What Is Meditation by Bhante Gunarantana
Bhante Gunaratana explains meditation, which is the way I learned how to meditate!
Bhante G talks about his life as a monk, what is mindfulness, what is suffering, what is loving kindness and goes into what I wrote about in the Ten Fold Path.
Bhante G Talks About Meditation and His Life.
I found my next meditation teacher. My first meditation teacher was S.N. Goenka (The Art Of Living) passed away a several years ago, and I've been looking for someone who could replace this kind and patient person.
Steemit is going to pay for my retreat! I don't have an exact date when I will go, probably this coming winter of 2018.
I was listening to Bhante's interview on Wisdom Podcast, and everything he spoke of I remember learning from my former teachers Sunim and Goenka.
- Right View
- Right Intention/Thought
- Right Speech
- Right Concentration
- Right Livelihood
- Right Effort
- Right Mindfulness
- Right Concentration
- Right Knowledge/Wisdom
- Right Liberation
I will flag comment spam at 1% strength. If you keep on spamming my post I will flag you at 100%. I don't care if you have limited English abilities, write a couple of sentences about this article, no copy-paste please. I will flag: one sentence comments, links to your blog and begging for up-votes and follows. Also I will flag comments that have nothing to do with my blogs article. I will also check your comment section to see if you have been comment spamming on other blogs.
Good one but I am more into merkaba
Wow nice one!!!! 100% upvotet and also resteeeemed!!!!
Thanks for this diamond!!!!
Back now! First had to check all links ;-)
Yours or from @mammasitta ... we all use nearly the same, only other names ;-) for me as a yogini it was normal to practice the transcendent Meditation.
Tesla spoke about the numbers 9,6,3...
We all use kymatika
Sound and light :-))))
I will listen again my dear @reddust
Finally an interesting article today!
Always thanks to @mammasitta for finding such peace’s of light ;-)
Hugs to ya
We have the responsibility to keep on shining, to lighten those dark spots of Ego everywhere we look at those days.
Thank you @akashas, we need to share our information, Steemit is a great place to do that and I will be writing about meditation and how important it is to know thyself! @mammasitta has been a good friend to me and many others here on Steemit, she is true blue!
I looked up Merkaba, it is the mystical teachings of Judism? This teaching is about seeing reality as it is, removing conditioning so the mind is naked...hehehe
You summed it all up but there is so much more to it
I love to have a naked mind
IT is What IT Is!
"The Flower of Life......
I am on my phone and messed up my comment....
looking for the clip now, I actually wanted to post
Here we go ...I found the link online
http://www.interdimensionalhealinglight.com/merkabah-star-tetrahedron.pdf
Oh wow, thank you @mammasitta, I love sacred geometry, especially when drawing. I saw a lot of fractal geometric light patterns when I hit a certain level of meditation that reminds me sacred geometry.
I never hit that point ever, due to the lack of my discipline but I saw IT ALL during my Ayahuasca ceremonies. Gold,silver, turquoise strings and flowers of life just like a spider web in reality.
This meditation if done right only takes 7 minutes. I was taught in Bali many years ago by a guy called MOON. You have to refresh those steps from time to time......
The light show is like when you are leaving or entering the earths atmosphere, it is part of access level concentration. A lot of people take the lights and pretty patterns too seriously or get lost in the bliss that is part access concentration.
For this type of meditation my teacher told me to be the witness, just watch. Which I figured is don't be scared and run away when the pain got really bad or don't cling to the pretty lights and bliss. Sunim was right, the lights are just friction...but there are special lights, little nimitta lights that are like portals if you are steady and grounded in equanimity they take you to new levels of the mind to walk through and let go...eventually there are no more levels and things settle down, sitting becomes rock steady and you can sit for hours and it seems like minutes...
