Loading the searchable article library…
Browse published articles attributed to Steven Sashen, with full-archive search.
Which is better: Zen meditation or Vipassana meditation? I’m regularly asked this question because new students often have some friends who are into Zen meditation retreats and other friends suggesting they try Vipassana meditation retreats. Or they check the bookstore and discover that, in the Buddhism section, half the books there are on Zen meditation and half the books are on Vipassana meditation.
Jason Shulman, a friend of mine and Kabbalistic healer, tells one of my very favorite stories about Zen meditation. He had gone on sesshin, a Zen meditation retreat. He was at a place in his daily meditation practice where he had come to believe that the goal of Zen meditation was to have no thoughts. So he sat on his meditation cushion in the lotus position, facing a blank white wall with his hands in the correct mudra.
In my local new age magazine, there are at least 20 different meditation courses. Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Kabbalistic, Sufi. Then there are the meditation classes emphasizing stress-reduction, weight-loss and pain-control. Among the different meditation lineages, each has its own answer for what is the best practice (needless to say, theirs is the best).
First, a message to my readers who practice TM® (Transcendental Meditation®): I am not taking any position for or against Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the TM® organization, TM® itself, or anything else related to TM®. Now that we've taken care of that… I do, however, have a position regarding the studies that have been promoted to "prove" that TM® is the best thing since meditatively sliced bread. My basic position is this: Most of these studies, maybe all of them, are pretty questionable. Before any of the previously mentioned TM® advocates "get all up in my grill," (lov
I’ve done somewhere in the neighborhood of forty Buddhist meditation retreats. While some only lasted a day or two, more than half involved ten to fifteen days of practicing Buddhist meditation for up to sixteen hours a day. Some were Tibetan meditation retreats. Some retreats were in the Zen tradition, including retreats for Zen archery, a form moving meditation called Kyudo. But most of my retreats were Vipassana meditation retreats. I’m not telling you this to impress you or show off. Really, all this demonstrates is that in my twenties and thirties, I didn’t have a regular job.
Back when I started doing Buddhist meditation in the ‘70’s, it was hard to find any Buddhist books or Buddhist retreats or Buddhist meditation classes or any information of any kind at all that could help me learn a daily Buddhist meditation practice. If you started talking about the "Dalai Lama," people figured you meant some kind of restaurant featuring sandwiches for pack animals from South America. It's different now, of course. In fact, I think people have gotten a bit Buddhist meditation happy these days.
Alright, let’s talk about the "E-Word," one of those combinations of letters that carries almost as much baggage as the c-word or the -word, depending, of course, on who you hang with and what country you call home. People argue about this word; they criticize it; they make up stories about it.
As I wrote the title of this post, “Meditation and Depression,” I found myself smiling at the concept that meditation could cause depression.
I was eight years old when I first began meditating. No, I wasn't raised in a commune by hippie parents. I checked out a book on meditation from the school library and practiced the technique in the book. So began my thirty years of meditation practice. Over the course of my meditation career, I tried many different kinds of meditation practices - from simple meditation techniques to more difficult, advanced practices.
One of my friends is a Tibetan Buddhist monk. He’s an actual Tibetan born in Tibet, not an American who has converted to Tibetan Buddhism or learned Tibetan Buddhist meditation. If you’re actively involved with some religious or spiritual tradition, I recommend getting to know a high-ranking leader within that tradition.
Those who are just starting out with meditation often try to create a daily meditation practice. People regularly ask me to talk about starting a daily practice in a similar tone to how people talk about losing weight or stopping smoking. The conversation sounds like there is some habit that needs to be overcome or acquired. Maybe I'm not the best person to ask about this, because besides going to the bathroom and breathing, there isn't really anything I can think of that I do every single day.
Not long ago, I did a web search for how to meditate. In each of the top twenty results were nearly identical basic instructions: Find a quiet spot. Choose the same time to meditate each day. Sit upright with your back relaxed and your spine straight.
On one of the meditation courses I did, we sat for fourteen hours a day. During that time, there was one three-hour period when we were supposed to sit in the meditation hall on our meditation cushions without moving in any way.
To some people, meditation means sitting in a dark cave on top of a mountain in a loin cloth, burning incense and chanting some foreign Sanskrit word while eating nothing but tree bark. Other people define meditation as a state they experience while participating in an activity they are passionate about, such as painting, athletics, or perhaps even making love. Some people value the benefits of meditation over the practice itself.
