xavoy

That article highlights the need for having a good teacher, and teaching meditation together with ethical guidelines. It also smells very much like someone has something to lose by meditations rising popularity (ie, drug companies pushing the mentioned Prozac). It's full of slimy, non commital wording (like many, a lot and some) and also full of experiences that are made to sound terribly negative but don't really matter at all.

Meditation _can_ make you hallucinate, it _can_ make you burst into tears or fits of laughter, it can do a lot of things (although I've never known meditation to CAUSE seizures?! Come on... Show me some proof of that.) That is why working with a _good_ teacher is very important. In their 40+ years of experience, they've been there. You have to apply to go on our retreats, and if a teacher, for whatever reason, doesn't think it's a good idea that you go, then he or she will encourage you not to and if it was required would prevent you from going, although I've never known it to come to this. There are probably people that need to go to a counselor, therapist or psychologist before sitting with themselves for long periods.

Furthermore (and in my humble opinion) you should get the hell away from any meditation teacher that implies you're channeling a spirit guide or speaking to God. There's some fruity 'Guru's' out there. Do your research. Don't believe or expect miracles. Don't submit to anyone. Act ethically at all times and take some responsibility for your own actions.

I use the iPhone app called 'Soto Timer' when I'm away. It's free and allows you to configure multiple periods (so you can sit, rest or kinhin, sit, rest or kinhin etc)

Sitting every day is most important. There is no substitute for this. A good way to convince yourself of the benefits, and to reinvigorate your practice, is to throw yourself into the deep end and do a retreat. The 'container' of a 'retreat' (retreat is an inadequate word, if you've ever done a proper retreat you'll know why) allows you to sit for extended periods and remain mindful when doing other simple activities like cutting food for your lunch.

As you said though, meditation is a 'practice'. There is no 'attainment' - if you're not practicing, the benefits are basically nil. As such, you need to practice for it to be worthwhile.

The best time to sit is first thing in the morning. Set your alarm, get out of bed (no excuses) and sit down. This is good for two reasons. 1) if you do nothing else all day, at least you've done your meditation and 2) as you've not had a chance to distract yourself yet, you're more likely to remain present. Of course you'll distract yourself with your plans for your day and convince yourself that you don't have time for this, that you're too tired, but these are just stories like all the others you tell yourself. Let them go, and return to your breath, again and again and again.

The ability to communicate as we humans do requires the ability to abstract, be removed from reality and ponder over it, so you can articulate your problems to others. The stories in your head are just that, except you haven't verbalized them yet.

My pleasure :)

Indeed :) I do orientations for friends and occasionally newcomers to the Zendo. I tell them if they can honestly get past five in the first few months they are doing well :)

Also, relaxing is good, but the practice is an attentive awareness of the breath and count. Too relaxed and you'll get sleepy and lose the count, trying too hard makes you tense physically and tires you out mentally. It's about finding that balance again and again and again. Just one. Just two. Just three.

Western Zen is very western/scientific/rational. Most of the teachers in the lineage I belong to are also psychologists, psychotherapists or counselors (but your teacher is NOT your therapist). Stephen Bachelor has been a Tibetan AND a Zen monk, but is now neither. He wrote a book called "Buddhism Without Beliefs" which might suit you.

Note though that it is almost impossible to separate meditation as it relates to your mind, and meditation as it relates to your bodily actions. When you start to understand the way your mind works, and how everything fits together, you would have to be pretty ignorant to not alter your actions accordingly. Indeed, using your brain 'more effectively' can only happen by applying what you learn.

(IE, there is no state that you 'attain' and from then on you are 'more effective'. Meditation is a 'practice' and so you must practice it, you don't attain anything at all)

edit: correcting misspelled book title. Should be "Buddhism Without Beliefs" not "Buddhist Without Beliefs".

Totally agree.

Not to dis BrainBot, but the only Zazen tracking tool you need is to sit Zazen every day. I can see how competition and seeing your hours tick over might be encouraging to some degree, and if the site encourages people to sit more then it is worthwhile! But I see enough chest puffing on the 'net as it is with regards to people's meditation, and how amazing they are now because of it or how much they are sitting, and it makes me feel ill. Your practice should be personal, for you (and the big you) and should be a part of your Bodhisattva work, not a device used to enlarge your ego.

If you're aiming for enlightenment, you've missed the mark :)

Alan Watts is great, but he talks too much. It's interesting, and encouraging for those with an already established practice, but people who are new to meditation need to just sit. It's _very_ tempting to read about Zen and think it is nothing but an interesting philosophy.

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind is one of my favorite books, but there's very little actual instruction there and, once again, without an established practice, it would be easy to write it off as beautifully poetic but essentially baseless philosophy. (hehe, essentially baseless. Sorry, that's a bad Zen pun)

I'd say we're half evolved. We have this facility and don't know how to properly control it. It's a byproduct of some other facility (the ability to communicate).

Sit in a comfortable position, if possible on a cushion, on the floor, with three solid points of contact (your butt and your knees). Relax. Pay special attention to your shoulders, neck and throat. Straighten your back, let your stomach and butt hang out. Close your eyes 3/4 and let them go out of focus. Take a deep breath in and let it go. Then breath in again, counting 'one' to yourself, breath out and count 'two'. Keep doing this until you get to ten, then start again. When you get distracted by thoughts, start again at one. If you go past ten, start again at one. If you notice a conversation in your head underneath or behind or above the counting, start again at one. If there is anything other than the counting, start again at one. Just one. Just two. Just three.

Start sitting for five minutes twice a day and build up from there. Longer is better, but only if you stick to it. Don't get annoyed at yourself when you get distracted. Don't get proud if you don't. Don't think you are doing anything special. Just count your breath.

If you would like to learn more, search for 'Taking the path of Zen' where the late Robert Aitken goes into detail about Zen meditation and talks about positions and stretches to help you to comfortably sit in them.

If you are serious about this, find a teacher and a group to sit with. Not only will it make you more likely to sit, a good teacher can offer you advice you'll never find on a message board. Specific advice that is specific to you.

Meditation isn't about tuning OUT, it's about tuning IN.

Also, it's not 'suppressing' anything, it's just not paying the 'me' thoughts the attention you normally would.

Wow there is a lot of misinformation here, especially about Zen.

If making beautiful things is encouraging attachment then I guess all of the Zen poets and painters weren't (and aren't) very Zen either. Nor are the architects, florists or writers.

And to say that he wasn't or couldn't be a Buddhist simply because he had imperfections and flaws? What?!

Also, look up Vimalakirti. You don't need to renounce the world and material possessions to be a 'good' Buddhist, whatever that is.