Introduction To Meditation & Mindfulness Shamatha .
Cross River Meditation CenterIntroduction toMeditation & MindfulnessShamatha-Vipassana MeditationTranquility and Insight MeditationComplimentary
DedicationThis book is dedicated to the Cross River MeditationCenter Sangha and to all those that use these teachings toestablish a meditation practice to grow in understanding.To Moira for her Metta.My sincere desire is that you find this material usefuland accessible in establishing your own meditation practice.Attending a regular sitting group of meditation practitioners isa great support in establishing a meditation practice. Formore information on meditation practice and our regularweekly and monthly practice schedule, please visit our website: CrossRiverMeditation.comThis book is available in PDF form as a free downloadat CrossRiverMeditation.comCopyright 2015 John HaspelSimple Enlightenment Press2
ContentsPreface.4TheFourNobleTruths.6Shamatha- ‐Vipassana.11Shamatha- tentionalMeditation.383
PrefaceThis book is an introduction to the meditation techniquethat the Buddha practiced and taught for the last 45 years ofhis life. It is intended to provide all that is necessary toinitiate and maintain a meditation practice. It is notnecessary to become a Buddhist to incorporate meditationinto your life or the teachings this meditation method isbased on, the Four Noble Truths.It is important to note that Shamatha-Vipassanameditation was originally taught as one factor of the EightfoldPath. The Eightfold Path is a comprehensive framework fordeveloping understanding of human life and for developing alife of lasting peace and happiness. A meditation practicewithout the framework of the Eightfold Path can bring greatbenefit but is not likely to develop a complete understandingof life in the ever-changing world.A brief explanation of the Four Noble Truths includingthe Eightfold Path is included beginning on page 7.There are many practical benefits to shamathavipassana meditation. Shortly after beginning meditation,most will notice a more peaceful and concentrated mind.Sleep will often improve; blood pressure has been known to4
normalize. Heart rates can slow. A healthier way of eatingand living can develop.These are all important physical and mentalimprovements that anyone can expect from a meditationpractice. If this is what you are hoping to receive from yourmeditation practice, I encourage you to read this book andpractice the meditation method taught.The Four Noble Truths are only briefly introduced in thisvolume. There is enough information presented here tobegin to practice meditation. If so inspired, integrating TheFour Noble Truths as part of a complete meditation practicewill lead to profound understanding and develop lastingpeace and happiness.If you wish to further your understanding of the simpleand profound teachings of The Buddha, there is reading list,Dhamma articles and podcasts at CrossRiverMeditation.com.Whatever your reason for establishing a meditationpractice, if you do engage in your practice wholeheartedly, itwill greatly enhance your life. Enjoy your practice. Peace.John Haspel, February 20145
TheFourNobleTruthsThe following is a brief explanation of the Four NobleTruths, including the Eightfold Path. It is included here onlyfor a contextual reference.The Four Noble Truths are the foundational teachingsof a complete mindfulness discipline that includes a specificmeditation technique called shamatha-vipassana. Many whopractice shamatha-vipassana wish to deepen theirmeditation practice by developing an understanding of theFour Noble "Dukkha is a Pali word that means unsatisfactory,disappointment, unhappiness, disenchantment,disillusionment, suffering, and stress. I will use the wordstress in reference to dukkha.The First Noble Truth does not imply that all theexperiences of life are stressful and that happiness andcontentment are not possible, but due to impermanence anduncertainty, attachments to those things that bring youhappiness can also bring disappointment. Creating an6
identity of self based on likes and dislikes is attachment, orclinging.The First Noble Truth is only an acknowledgement ofreality. It is simply a realistic view of human life, a startingpoint for gaining a true understanding of the nature of selfand of human life in the Clinging, or attachment is the cause of stress. Craving,desire, aversion, thirst, are all aspects of craving.Wanting the people and events of your life to bedifferent then they are, including yourself, is clinging ordesire. Attachment to the people and events of your life toremain as they are is also clinging and ssible"The path of liberation and freedom from stress is apractice of integrating moral and ethical values withmindfulness of what is occurring, moment to moment. It is apractice that develops insight into stress and the originationof stress. Understanding stress brings the possibility toeliminate the effects of stress. By deeply understanding that7
all things are impermanent you can loose the grip ofattachment and liberate yourself from stress.The path of liberation and freedom from stress is theFourth Noble Truth.4) The Fourth Noble Truth: “The Path to thecessation of stress is The Eightfold Path.”The Eightfold Path is characterized as a path of virtue,concentration and wisdom.The Noble Eightfold Path1. Right View2. Right Intention3. Right Speech4. Right Action5. Right Livelihood6. Right Effort7. Right Mindfulness8. Right MeditationThe first two factors of the Eightfold Path, Right Viewand Right Intention develop profound wisdom. Right Speech,Right Action and Right Livelihood develop heightened8
