The Pure Mountain Path

One type of meditation that is popular is candle flame meditation. This is a well known, traditional and very simple form to practice. After lighting a candle (make sure it is one that you can see the flame easily, not a big jar candle), light the candle and set it in front of you about 12 to 18 inches away. You can also light some incense too. Sit down in a comfortable posture or reclining position. I prefer to set the candle on the floor and then sit and gaze down upon it. Breathe normally and relax your body. Turn your attention to focusing on the flame. Just relax and quietly watch it flicker. Do not intensely stare or over concentrate on it. Notice the flame as it moves with the gentle air currents. See the flame’s reflection in the puddle of melted wax beneath it. Remember to breathe naturally as you are watching the candle flame. You want to maintain a relaxed state of mind an body during the meditation period. Sometimes you will find yourself lost in thought or concentrating on something else. This is natural, so just return to focusing on the flame. Perform this meditation for as long as you like, but do a minimum of fifteen minutes. Candle flame meditation is helping you train your mind and body to release tension, and learn attention and focus.

Meditation isn’t always exciting. In fact, it usually isn’t. The first few times seem exotic but then it becomes ordinary. However, there can be excellence in the ordinary. But sometimes, meditation is worse than that ordinary feeling. Sometimes, you just become bored. The habit is there, but the relationship to meditation is at a standstill. That means it is time to examine your meditation program. It may be time to :

• change the area you are meditating in.
• use a different posture for meditation
• try a different form of meditation
• allow yourself to move around.
• stop putting pressure on yourself to progress

As you can see, the word sometimes has been used quite often. Meditation is more of an art than a science, and thus does not lend itself to strict rules. Making minor adjustments in your practice can help to recharge your practice. If you try these things and are still bored, practice anyway.

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Buddha advised it is not wise to eat too much, fast too much, sleep too much, nor sleep too little. A guitar string must not be too tight or too loose to produce the desired sound. Remember this and practice the middle way.

The Buddha obtained the highest spiritual enlightenment through meditation. Thousands of years however before his birth on earth, hundreds of sages and seers of ancient India and China not only achieved the highest states and conditions through meditation, they have also formulated the ways and means of practicing meditation properly.

Practice of meditation is universally prevalent. It is the method which the greatest among the geniuses of the world, and the saints and sages, have unconsciously, spontaneously resorted to.

As all of you have already chosen the path that leads to becoming one with the Way, you are blessed. Depending upon the amount of the purity within your heart, the extent of your freedom from all the depressive and complicated earthly affections and ties, the wisdom and knowledge in you, the intensity of your desire for the Tao, the number of disciplines you assign to your inner nature, the freedom from lower, human, mental, nature you enjoy, you will experience Tao, in daily life.

Many of you are familiar with the many forms of meditation. There is a way of emptying the mind. One meditation method prescribes your constant gazing upon the flame of a candle. There is a method of meditation which urges you to count your breaths, or focus your attention upon the inhalation and exhalation. In this manner there are many types of meditation, meditation upon special objects, and so on. 

Meditation will make us a better person each day. Remember, it is not an overnight change. The change comes slowly, like drops of water filling a bucket. People who claim sudden change are victims of a placebo effect. Change takes time and time takes time. In time my friends, meditation will transform our nature. Meditation will purify the mind and deepen our spiritual awareness . We need that type of meditation which will  grant us more illumination into ourselves, make us wiser each day, enable us to endure the difficulties of life, and behave in a way which is characteristic of those who know the Way. 

With us, meditation should be something that evolves and improves our inner nature, increases the serenity of our inner being, expands our inner consciousness, liberates us from samsara, and turns and formulates the whole of our inner character. 

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There are thousands upon thousands of students 
who have practised meditation and obtained its fruits. 
Do not doubt its possibilities because of the simplicity of the method. 
If you can not find the truth right where you are, 
where else do you expect to find it?

Dogen

Often in meditation, a new student will be told to focus his attention on the breath. The new student will often struggle with this practice. It should not be a surprise. How often do we focus on our breath during our normal day? Now when we sit down quietly, we are told to concentrate on something that we normally pay no attention to.

That is why I suggest for some students to use pranayama. Pranayama is the use of breath control in yoga. Most Buddhist teachers will discourage altering the breath during meditation, however some Theravadan teachers do suggest that a slight manipulation of the breath can be useful.