I've done more than twenty Vipassana meditation retreats. My first one was in 1983. I had been meditating for more than twelve years at that point, but I had never taken ten days to do nothing except meditate for fourteen hours a day. Americans interested in practicing Vipassana are likely to encounter two primary lineages for this kind of meditation. One of them was brought from Burma by Mahasi Sayadaw and is taught at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Califo ia and at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. You will often hear this referred to mindfulness meditation.
Are meditation and prayers the same thing? Some traditions use the words meditation and prayer interchangeably. You can find Jewish and Hindu and Catholic and Buddhist meditation practices that require the repetition or contemplation of a particular religious passage or concept. To illustrate, there are those that will say the Lord's Prayer over and over in a similar fashion to how someone practicing Transcendental Meditation® might repeat a mantra.
Several decades ago, I listened to a talk given by a Western teacher who had become a monk in a Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In order to protect the possibly guilty, I’ll leave out his name. He described how, in the years since he’d become a monk and began formally practicing meditation, he had grown calmer and improved his ability to manage life's ups and downs. The audience responded with both envy and optimism. They were optimistic because of the possibility that meditation could lead to more happiness.
Have you found your perfect meditation cushion yet? You know, a mediation cushion that lets you sit for hours at a time, staying focused and alert and concentrated, with no back pain or any numbness in your legs? The type of meditation cushion that gives you a straight spine with no effort at all? Of course you haven’t. Such a magical cushion doesn’t exist. I’ll always remember when I was invited to participate in a free meditation group taking place in Kathmandu, Nepal. I arrived a little early. The room was very small, maybe big enough to hold twenty students at the most.
For people in the West, Zen Buddhist meditation can often seem mysterious and magical, as well as a bit confusing at times. If you take some time to look unde eath the mythology around Zen, however, it can be much easier to comprehend. I have to warn you, though, that discovering the simplicity behind Zen will remove the magic and mystery that has drawn so many people to it in the first place. Okay, so let’s take a closer look. My focus for this discussion is going to be on Zen archery, also called Kyudo, often referred to as Zen meditation in motion.
You could say that yoga & meditation are two sides of a coin. They can be difficult to separate. Doing both meditation and yoga isn't required, but they do go together well. They each can enhance your practice of the other. If you take meditation to your yoga mat, you may find more ease and flexibility in your postures and perhaps a greater degree of calmness than you used to feel.
Would you like to learn Zen meditation? If you do, then you have to make a decision: would you prefer to sit staring at a blank wall, or would you like to have an idea what other meditators in the room look like? Actually, there’s another decision involved: do you want your progress towards enlightenment to be gradual, or would you prefer to wait a long, long time and then have enlightenment strike instantly?
Would you like to learn Zen meditation? If you do, then you have to make a decision: would you prefer to sit staring at a blank wall, or would you like to have an idea what other meditators in the room look like? Actually, there’s another decision involved: do you want your progress towards enlightenment to be gradual, or would you prefer to wait a long, long time and then have enlightenment strike instantly?
Is meditation meant to be a relaxation system? I wonder about that. When I was eighteen, I was introduced to a famous American meditation teacher and we became friends. Through him, I met another American who had spent the prior six years in Thailand as a Buddhist monk. This former monk had only recently returned to the US and traded out his monk's robes for regular clothing. He was still working out what his "right livelihood" might be - you know, work that would pay him enough to cover his food and rent.
While not the first person to teach meditation in the West, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has been one of the more influential meditation teachers of our times. You probably recognize his photo even if you didn't recognize his name. And if his photo isn’t familiar to you, chances are good that you would know him as the person who founded TM® or Transcendental Meditation®. What you may not know is that he is also the founder of Maharishi International University, a school located in a small town called Fairfield, Iowa.
Friends often talk to me about the hours they spend doing triathlons or running marathons, and usually I say that I can't imagine doing something I love for so many hours. So it surprises me to remember that I once spent three days chanting Hindu mantras, non-stop, at the top of my lungs. This is sometimes called japa, or Indian meditation music. Sometimes it's just called crazy. These days, a lot of people are only familiar with chanting music meditation through the work of the popular performer, Krishna Das.