compassion and virtue. Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, andRight Meditation develop deep and unwaveringconcentration.The Eightfold Path is also known as the “Middle Path”as it avoids the distracting and unskillful extremes of seekinghappiness through indulging the senses and sensualpleasures, and the other extreme of self-denial, selfmortification and extreme physical practices.Judging yourself harshly is a form of self-mortification.Right View is initially the understanding and acceptancethat the Four Noble Truths have some validity and RightIntention initially is the intention to develop thatunderstanding further, while diminishing attachment.Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood aremoral and ethical guidelines for living, which brings deepawareness of attachments and further develops a peaceful,content and happy life.Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Meditation arethe factors of the Eightfold Path that develop deep andunwavering concentration. This is not a rigid form ofconcentration. The concentration developed is known asSamadhi. Samadhi means "non-distraction" or a peaceful9
and calm mind free of the distraction of the need for constantsensory fulfillment.Right Mindfulness has two aspects in relation tomeditation and the Eightfold Path. Being mindful of thebreath in the body begins to quite the mind. Being mindful offeelings as feelings arise and of how thoughts impactfeelings deepens insight. Remaining mindful of theframework of the Eightfold Path provides guidance anddirection as understanding develops.It is beyond the scope or intention of this book toexplain or teach the Four Noble Truths. A completeexplanation and teaching of the Four Noble Truths and TheEightfold Path is available at CrossRiverMeditation.com.10
Shamatha- ‐VipassanaShamatha-Vipassana Meditation will quickly developtwo conditions that are essential to putting aside the causeand effects of stress. These conditions are Shamatha andVipassana. Shamatha means serenity or tranquility, a quietmind. A quiet and non-reactive mind is the natural state ofyour mind. Vipassana means insight or clearly seeing.Shamatha-Vipassana meditation develops the ability to seeyourself and the people and events of your life clearly, freefrom the distracting effects of clinging and craving.Shamatha-Vipassana meditation develops a life free ofcraving, aversion and deluded thinking. ShamathaVipassana meditation develops a more realistic perspectiveof your life and it can be incorporated into any religious orspiritual philosophy.What you think, what is generated in your mind,determines what you will experience. This is why quietingyour mind and gaining insight into the nature of your mind isso effective in changing your experience of life.11
Shamatha-Vipassana meditation uses mindfulness ofthe breath to develop a calm and tranquil mind.Initially in meditation practice, it is enough to put asidethoughts as they arise and return your awareness to yourbreath as soon as you realize you are attached to yourthoughts.If you are continuously following one thought withanother thought, there is no spaciousness within yourthoughts for awareness of the nature of your mind to occur.You can become stuck in a compulsive mental state ofimmediately following one thought with the next.Once you have the beginnings of a quiet mind, you cangain insight, vipassana, into your thoughts. With a quiet mindyou can stay with a thought or feeling for a moment or two,realizing the impermanence of all things including your ownthoughts, and then returning your mindfulness to your breath.Realizing the impermanence of all things, including yourown thoughts, can be a profound and life-changingexperience. This realization can occur very quickly or maytake consistent meditation practice to develop.12
You can do this with any persistent thought or thoughtconstruct or physical feeling. Stay with persistent thoughts orfeelings for a moment or two, recognize that even persistentthoughts or feelings are impermanent, and return yourmindfulness to the sensation of breathing.This is gaining true insight into conditioned thinking andinterrupting the reaction caused by conditioned thinking.Conditioned thinking, or habitual thinking, is simply the resultof a lifetime of experiences forming a view of the world thatdefines and protects an ego-personality.Shamatha-Vipassana returns your mind to a tranquilstate not subject to reaction caused by conditioned thinking.Conditioned thinking causes wrong perception or wrongview, which causes an unskillful reaction. This reactioncreates further conditioned thinking. By using the insightgained by Shamatha-Vipassana, you are able to clearly seeand let go of reaction and interrupt the cycle of conditionedthinking.No further analysis of your reactive thoughts or feelingsis necessary, or even effective in breaking this pattern.Analysis of conditioned thinking during meditation can oftenstrengthen reactive thinking.13
