Meditation Techniques For Beginners

Buddhism Meditation. Who else could represent it better than Buddha himself? Here is his story.

One happy morning, while he was deeply absorbed in meditation, unaided and unguided by any supernatural power and solely relying on his efforts and wisdom, he eradicated all defilements, purified himself, and, realizing things as they truly are, attained Enlightenment (Buddhahood) at the age of 35.

He was not born a Buddha, but he became a Buddha by his own striving. As the perfect embodiment of all the virtues he preached, endowed with deep wisdom commensurate with his boundless compassion. he devoted the remainder of his precious life to serv humanity both by example and precept, dominated by no personal motive whatever.After a very successful ministry of 45 long years the Buddha, as every other human being, succumbed to the inexorable law of change, and finally passed away in his 80th year, exhorting his disciples to regard his doctrine astheir teacher.

The Buddha was a human being. As a man he was born, as a man he lived, and as a man his life came to an end. Though a human being, he became an extraordinary man (Acchariya Manussa), but he never arrogated to himselfdivinity. The Buddha laid stress on this important point and left no room whatever for anyone to fall into the error of thinking that he was an immortal divine being. Fortunately there is no deification in the case of the Buddha. It should, however, be remarked that there was no Teacher, “ever so godless as the Buddha, yet none so god-like.”

The Buddha is neither an incarnation of the Hindu God Vishnu, as is believed by some, nor is he a savior who freely saves others by His personal salvation. The Buddha exhorts his disciples to depend on themselves for their deliverance, for both purity and defilement depend on oneself. Clarifying His relationship with His followers and emphasizing the importance of self-reliance and individual striving, the Buddha plainly states: “You should exert yourselves, the Tathagatas are only teachers.”

Buddhism Meditation
First of all, it must be mentioned that there are not petitional or intercessory prayers in Buddhism. However much we may pray to the Buddha we cannot be saved. The Buddha does not grant favors to those who pray to him. Instead of petitional prayers there is meditation that leads to self-control, purification and enlightenment. Meditation is neither a silent reverie nor keeping the mind blank. It is an active striving. It serves as a tonic both to the heart and the mind. The Buddha not only speaks of the futility of offering prayers but also disparages a slave mentality. A
Buddhist should not pray to be saved, but should rely on himself and win his freedom.

How to Do Buddhism Meditation

Be still and peaceful.
Recite three times – Nammo Buddhaya – (Honor to the Buddha)
Recite three times – Araham – (The pure one)

Recite:
Budddham saranam gacchami – (I go to the Buddha for refuge)
Dhamman saranam gacchami – (I go to the Dhamma for refuge)
Sangham saranam gacchami – (I go to the Sangha for refuge)

Think thus:
My mind is temporarily pure, free from all impurities, free from lust, hatred and ignorance, free from all evil thoughts.
My mind is pure and clean. Like a polished mirror is my stainless mind.
As a clean and empty vessel is filled with pure water I now fill my clean heart and pure mind with peaceful and sublime thoughts of boundless loving-kindness over-flowing compassion, sympathetic joy and perfect equanimity.
I have now washed my mind and heart of anger, ill will, cruelty, violence, jealousy, envy, passion and aversion.

Think ten times:
May I be well and happy!
May I be free from suffering, deisease, grief, worry and anger!
May I be strong, self-confident, healthy and peaceful!

Think thus:
Now I charge every particle of my system, from head to foot with thoughts of boundless loving-kindness and compassion. I am the embodiment of loving-kindness and compassion. My whole body is saturated with loving-kindness and compassion. I am a stronghol, a fortress of ling-kindness and compassion. I am nothing but loving kindness and compassion. I have sublimated myself, elevated myself, ennobled myself.

Think ten times:
May I be well and happy!
May I be free from suffering, deisease, grief, worry and anger!
May I be strong, self-confident, healthy and peaceful!

Think:
Mentally I create an aura of loving-kindness around me. By means of this aura, I cut off all negative thoughts, hostile vibrations. I am not affected by the evil vibrations of others. I return good for evil, loving-kindness for anger, compassion for cruelty, sympathetic joy for jealously. I am peaceful and well-balanced in mind. Now I am a fortress of loving-kindness, a stronghol of morality.
What I have gained I now give unto others.
Think of all your near and dear ones at home, individually or collectively and fill them with thoughts of loving kindness and wish them peace and happiness, repeating May all beings be well and happy! Then think of all seen and unseen beings, living near and far, men, women, animals and all living beings, in the East, West, North, South, above and below, and radiate boundless loving-kindness, without any enmity or obstruction, towards all, irrespective of class, creed, color or sex.
Think that all are your brothers and sisters, fellow-beings in the ocean of life. You identify with all. You are one with all.

Repeat ten times:
May all beings be well and happy
and wish them all peace and happiness.

How to Practice Yoga Pranayama

The vast benefits of yoga pranayama, or yoga breathing exercises, are now starting to be discovered by mainstream society.  It is inevitable, to those of us familiar with this profound science, that pranayama will gain equal, if not greater, popularity than the physical yoga exercises (Hatha Yoga Asanas) have done so far.  This is because pranayama is absolutely something everyone can practice, regardless of age or physical prowess.  If you can breathe, you can do pranayama.

