Last week I went back to prison. Years, even decades! — I was a regular member of a small group that facilitated weekly silent meditation sessions at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.I wrote about it here. A while back, I was called up at the last minute to become an honorary member because one of the four remaining regulars was absent. Last week was one of those times. Of the nine “brothers” who attended, only four did, and three of them had never meditated before. So I remembered an article I wrote a long time ago about my views on meditation, and how the title of his 1990s book by Zen master Soon-Sahn sums it up in my mind. I remembered Iruka. I just don’t understand.
FWIW here is my article:
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My instructions for first-time meditators are increasingly minimalist. These days it’s more like, “Sit quietly and pay attention to what’s going on.” It used to take longer. When I was a meditation instructor at a Zen community in Mountain View, he would spend 30 to 40 minutes teaching beginners how to sit, breathe, bow, and even how to come and go. Zendohow to ask questions, and (let’s talk settings!) what to expect.
An old friend of mine, the late Pete Kayes, led a meditation group at the county jail. (Barry Evans)
Part of my “rush” approach these days is driven by logistics. At the prison, where three of us local “Zennys” take turns leading meditation programs for men, we are often with inmates who have never meditated before, and our time is limited.I want them to taste it. right nowAbout the essence of meditation. And when I lead a local weekly evening meditation group, new people always seem to walk in just as I’m about to ring the bell and say, “Welcome…please take off your shoes…chair. Or a cushion?” …Well, why don’t you sit back and watch what’s going on for the next 30 minutes… Thank you. ”
that’s it?What if I opened my eyes? Is your neck tilted at 45 degrees? Space mudra, your thumbs barely touching? Is your spine as straight as the proverbial tower of gold? Tongue on the palate? Breathing awareness? Are you counting?Notes on Hara• Want to get your thoughts through without chatting?
It’s fine for someone to try all of this if they decide to practice, but what about for first-timers? I prefer to have them play on the big field, following my core beliefs about meditation. There’s no way to do it wrong — In contrast to everything else in my life! The editor’s underlying comment is often something like this: It’s like, “Hey, you did a great job, Barry…well, you really screwed up…hey, you did a great job…oh my god, the whole day has passed and I haven’t done anything!” It’s something. ” Meditation, on the other hand, is an antidote to a goal-oriented existence that comes and goes. I meditate because I meditate.And most of the time I don’t try to improve or tinker with it. that’s reality.
My problem with detailed meditation instructions is that by their very nature they suggest that there are good and bad ways to do something. They say, this is what you should do, this is right, this is wrong. Just like in “real” life, instructions set goals.
Is this why so many people try meditation and then give up because they somehow feel like they’ve failed? In the community I used to live in, I would estimate that out of the five or six girlfriends who came to a mentoring session (and then sit down) for the first time, only one of them ever saw her again. For most people, that one time was enough. How many times have you heard someone say something along the lines of, “Well, I tried meditating once, but it didn’t work…I couldn’t do it…I couldn’t calm my mind.”
If you are new To do
If you have any questions or concerns, we encourage you to try it first and then ask. First-time sitters can learn more about meditation in his 30 minutes of real time than any instruction can teach.
Because meditation is an off-road adventure, not a set of instructions to navigate down the highway of your mind.