Having the intention to engage in a meditation practiceto change a "flawed" self, or seek pleasant mind states ormystical experiences, will create more conditioned thinking.One can spend eternity in this pursuit, constantly creatingthe perception of change and never developing lastingpeace and happiness. The purpose of Shamatha-Vipassanameditation is to put aside all conditioned views.A mind easily distracted will be unable to recognizeconditioned mind states. Conditioned mind arises and isreinforced by discriminating thoughts of clinging to whatbrings pleasure, and aversion to disappointment, pain andsuffering.The concentration developed by Shamatha-Vipassanameditation quickly brings the ability to recognize discursiveand delusional thinking. Recognition of discursive anddelusional thinking allows for the possibility of putting asidethe cause of the stress and confusion that would otherwisecontinue to generate endless conditioned mind states.Another word for this type of dispassionate concentration ismindfulness.The Buddha likened establishing a meditation practiceto taming a wild elephant. In order for a young elephant to beuseful, it must be able to focus and be aware of its true14
nature. To tame a young elephant, a strong rope would betied around the elephant's neck and to a strong post or tree.The elephant would immediately begin thrashing around,flapping its ears, stomping the ground, and making loudgrunts and bellows, very unhappy to not be able to wanderaround aimlessly engaging in any distraction that arose.The more resistant the young elephant became, thestronger the rope held. Eventually the elephant would putaside its desire for continual distraction and sensualfulfillment and it would settle down. At a certain point theelephant will let go of its need to be anything other than whatit is.In this metaphor, your mind is the young elephant, therope is mindfulness or awareness of your breath, and thestrong post or tree is your breath. As you use mindfulness ofyour breath to settle your mind and develop tranquility,putting aside desire, you become liberated and free. Byutilizing the simple method of shamatha-vipassanameditation you are able to tame your own wild mind.As you begin to establish meditation practice, your mindis often thrashing about, resistant to settling down. Thoughtsinsist on wandering aimlessly with strong desire to continuedistraction by following one thought with another, continually15
describing their own self-created reality. As you continue anddeepen your meditation practice, your thoughts settle down.Returning to our metaphor, once the elephant haslearned to remain mindful of the post, the rope is loosenedand the elephant is finally free. Once tranquility andconcentration develops, understanding arises and graspingand clinging subsides.As you let go of the need to describe reality based ondesirous thoughts driven by attachment and aversion, yourmind settle and clears.Insight is recognizing conditioned thinking. Beingmindful of the breath brings recognition of distraction anddiscursive thinking.Mindfulness is the ability to be dispassionately aware ofwhat is occurring moment by moment without the distractionof wanting the people and events of your life, includingyourself, to be any different than what is occurring.Off your meditation cushion you are less reactive toyour conditioned thinking. You begin to integrate a deeperunderstanding of your true nature. You are more mindfullypresent in your life, which greatly supports your meditationpractice.16
Shamatha-vipassana will gently lead to quieting yourmind. Shamatha-Vipassana is the foundation of a practicethat develops true liberation and freedom.Shamatha-Vipassana meditation is a simple methodwith profound and transformative results. It is a method thatanyone can integrate into their lives. Within the framework ofThe Eightfold Path it will develop the insight necessary to putaside all delusional and discursive thinking.The purpose of shamatha-vipassana is not to enter intoa trance, or a mental state where thinking is masked behindan object or visualization. The purpose of shamathavipassana is to quiet the mind so that insight will arise.Shamatha-vipassana meditation will bring a state of deepconcentration and full awareness of the phenomenal world.Distracting thoughts of clinging, craving, desire and aversionwill fall away.The Tibetan word for meditation is "gom" which meansto become familiar with or to become intimate with.Shamatha-vipassana is the meditation method for becomingfamiliar and intimate with your own mind.17
Shamatha- ‐VipassanainPracticePostureThere is nothing magical or mystical about a meditationposture. The typical meditation posture of seated on the floorwith legs folded against the torso is simply a way to sitcomfortably during meditation. The meditation postureshould be stable, relaxing and support a quiet and alert mind.It should provide a reasonable amount of comfort, avoidingphysical distraction, for the meditation period. At first, anyposture may prove to be uncomfortable, and the posturedescribed below will become more comfortable with time.Bringing the body to stillness allows the mind to follow.It is preferable to sit on the floor supported by a zafu(pillow made for meditation) placed over a zabuton (a larger,flatter mat to support the legs). The zafu should be from 6 to8 inches thick and is often filled with cotton, buckwheat orkapok.When sitting on the zafu place your sit bones on thefront third of the zafu and allow your hips to drop in front ofyou. With your legs straight in front of you, bend your rightleg at the knee and place your right foot under your left thigh18
