Questions on Meditation

[PadmaVonSamba]

When one discerns breath, is it both breath forms, inhalation and exhalation, or just one?

Haha, funny me, sutta was quoted.. Way too heedless i am..

Thank you all.

Edit: ok, more questions.. So according to anapanasati sutta, one is supposed to always label when breathing, well i guess there are more techniques like counting?

So you sit, (im gonna call it this way-), label the duration of the breath and try to feel its sensation as most as possible (first step?), this way one should practice this meditation?

The whole point is to focus the mind without distractions. It’s not about becoming a master of breathing.

[Jokingfish]

What about becoming a master of meditation?

Being that without knowing how to breathe properly, how?

[Jokingfish]

Btw, id call this technique to discern breaths length to be a trick, that has made my meditation better! Any more cool ways to enhance concentration?

Well, maybe its just the taste of something new but this works way better than counting or just observing breath (better as no distractions, or harder to distract yourself), although requires more effort, right? Also, i don't really do much of 'sensitivity of whole body', not that easy for now at least, which is probably not that good that i miss on it, so im thinking I should pay more attention to this sensation of whole body.

Thank you all.

[DharmaJunior]

Stand under a freezing wellspring, maybe that will get your attention. I mean most people don't do that, but I have wondered.

[Jokingfish]

Stand under a freezing wellspring, maybe that will get your attention. I mean most people don't do that, but I have wondered.

I doubt i follow, but i like cold shower.

[DharmaJunior]

Stand under a freezing wellspring, maybe that will get your attention. I mean most people don't do that, but I have wondered.

I doubt i follow, but i like cold shower.

Yes, no follow, not on the frontiers myself. In the past I think some brainwashing allowed me, anyway you are amazing.

btw, sorry but not sorry but I'm drunk and can't control myself.

[DharmaJunior]

ok, back to normal, chamomile tea only today. Try again.

>> It occurred to me that focus is better when there are no options there. Most of the time there are so therefore a higher potential for the mind to wander !? Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm no expert, cause I should mind my manners especially on here.

[Jokingfish]

ok, back to normal, chamomile tea only today. Try again.

>> It occurred to me that focus is better when there are no options there. Most of the time there are so therefore a higher potential for the mind to wander !? Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm no expert, cause I should mind my manners especially on here.

I myself abstain from a lot of stimulation. Living quite simply. That is, in my opinion, very useful.

[Jokingfish]

When you are meditating to sensation of whole body, do you do that while discerning long or short breaths or just sensing the whole body trough breathing without discerning?

[PadmaVonSamba]

When you are meditating to sensation of whole body, do you do that while discerning long or short breaths or just sensing the whole body trough breathing without discerning?

The function of object (such as breath) meditation is to reduce mental distractions down to one thing, such as watching the breath, so that the mind can then rest in a natural state and you can simply observe having the experience of awareness.

It is better not to complicate things which should remain uncomplicated.

[Jokingfish]

More questions on meditation:

I've recently discovered that you can meditate all the time basically - being aware, watching, observing anything that is happening anytime, like brushing your teeth, eating, walking, talking, writing, reading and so on. How important is it to be mindful in this kind of way? I bet it is less potent than meditating while sitting with your eyes closed watching breath, watching body, but how different is it? Anybody can share more on this kind of meditation (just observing anything that is going on), for example I've read Gotama Buddhas words saying something like 'all wisdom and knowledge can be trained only through mindfulness practice', anybody got experience, thoughts on this?

[PadmaVonSamba]

More questions on meditation:

I've recently discovered that you can meditate all the time basically -

Yeah that is good.it is not the same as formal sitting meditation, both are good, like walking and running, each had its functions and benefits.

Sometimes this is known as ‘carrying meditation off the cushion’ or some similar term. It refers to taking the focused mind that one has practiced while doing sitting meditation, and carrying that over into the rest of daily life experiences.

Eventually there will be awareness of where “you” fit into all of this mindfulness, so you don’t let it “go to your head” (which is not a very good way to put it, since it’s all in your ‘head’). In other words, don’t get too wrapped up in thinking to yourself, “wow, look how mindful I am” , getting stuck on that.
At some point there is mindfulness not only of what is being observed, but also of what is doing the observing. This will just occur gradually. You can’t force it.

[Jokingfish]

(a little edit on quote by buddha that I wrote on previous post( ' wisdom and knowledge can be trained only through mindfulness practice',), i meant to say that mindfulness can be all that is needed in order to gain wisdom. At least that's what i read being said (or something similar..))

I also remember reading that mindfulness (being aware of what is going on) should always take place in one's life, that it should become a habit or something? Is it possible to be always aware, maybe apart from sleeping? Altough, what is actually going on (breathing, body sensations, heart pumping), can one observe even in one's sitting meditation session everything what is happening even inside one's body? Maybe one needs to pick what to watch then I wonder.

[DharmaJunior]

There's is mindfulness in the sense of having to be responsible, so clearly for some tasks mindfulness has to be there 100%, then there is mindfulness in relation to the four immeasurables including near and far enemies.

Furthermore there is mindfulness or rather absentmindedness in a general sense since we need to differentiate between mental torpor, daydreaming and also dreaming when one thinks not AFAIK this is to do with life experience, experience of practice, chronological age and environmental factors.

This is a complicated matter, but often what's really important is to have a sense of gratitude when and if one would otherwise mull about absentmindedly (easy for me to say ).

Of course we can all try to do better, have gratitude; respect for life; situational awareness; willingness to give, even if that only means lending an ear.