I remember you mentioned your Bali experiences, now I have to look up Ayahasca, I love all this information <3
My gold was upekkha in english means equanimity, a steady mind no matter what happens. I will take this state of mind to my death bed and watch what happens, hopefully I won't get lost in all the death sensations....;-)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upekkha
Thats what I am trying to master : a steady mind! No matter what bullshit happens around me and there are a lot of those energy vampires interrupting my flow. Upekkha! Nice! Very nice!
I think I did mention ayahuasca in this article but only on the side.
https://steemit.com/healing/@mammasitta/sacred-plants-and-natures-vaccine-why-do-i-believe-in-healing-with-kambo-frog-medicine
Really interesting explanation so each of us have to add meditation in our lives to control our emotions. Regards
It takes discipline not to react to unpleasant sensations which can triger our emotions. Being able to see clearly that good and bad sensations cannot hurt one and just let them come and go without reacting is the first step to seeing reality as it is! Thank you @dim753 for stopping by (hugs), I hope your Mother's health is immproving and she is happy.
Meditation is a strong way to connect with our higher-self.
Our guradian angels will always assist and guide us how to deal with it.
Meditation help us to focus on our heart and mind.
Thanks @reddust ma'am for sharing this post with us.
Upvoted + resteemed your post. 💙🤗
This meditation doesn't focus on a higher self, it focuses on (anicca), phenomena is in flux, there is no self in this flux (anatta), grasping the flux of phenomena as Self causes stress (dukkha). The fruit of vipassana meditation is equanimity, wise loving kindness, and freedom from self caused suffering. I found it stops one from chasing sensation...hahaha ;-)
Thanks ma'am for all your precious guidance.
I'll remember it and work on it.💙🤗
I have anxiety and a panic disorder and always wanted to use meditation as many people say it works, but the few times I have tried it, I went into a panic attack. I think maybe I was just thinking too much on my heartbeat and my internal thoughts or maybe I was in a bad state. Its been a while since that and I think I should try it again. Im trying to become a healthier person, so im going to book mark this and come back to it later in the week when I get some free time to try it out. I know theres also a few youtube channels dedicated to helping beginners meditate.
I would also say in addition to @reddust comment that in starting meditation it tends to bubble up the mind and suppressed energies. Im not familiar w the above meditation but in the meditation i do know we have to be very allowing with these energies and not have an agenda with them. Total non-judgment and always bringing the attention back to the breathe or back to itself, when we get caught in the mind or fear. Always returning to our said focus. Also i would try and start small like 5min a day and also be consistent daily. In time it is very possible to overcome anxiety ptsd or many other blockages. Just my 2 cents, goodluck.
That is good advice, meditation is not easy, even if you have a good teacher and are in retreat...there is the dark forest of the mind and good teachers are guides so one won't get lost in their head...all sorts of bliss and negativity might come up and one must just be the witness, this is not me, this is just sensation, let it go!
I suffered from overwhelming panic attacks and anxiety. I had tried therapy and medication, nothing worked. I had PTSD from an abusive childhood and my first husband was also abusive. The retreat work removed the panic attacks but I saw clearly I had to let go of negative conditioning and relationships with self and others to be truly free. So most of my work has been centered around living a good life and developing healthy relationships with myself and my circle of influence.
I sat through my panic attacks until they wore themselves out and left me alone and I haven't had a panic attack since 1995....but this is always subjective, it is up to individual conditioning and understanding. But I know several other meditators that let go of their panic attacks this way....I also lost my night terrors which I suffered from since a small child.
I still suffer normal anxiety, which we all suffer from...hahaha <3
Meditation is not easy. It takes time and it takes energy. It also takes grit, determination, and discipline. It requires a host of personal qualities that we normally regard as unpleasant and like to avoid whenever possible. We can sum up all of these qualities in the American word gumption.Its really good for health. Nice post thanks for share.
Yeah, I did lots of 10 day retreats at Goenka's centers for many years. I was able to work with him several times and his advice was so helpful. We meditated from 4am to 9pm for an hour to 3 hours at a time with breakfast and lunch breaks.