The beauty with yoga breathing is that simple meditation techniques can bestow terrific benefits and that learning and practicing these techniques is something well within reach of us all.  Whether you are a beginner or advanced yogi, pranayama is something you will find to be a powerful tool to help you with your spiritual evolution.  That being said, there are certain guidelines and recommendations that you  should follow with regard to pranayama practice, and in this article I would like to provide those to you.

If you are an advanced yogi, from the point of view of Hatha yoga practice, and you have not done much pranayama, then you should approach this science with the same respect as a beginner would.  This is because prana, or life-force, is the vast energy of atoms, and the body’s capacity to handle such energy should be built up gently and systematically over time.  Rushing pranayama practice can create imbalances in the systems and other problems, that could easily have been avoided if an intelligent approach had been embraced.

Beginner’s Guide to Yoga Pranayama Practice

1. Clothing: Clothing should be loose, specially around the abdomen.  This will ensure that the natural movement of the diaphragm is not impeded when doing the breathing exercises.
2. Diet: You should not have eaten any heavy meal at least 2-3 hours prior to practicing pranayama.  The stomach should be empty.  It is fine to sip some water though during the practice to stay hydrated, specially when doing heat generating vigorous exercises.  If your diet can consist of light, fresh food that will help the cleansing process as well.
3. Time: Dawn is a terrific time to practice yoga and meditation, but this is more so for pranayama practice.  This is because the early morning air is fresh and at this time the air contains the most amount of prana.  Practicing at this time, will bestow benefits faster.  Of course, if this is not feasible, no worries, practice when you can.  Here is an article on How to Help You Become an Early Riser.
   
4. Posture: Always sit with your back as straight if possible.  In addition, keep the chin slightly tucked in so that the back of the neck is aligned with the spine.  This will help the flow of energy up and down the spine and up into the brain region.  In addition, this will prevent you from getting dizzy during vigorous exercises.
5. Illness: Whether you are a beginner or an advanced practitioner, do not practice any advanced pranayamas while you are unwell.  Do the beginner versions of the breathing exercises or choose easy pranayamas to do instead.  It is also fine to stop entirely until you have recovered fully.
   
6. Effort: Again, regardless of if you are a beginner or advanced yogi you should never strain when practicing yoga.  This is especially true when doing the breathing exercises.  As indicated above, pranayama, which means the expansion and control of prana, deals with the nuclear energy of atoms and progress should be made gently and systematically. This is even more applicable for any pranayama that requires you to hold your breath in or out for prolonged periods of time.  If at all you feel uncomfortable while practicing a pranayama, stop, take a break and restart again when you feel ready.
7. Cautions: Don’t practice any heat generating pranayamas while sitting directly under the hot sun.  This can aggravate the heat in the system (pitta).  Similarly, choose pranayamas according to conditions and state of your health.  In other words, don’t practice Sheetali Pranayama if you are suffering from a cold or chest congestion, etc.  The following Overview of Ayurveda can be a helpful guide to you on this topic as well.
8. Location: Try to practice is a well ventilated room with plenty of fresh air.

Summary

Yoga Pranayama is perhaps the best part of yoga.  All the various types of yoga have contributed to this profound science and the following link should give you plenty of meditation techniques to incorporate into your daily practice.

If you are just beginning your yoga practice, definitely incorporate pranayama into it, if you are an adept yogi and have not indulged in pranayama, then it’s overdue that you take advantage of this warehouse of profound wisdom.

Mindfulness of Breathing. This technique helps you to relax your body and release the pain and stress. Just concentrate on your breathing, in and out, in and out. Don’t think, just focus on the physical existence and the essential part of it: breathing. The goal is to not to think – just ease your mind and let go the problems. Do not think.

Visualization. This is one of the easiest techniques. You simply have to think of a physical object in your mind. Visualize it, just look at it and admire it. Stop thinking about other things just dedicate all your attention to this chosen object. You will be able to enter a state where you become one with the world around you – you are the object!

Concentration. Concentrating means being at the centre, focusing only on a single point. All you have to do is shut off your thoughts apart from the one that you are focusing on. When you do that properly you don’t sense time – because time doesn’t exist. Only you and your chosen point. To practise concentration all you have to do is to look at a physical scene then close your eyes and recreate the picture mentally. See every little detail, feel every move! Exclude all other thoughts just live in the picture! This technique will help you to develop mental imagery and you will be more focused. Try to practice this every day for at least a few minutes!

Transcendental meditation. This type of meditation is an ancient Vedic technique introduced by Maharishi Mahesh yogi in 1958. This is a simple yet powerful process – just sit comfortably with eyes closed and look inward. In this silent and peaceful level of consciousness your body gains deep rest and gives you inner energy.

As you can see these techniques are easy to do, even for those who have never practised meditation or yoga. What tends to be difficult though is making the time to actually do it. But knowing the proper techniques is essential since chasing wrong methods can lead to a state where you do more harm than good! Find a good and reliable source!