and near your left buttock. Bend your left leg at the knee andplace your left foot approximately in the crease formed byyour right thigh and calf, resting on your calf or thigh. Formore support you can place yoga blocks or a rolled towelunder one or both knees if needed.This may be uncomfortable at first, but with time andpatience this will prove to be a stable base with which tobuild a meditation practice on. This is the half-lotus orBurmese posture.If you are particularly nimble, you may want to sit in thefull-lotus position. The full-lotus is the same as the half-lotuswith the exception of placing the right foot on top of the leftthigh and the left foot on the right thigh. There is nothingadvantageous about the full-lotus over the half-lotus unless itaffords you more stability and comfort.From this stable base, keep your back straight but notstiff, not leaning forward or back. Align your ears with yourshoulders and your nose with your navel. Place your lefthand on top of your right palm with the thumb tips lightlytouching forming an approximate egg-shape with the thumbsand forefingers.19
Again, there is nothing magical or mystical about thishand placement. When done consistently it leads to quickerrelaxation and lessens physical distraction.An alternative to sitting on a zafu is to use a low benchcalled a seiza in a sitting-kneeling position usually over ablanket or zabuton.If sitting on the floor proves too uncomfortable, it isacceptable to sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor,your back straight but not stiff, ears aligned with yourshoulders and nose aligned with your navel.Lying down is the least effective regular meditationposture as it will usually lead to drowsiness. If lying on yourback is the only choice due to injury or illness, make the bestof it and avoid drowsiness. If drowsiness ensues, stopmeditation and begin again when refreshed.Shamatha- ‐VipassanaMeditationTo begin your meditation, take a few slow, deepbreaths, exhaling fully. Gently close your eyes and gentlyclose your mouth leaving a soft smile. Breathing throughyour nose, notice your breath entering your body at the tip ofyour nose. Being mindful of the sensation of breathing inyour body you may notice that the air is slightly cooler on the20
inhale and slightly warmer on the exhale. If you don’t noticethis temperature difference simply notice the flow of yourbreath at the tip of your nose o
The path of liberation and freedom from stress is the Fourth Noble Truth. 4) The Fourth Noble Truth: “The Path to the cessation of stress is The Eightfold Path.” The Eightfold Path is characterized as a path of virtue, concentration and wisdom. The Noble Eightfold Path 1. Right V
Mindfulness Meditation . JEAN L. KRISTELLER . Mindfulness meditation is one of the two traditionally identified forms of meditative practice, along with concentrative meditation (Goleman, 1988). Mindfulness meditation, also referred to as "insight
Meditation has been linked to increased levels of happiness. Meditation is broken down into two types: focused attention meditation and mindfulness meditation. The current study sought to examine the relationship between meditation and two different types of happiness: subjective well-being (SWB) and psychological well-being (PWB).
meditation with relative and empirical meaning of Bensonian Relaxation Response (RR) (Kim, 2005). Meditation has two main approaches, intensive meditation and mindfulness meditation (Hussain, et al. 2010). Intensive meditation aims to focus on any sound, image or sensation. Transcendental Meditation (TM), developed by Maharshi
Cognitive and neural dynamics during focused attention (FA) meditation One common meditation practice—known as focused attention (FA), concentration meditation, or shamatha—can be viewed from a cognitive perspective as a kind of sustained attention task. During FA meditation, attention is placed and maintained on a
We focused on the impact of mindfulness on implicit age and racial bias as measured by implicit asso-ciation tests (IATs). Participants listened to either a mindfulness or a control audio and then completed the race and age IATs. Mindfulness meditation caused an increase in state mindfulness and a
Méditation bouddhique 1 Méditation bouddhique Le Bouddha Shâkyamouni en méditation. La méditation bouddhique, méditation théorisée et pratiquée dans le bouddhisme, diffère radicalement de la méditation dans son acception occidentale. Son but ultime est l'atteinte du nirvāṇa. Le mot le plus proche pour « méditation » dans les langues classiques du bouddhisme est bhavana, qui .
Day 6. Practice development and common challenges to meditation . Day 7. Mindfulness meditation with various anchors . Day 8. Application of mindfulness to walking, eating, and consumption . Day 9. Application of mindfulness to COVID 19 and mindful hand hygiene . Day 10. Compassion for health: loving kindness meditation . Detailed practice .
exercises and the five-minute mindfulness meditation audio file were located. Participants were asked to bookmark the meditation page for reference use throughout the participation duration. Participants were instructed to practice the five-minute mindfulness meditation once a day at any convenient location and time of the day, except during
