re: Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by elf girl »

http://aromeditation.org/

This is a very good resource for beginners. You sign up with your email and every week they send you instructions to perform daily for that week. It starts out very simply and slowly introduces you to more advanced techniques over time. When a person completes the course I believe they would feel pretty confident in their abilities, and more comfortable about seeking more instruction.

It may be what you've been looking for :)
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justsit
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Re: Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by justsit »

Just a quick word of caution - Aro gTer is a controversial organization; see previous discussion here. It is particularly important for beginners to avoid the large number of questionable groups that pass as authentic "Buddhist."

Here is a list you may want to check.
Michael91
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Re: Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by Michael91 »

justsit wrote:Just a quick word of caution - Aro gTer is a controversial organization; see previous discussion here. It is particularly important for beginners to avoid the large number of questionable groups that pass as authentic "Buddhist."

Here is a list you may want to check.
Thank you very much for pointing this out, I must be cautious... I am very glad you have brought this to my attention as the idea of being emailed step by step guides is very appealing to me. :good:
elf girl
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Re: Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by elf girl »

Michael91 wrote:
justsit wrote:Just a quick word of caution - Aro gTer is a controversial organization; see previous discussion here. It is particularly important for beginners to avoid the large number of questionable groups that pass as authentic "Buddhist."

Here is a list you may want to check.
Thank you very much for pointing this out, I must be cautious... I am very glad you have brought this to my attention as the idea of being emailed step by step guides is very appealing to me. :good:
If the weekly step by step meditation instructions sound appealing to you, I feel you should consider trying it out still. The emails teach breath meditation much like a clinical psychologist would- sans the religion. Even after taking their meditation course I know nothing substantial of the Aro organization, and while it's surprising to learn that they may be a cult I don't feel any differently about their meditation course. I would still recommend it to beginners :)

When I was first getting into Buddhism, I followed this meditation course for most of the practical instruction and read books and listened to podcasts to get a taste for the mythology and teachings of various schools. If you're uncomfortable trying it because of the questionable status of the source, there are lots of other resources out there that will have the same information. The best part of the course is the detail they (eventually) get into about posture.

Good luck on your journey, whatever that may be :P
Punya
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Re: Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by Punya »

Hi Michael. Here's another option http://learning.tergar.org/course_libra ... meditation. It is a meditation course that does not require you to be a buddhist. It includes weekly videos and starts with 10 minute meditation sessions.
We abide nowhere. We possess nothing.
~Chatral Rinpoche
Michael91
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Re: Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by Michael91 »

Brilliant! Original but I shall be starting tomorrow, it being New Year!
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Ayu
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Re: Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by Ayu »

This one is funny and inspiring:
One Moment Meditation -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfetFVePqWo
Vajraprajnakhadga
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Re: Breathing Meditation [Help]

Post by Vajraprajnakhadga »

elf girl wrote:
Michael91 wrote:
justsit wrote:Just a quick word of caution - Aro gTer is a controversial organization; see previous discussion here. It is particularly important for beginners to avoid the large number of questionable groups that pass as authentic "Buddhist."

Here is a list you may want to check.
Thank you very much for pointing this out, I must be cautious... I am very glad you have brought this to my attention as the idea of being emailed step by step guides is very appealing to me. :good:
If the weekly step by step meditation instructions sound appealing to you, I feel you should consider trying it out still. The emails teach breath meditation much like a clinical psychologist would- sans the religion. Even after taking their meditation course I know nothing substantial of the Aro organization, and while it's surprising to learn that they may be a cult I don't feel any differently about their meditation course. I would still recommend it to beginners :)

When I was first getting into Buddhism, I followed this meditation course for most of the practical instruction and read books and listened to podcasts to get a taste for the mythology and teachings of various schools. If you're uncomfortable trying it because of the questionable status of the source, there are lots of other resources out there that will have the same information. The best part of the course is the detail they (eventually) get into about posture.

Good luck on your journey, whatever that may be :P
They are far from a cult. They are certainly eccentric in external elements compared to the mainstream monastic traditions that most people are familiar with, but their teachings are actually rather mainstream from a Dzogchen perspective.

Also I do not see the "controversy" that an earlier poster refers to when it comes to Aro. If one does not connect with their tradition, its practices, or their unique "made up" yidams (all yidams are "made up" by the way), then one does not connect. There is no need to cast aspersions upon them as I have seen on this forum (as a lurker). Anyone who finds himself or herself doing this in regards to any tradition or lineage that they do not connect with or understand should really examine their own motives for doing such a thing. After all, Buddhism is method not truth. Dogmatism within Buddhism is non-sensical. (This is not to say that there are not fraudulent groups and teachers. It is simply that we have no business judging or calling groups names based on nothing but our personal conceptual framework.)
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