It is good to take slightly deeper and slower breaths when you sit to meditate. Focus on the sound of the breath coming in and going out. This helps your mind focus on the breathing process. It gives the mind something to do so to speak instead of wanting to wander about. Continually focus on taking deep, slow breaths. This way, the mind and body work together to create a state that is fertile for meditation.

Samadhi is described as making the mind still, that is, keeping it unaffected by busyness or even nothingness. It has been described as sitting down to meditate, remaining awake and alert, and then getting up thinking only a few moments have passed when actually hours may have passed.These types of meditative sessions are rare and to set a goal for having one is not practical. In the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, only the most enlightened beings are those who live in a constant state of Samadhi.

For most of us, the practice of 

meditation is the most common way to experience a glimpse of Samadhi. If you are fortunate you may experience it even if it is only for a few seconds at a time. As you meditate, the mind becomes blanketed with stillness, until all thinking stops and you enter the state of pure consciousness. Of course, as soon as you start thinking that you are in a state of samadhi, you have just departed from it. This is because the mind that is totally absorbed does not comment on what is happening.

Meditation has been compared to astronomy for the mind. You gaze into the darkness of the mind using meditation as your telescope. When doing this, there is illumination. Everything is in harmony. You see the stars, the moon, and the sun. The entire universe of the mind comes into a crystal clear focus.

You may even see things that you did not know were there or were so small that you had forgotten about them. Yet, they still silently orbit the mind. Some things may frighten you at first, but as long as you see them clearly, you can see them for what they really are, thus the fear withers.

Disharmony results when we ignore this truth seeking activity, and seek instead to placate our sensual desires. This type of wrong view causes our telescope to become unfocused and dusty from lack of use. As a result, we lose sight of our inner universe and what can make us progress peacefully along our path.

Sit in your usual meditation position, straight back but relaxed and comfortable-

Concentrate on each single breath you take-

Contemplate on how each breath has the potential to be your last-

Think about death. Life is the mother of death. You are born, you will die-

There is no escaping death, it is a certainty. You are here one day, gone the next-

Think of all the family members, friends, acquaintances, and strangers who have died-

People die at all ages, expected or unexpectedly. One never knows when death shall arrive-

Since death is natural, contemplate on being at peace with it-

Since death may come at any time, appreciate the life you have now-

Begin by taking a few deep breaths, then let your natural breathing take over-

Rest your attention on your breathing and its rhythm-

Experience your breathing without visualization or imagination-

Let your breathing be natural. Do not try to control it either faster or slower-

If you wish, count your breaths from one to ten, and then again and again-

If you are distracted by thought, just gently come back to the breath once more-

Welcome any thoughts that arrive, just do not invite them for tea!-

You will hear noises, feel sensations. Do not grasp them, just let them pass-

Be one with your breathing, one with the world. We all breathe the same air-

Sit for at least 20 minutes. When finished, take a deep breath-

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Tonight’s Prayer (for missing children)

Be found and reunited with their loved ones…

May they be safe and free from pain, suffering, and danger

May their trauma heal soon and may they find peace and joy

May their loved ones have the strength of a mighty river at this time

To carry them through these times

For this you may wish to try reclining meditation but regular sitting position if fine-

Feel your body laying or sitting on the surface. Let the body relax and tension go.

Perhaps your stomach is growling, or you hear yourself breathing-

If there are no sounds, listen to the silence-

Now hear the sounds around you. A dog barking, the refrigerator humming, the birds singing-

Do not judge between ‘pleasant sounds’ or ‘unpleasant sounds’. They are all just sounds-

Hear the sounds, but do not actively listen. Do not speculate on what the sounds are. Just hear them and then let them go-

If you are distracted, just pick up on the next sound you hear and be aware-

Sounds like people, come and go, changing, not following any prescribed form-

Rest your mind within the sounds and no sound-

Once you are in a comfortable position, concentrate on the breath-

Begin by contemplating your thoughts; daydreaming, living in the past, worrying about the future-

Do you fabricate stories out of fear or boredom? Does your mind run away with these stories? Come back to the present-

Do you live in a state of constant fantasy? About money, relationships, lifestyle?

Ask yourself what good these states have done you. The present is all you have, all you need-

If you become distracted, ask ‘what is this?’ and come back to your meditation-