If you are looking into Buddhist meditation and you want to really go deeply into it, then the best way to do that is to go on a Buddhist meditation retreat. You can find Buddhist meditation centers just about anywhere in the world. However, having completed over thirty meditation retreats, I can tell you that there is no need to travel to some distant country to find the best meditation center. This is true even if you want to do Tibetan meditation. There is no need to go to Tibet or Nepal for a good Tibetan Buddhist retreat.
There must be something wrong with the way I talk. I decided this must be the case because when I say I teach meditation, people frequently say, "Oh, you do yoga?" Meditation… yoga… I don’t think they sound like the same words – do you? Many people, however, seem to think they are the same thing. Yes, Pantanjali's yoga included meditation, and there is yoga in some of the Tibetan Buddhist schools of meditation. But meditation and yoga are not the same things and often not even remotely related.
Finding the right meditation supplies, especially the perfect meditation cushion, can feel lot like looking for the Holy Grail. I started meditating in 1970 and since then, I've tried almost every kind of meditation cushion ever created. I've spent so much time on this I even tried to design the ideal meditation cushion myself, contemplating how to make something that would hold my spine perfectly straight, let my knees be comfortable and my back to be free of pain.
When you are searching for meditation techniques or want meditation instruction, whether you are looking for relaxation meditation or spiritual meditation techniques, if you are an advanced student or a beginner, if you are searching for anxiety relief or anything else...whatever reason you may want to meditate, it’s important to keep in mind that there are many different kinds of meditation.
I was over at my friend Dave’s house when I noticed he had a book called 8-Minute Meditation. I had to take look at it. Since I think meditation can be experienced instantly and this fellow says you can do it in eight minutes, I was curious to see what he’s up to. In a nutshell, he was offering your basic Buddhist meditation instruction while leaving out most of the Buddhist theory.
I recently read an Arizona Daily Star article about how Transcendental Meditation® is being taught in an alte ative-minded school. Now, since I teach meditation myself, you might expect I’d be happy about this, particularly since the article reports positive results. If only it were so easy. Let’s examine why it’s not.
After teaching meditation to thousands of people, when I ask what sorts of problems they encounter with their practice, I hear the same three answers again and again. The problem I hear the most frequently is that people can't quiet their minds. They refer to having "monkey mind," or tell me, "I can't stop thinking." Sometimes they say they have "negative self-talk," or other unhappy thoughts they can't get rid of. The second complaint on the list is not having enough time.
If you’d like to relax, take a mental vacation, gain some spiritual insight, or just clear your mind, a good way to do so is to meditate. There are many different was to do meditation and there are even more methods to learn how to meditate. Almost every religion has its own meditation techniques. Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and Christian traditions all have some form of contemplative meditation in which you select a teaching from a sacred text and quietly consider it, looking to find the truth in it or to see how it applies to or affects your own life.
More than ever before, meditation is being researched by science. Because of advances in imaging technology, such as fMRI, or functional magnetic resonance imaging, we can now see much more than we used to about the inner workings of our brains.
Want to learn how to teach meditation? It’s simple. You can turn yourself into a meditation teacher in less than five minutes by following these easy steps. First, pick a simple meditation technique and practice describing how to do it. You don’t have to be able to do it yourself, just be able to explain to others how it is supposed to be done. Don’t know any meditation techniques? No problem. Just do a search for free meditation techniques online. Or you can try using this one: Pay attention to your breathing. Be aware of your in-breath; be aware of your out-breath.
Would learning to do meditation yoga techniques create more peace for your body-mind? Yoga and meditation both demonstrate how the mind and body are interdependent. If you relax the body with yoga, the mind will get the hint, too. If you calm the mind with meditation, then the body can let go as well. You can find dozens and probably hundreds of yoga and meditation techniques.
Here are some ideas on how to best prepare for your first meditation retreat: 1) Make sure details are handled before leaving. Pay your bills. Arrange for someone to check your messages and let them know where to reach you in case of emergency. Be sure someone will be checking on your pets and knows how to reach your vet. Record a new outgoing voicemail message so people know you will be unavailable till you get back. 2) You will forget some things… and it will bother you.
I recently read an Arizona Daily Star article about how Transcendental Meditation® is being taught in an alte ative-minded school. Now, since I teach meditation myself, you might expect I’d be happy about this, particularly since the article reports positive results. If only it were so easy. Let’s examine why it’s not.