I miss retreat work, I haven't been to a retreat for about 5 years, I am looking forward to checking out Bhante G's center.
wow this is well written..i am proud of you..it is not because i am a buddhist and you are following it..it is because i can see your great effort in trying to pass this good virtue to others too..you don't want to learn it and keep it yourself..you want the people around you to know about this great teachings and help them to change themselves into better ones :)
I like to write about things I know or about things I am curious about. I've been studying Buddhist text and meditating for over twenty years. One cool thing about humans, we are always changing and we can take advantage of the ability to change to become a better person. Being good helps everyone! Thanks @steemclaira
Buenos dias @reddust, es la primera vez que te comento y espero hacerlo mas amenudo,la meditacion como el yoga nos ayudan a estar bien con nosotros mismos y por lo tanto en paz con los demas .
En ocaciones me siento en mi silla preferida y me pongo a pensar en tantas cosas , creo que de alguna manera estoy meditando , pues al terinar me siento mucho mejor , mas relajada , en conclusion pienso que todo lo que nos pueda ayudar a sentirnos mejor mentalmente es genial.
Feliz dia :)
Meditaton es benificial pero me enseñaron que debemos usar la meditación para iluminarnos para ayudar a otros que están sufriendo. Cuando comencé, quise ayudar a mis hijos aunque solté mi temperamento. Esto ayudó a mi comunicación con ellos y también les enseñó cómo controlar sus temperamentos. A veces la meditación me ha traído la paz pero es un tipo diferente de paz, vivir en un cuerpo que envejece no es pacífico. Pero estoy en paz con eso, no importa si estoy enfermo o feliz ... Gracias por comentar @martha75
I recently met some Krishna guys at a festival and they taught me an interesting meditation technique.
It consist of repeating a mantra (out loud) 108 times while counting the repetitions with your fingers on a wood pearl chain thing.
They say the point is that your senses are busy thinking about, saying, hearing yourself say, and counting the mantra so it helps keeping your mind from racing wildly.
It worked quote well for me, so if you find your mind constantly wandering off when trying to just focus in your breathing, this is something you can try to keep your senses busy.
After doing this a few times, I found that I can just mumble the mantra a few times while walking on the street or doing other routine stuff and even that helps to some effect. Also, it made Zazen easier because it introduced me to the state of mind I was looking for.
Good luck clearing your mind!
The next step is not to need the mantra or the beads. I took the Mahayana bodhisattva vows so I must continue my education and meditation so I can help other people find freedom. I am not ready to do that yet, but at least I am not hurting people with my bad temper or fear, which left a long time ago at a Geonka meditation retreat....hahaha <3
I am so glad to see you following this path.Learning about this philosophy is the best gift that some one can have in his/her life.So I really appreciate your attempt in spreading this message to those who don't know about this.Most of the people in our country are Buddhists.But they are Buddhists for the sake of their parents.Most of them have not realized the value of this teachings of Buddha.So I am really happy to see people like you learning about this and spreading this good message to the world!
-cheers-
This also happens with Christians and Muslims when they are born into their religion and haven't really studied the core text and practiced what their teacher preaches. I love to listen to audio teachings when I work on my art ...hehehe
A lot of great info on this post, I'll have to review today. I took a Vipassana medition retreat a couple years ago and found it to be extremely rewarding.
@kp138, my first retreats were overwhelming, I was raised Christian and grew up in rural Oregon. I hadn't known any Asians at all! My first experience with the Asian Culture and Buddhism was through my first teacher Sunim from Korea. I fell in love with the kindness of the Korean people and their horrible smelling Kimchi....hahaha
Sunim sent me to SN Goenka's center for meditation lessons. So I have had training in Mahayana Korean Zen and Theravada Buddhism from Burma. I also have two very good teachers from the Tibetan traditions.
Very cool story. I live in the Northwest so I get not having the exposure to other cultures.
Living up on the Cascade Range in the 60s and 70s, there was only Christian settler culture. I really enjoyed getting to know Asian Culture through Buddhism. They have some amazing art and food too....hahahaha