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MeditationpostureHowtoMeditate

HOW TO MEDITATE

HOWTOMEDITATE MEDITATIONVIDEOS FINDMEDITATIONCLASSESNEARYOU

HowtoMeditate

MEDITATION
POSTURE

Whylearntomeditate

Whenwepractisemeditationweneedtohaveacomfortableseat

Meditationposture

andagoodposture.Themostimportantfeatureofthepostureisto

keepourbackstraight.Tohelpusdothis,ifwearesittingona

cushionwemakesurethatthebackofthecushionisslightlyhigher

Breathingmeditations

HowtomeditateonLamrim thanthefront,incliningourpelvisslightlyforward.Itisnot

necessaryatfirsttositcross-legged,butitisagoodideatobecome
ThestagesoftheBuddhistpath

accustomedtosittinginthepostureofBuddhaVairochana.Ifwe
Lovingkindnessmeditation
Transformingmeditations

cannotholdthispostureweshouldsitinonewhichisascloseto

thisaspossiblewhileremainingcomfortable.

ThesevenfeaturesofVairochanaspostureare:

BooksonBuddhism&meditation
1.Thelegsarecrossedinthevajraposture.Thishelpstoreduce
Buddhismtoday
MeditationVideos

thoughtsandfeelingsofdesirousattachment.
2.Therighthandisplacedinthelefthand,palmsupwards,with

thetipsofthethumbsslightlyraisedandgentlytouching.The

FindMeditationClassesNearYou handsareheldaboutfourfingerswidthbelowthenavel.This
helpsustodevelopgoodconcentration.Therighthand
symbolizesmethodandthelefthandsymbolizeswisdom
thetwotogethersymbolizetheunionofmethodand
wisdom.Thetwothumbsatthelevelofthenavelsymbolize
theblazingofinnerfire.
3.Thebackisstraightbutnottense.Thishelpsustodevelop
andmaintainaclearmind,anditallowsthesubtleenergy
windstoflowfreely.
4.Thelipsandteethareheldasusual,butthetonguetouches
againstthebackoftheupperteeth.Thispreventsexcessive
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MeditationpostureHowtoMeditate

salivationwhilealsopreventingourmouthfrombecoming
toodry.
5.Theheadistippedalittleforwardwiththechinslightly
tuckedinsothattheeyesarecastdown.Thishelpsprevent
mentalexcitement.
6.Theeyesareneitherwideopennorcompletelyclosed,but
remainhalfopenandgazedownalongthelineofthenose.If
theeyesarewideopenwearelikelytodevelopmental
excitementandiftheyareclosedwearelikelytodevelop
mentalsinking.
7.Theshouldersarelevelandtheelbowsareheldslightlyaway
fromthesidestoletaircirculate.
AfurtherfeatureofVairochanas
postureisthepreliminary
breathingmeditation,which
preparesourmindfordeveloping
agoodmotivation.Whenwesit
downtomeditateourmindis
usuallyfullofdisturbing
thoughts,andwecannot

Ifwewanttocolourour
mindwithavirtuou
motivationweneedto
clearawaallour
negativethoughtand
ditraction.

immediatelyconvertsuchastate
ofmindintothevirtuousonewe
needasourmotivation.Anegative,disturbedstateofmindislike
pitch-blackcloth.Wecannotdyepitch-blackclothanyothercolour
unlesswefirstremovealltheblackdyeandmaketheclothwhite
again.Inthesameway,ifwewanttocolourourmindwitha
virtuousmotivationweneedtoclearawayallournegative
thoughtsanddistractions.Wecanaccomplishthistemporarilyby
practisingbreathingmeditation.

BREATHING MEDITATION
Whenwehavesettleddowncomfortablyonourmeditationseatwe
beginbybecomingawareofthethoughtsanddistractionsthatare
arisinginourmind.Thenwegentlyturnourattentiontoourbreath,
lettingitsrhythmremainnormal.Aswebreatheoutweimagine
thatwearebreathingawayalldisturbingthoughtsanddistractions
intheformofblacksmokethatvanishesinspace.Aswebreathein
weimaginethatwearebreathinginalltheblessingsandinspiration
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oftheholybeingsintheformofwhitelightthatentersourbody
andabsorbsintoourheart.Wemaintainthisvisualizationsinglepointedlywitheachinhalationandexhalationfortwenty-one
rounds,oruntilourmindhasbecomepeacefulandalert.Ifwe
concentrateonourbreathinginthisway,negativethoughtsand
distractionswilltemporarilydisappearbecausewecannot
concentrateonmorethanoneobjectatatime.Attheconclusionof
ourbreathingmeditationweshouldthink`NowIhavereceivedthe
blessingsandinspirationofalltheholybeings.Atthisstageour
mindislikeacleanwhiteclothwhichwecannowcolourwitha
virtuousmotivationsuchascompassionorbodhichitta.

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