“Meditation teachers should offer their instruction for free.” About once a month, I get an email telling me that. Often, I hear this from people who have studied with meditation teachers in India or have visited ashrams where they weren’t asked for payment for classes they took. This gave them the idea that the teachings were free, even though they may have paid for room and board. The reality in these places is more complicated than it looks, however.
Meditation is not going to help you. Meditation will not make you more peaceful and calm. It’s not going to eliminate your stress. Meditation will not cure your disease. It’s not going to advance you spiritually. Meditation will not help you do better at your job or sport or hobby. Meditation does not give anyone magical powers. It’s not going to assist you in making more money. And you most definitely will not become enlightened from meditating. Okay, there, I've said it.
"How to Meditate" In 1970, I saw this title on a small ad in the back of a comic book. I could learn to meditate for just $1, the ad promised. “Secrets of ancient yogi masters revealed: achieve psychic powers, control the mind!” Learning to meditate like a monk through this step-by-step course was only four quarters away. I could hardly wait.
Here is a daily meditation to play with… I haven't ever heard anyone complain about the fact that their body feels, or their ears hear, or their nose smells or their eyes see. To put it another way, we don't usually complain or attempt to fix our senses when they are doing what they were designed to do. The job of our mind is to think. At times it thinks a little, at other times it thinks a lot. Some of the thoughts it has are enjoyable, and others seem to be less so.
Most all meditation traditions suggest practicing meditation daily. Regardless of whether you are doing a mindfulness practice or yogic meditation, a Buddhist meditation or relaxation practice, or even listening to a guided meditatio CD, daily practice is usually recommended by most meditation teachers. My first formal meditation practice was in the Kriya Yoga tradition. It was in 1972 and I was ten years old. I was instructed to meditate for thirty minutes, twice daily, with an additional two hours each weekend.
When we try to stop thoughts, we are playing a cerebral kind of "Whack-A-Mole." It doesn't matter how many times you go after that mole, there are always more of them bursting out of various holes, over and over, faster and faster, not stopping. But there are other possible ways to experience your thoughts than whacking at them like pesky rodents. For example, you could try being kind. One way to approach this is to consider that the mind is like an ocean with waves we call thoughts.
Meditation classes you can take online are an amazing new development on the spiritual path. Previously in order to learn meditation, you’d need to travel - sometimes to the other side of the globe – in order to find a teacher.
There are a lot of different reasons people want to learn meditation. Maybe you think meditation will help you relax and better handle stress. Perhaps you play a sport and your coach recommended meditation to improve your performance. Maybe you are focused on spiritual growth and believe that if you meditate, you will move faster down your path or find an easier way to get where you are going. Perhaps you are experiencing some illness that you think meditation will help you better manage. Maybe you are in pain and meditation was recommended to you for healing or pain relief.
The New York subway used to be my meditation room. Somehow, the noise in the background of the subway served to drown out the noise in the background of my mind and made it much easier to concentrate. When I was in grad school, as I rode from Greenwich Village to Columbia University, I could get in a good thirty minute meditation session with one quick break to change trains at 59th Street. But my favorite meditation story from New York is this one: There used to be a store called "The Warlock Shop" on W. 16th Street. As the name suggests, it was about paganism and witchcraft.
One of my closest friends wrote me to say he planned to go on a mindfulness meditation retreat to find some relaxation. I picked up the phone to suggest that he might want to reconsider that plan. Now, I’d like to be clear about this.
It is easier than ever to get meditation instruction where you live. You can find meditation classes in almost any American city. I’ve see YMCA's in the middle of nowhere offer free meditation instruction. At one time, you could have listed all of America’s spiritual and meditation retreat centers in a book you could put in your back pocket. You can now find meditation centers and meditation teachers in every state in the Union, often no more than a few hours away. Back in 1970, when I started meditating, there weren’t very many books on meditation.
One of the countries in which Buddhism has had a recent impact is Tibet. "Recent," in this case means, oh, about 1000 years ago, when Buddhism was brought to Tibet from India by Padmasambhava. These days, Tibetan Buddhism is popular world-wide. The Dalai Lama has written many books, won a Nobel prize, and fills stadiums to overflowing with people who want to learn more about Tibetan Buddhism and experience its ceremonies. One thing that makes Tibetan Buddhism so popular is that they guarantee you can become enlightened in this lifetime. Of course, this claim has a problem.