The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

General discussion of issues related to Theravada Meditation, e.g. meditation postures, developing a regular sitting practice, skillfully relating to difficulties and hindrances, etc.
Reductor
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Re: The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

Post by Reductor »

Guy wrote:
thereductor wrote:So yes, I did my hour. It is becoming easier and easier to do each day, in terms of habit and duration.
That's reassuring to know, too!!!
thereductor wrote:Last night was difficult in that I was burdened by certain defilements, while tonight was very good. It was smooth sailing, and I ended with a good bout of brahmavihara meditation.
Glad to hear your persistent effort is paying off!!! Meanwhile I am taking the lazy man's path to happiness - Mudita!!! :D
:heart: I do wish I could claim the accolades this morning, but cannot. Last night, after a rather intense and bitter argument with my wife, I couldn't bear to sit down and meditate. The thought of spending any more time, of being any closer, to those thoughts and feelings, made me run for the nearest distraction.

Tonight I will sit, of course. I resolve that from this day on I will sit even with the most frightful and awful experiences that come my way.

And whatever road you take, I hope that it is well paved and smooth.
Reductor
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Re: The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

Post by Reductor »

How many thoughts can be thought in an hour? A lot!

But I'm rather slow, so perhaps I averaged one every two or three seconds tonight. Hmmm :thinking: 1200? :rofl:

Not that many, I don't think. Perhaps I am even slower than I thought!

Anyway, I sat tonight. A lot of thoughts came up about family life - good, helpful thoughts, which made them hard to relinquish.

Peace to all.
Reductor
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Re: The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

Post by Reductor »

A pretty decent night. By relaxing my body and smoothing my breath, mindfully, I calmed a rather raucous obsession. Not bad. Heck, I went from being worked up all day, to being so relaxed I had to intentionally ramp up my energy. All in the course of 10 minutes or less, even.

Anyway, good night.

:heart:
Reductor
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Re: The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

Post by Reductor »

How many nights has it been? :thinking:

Excluding the 27th of March, it has been 10 days. Yay!

:heart:
Reductor
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Re: The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

Post by Reductor »

Last night I sat for only 30 minutes. Then I woke up! It had been a long day, so I went to bed. :shrug:
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bodom
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Re: The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

Post by bodom »

thereductor wrote:Last night I sat for only 30 minutes...
Only? Thats more than ive been able to get in these past few days...these kids just dont want to nap at the same time...

Would this be considered a breach of the precepts?

:tongue:
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Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
Reductor
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Re: The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

Post by Reductor »

bodom wrote:
thereductor wrote:Last night I sat for only 30 minutes...
Only? Thats more than ive been able to get in these past few days...these kids just dont want to nap at the same time...

Would this be considered a breach of the precepts?

:tongue:
I would have to research it!

Until then, I suggest my parents standby when I was kid! :twisted:
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bodom
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Re: The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

Post by bodom »

Ha!

Well I spoke too soon. There both fast asleep and I was able to get a solid hour of meditation in. :woohoo:

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
Reductor
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Re: The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

Post by Reductor »

:twothumbsup:
Reductor
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Re: The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

Post by Reductor »

I've completed the night's meditation. I got in just a little metta reflection there at the end; perhaps I should make an hour of that on its own sometime!

I'm getting better at calming my mind and thereby gaining some relief, or mental room, from the days obsessions/cravings. This makes things easier, but of course a whole day spent practising relinquishment would lead to a more complete letting go than trying to relinquish for 10 or more minutes once a night.

But one step at a time.

Thanks for reading.

:heart:
Reductor
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Re: The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

Post by Reductor »

Tonight went well enough at the beginning and the end. The middle part could have been better. :tongue: I should be getting more sleep at night I suppose.

:thinking:
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Ben
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Re: The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

Post by Ben »

Hi thereductor,
Better...how?
kind regards,

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
Reductor
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Re: The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

Post by Reductor »

Ben wrote:Hi thereductor,
Better...how?
kind regards,

Ben
In the beginning my mind calmed down easily, but didn't become drowsy. The various preoccupations with world "as a location", and the concerns of the world "as beings and their activities", faded away, and the sense of body and mind were clear and calm.

After a fairly short time of that, my mind began to scatter again - intentions that had formed during the day came to mind, and I had to return to counting my breath a lot. More interesting was that I could see places I've been lately, and which have been on my mind, and people, and at times see from their perspective (actually this happens fairly often). There was a temptation to interpret these things as some kind of iddhis, but that would be silly I think. I was very aware that all these things are closely linked to my rather intense and drawn out struggle with defilements during this last week (longer actually, but this last week has been intense for me).

Once that I had enough I got up and did walking meditation but still had trouble staying on task. Then I broke my steps into two parts: lift and swing, "Bud-", and placement "-dho". Back and forth across my apartment like that, and my mind finally calmed down. When my timer finally went off, I felt composed.

So, that's an outline of tonight. Hopefully not to much information.
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Ben
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Re: The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

Post by Ben »

Thanks.
Not too much info at all.
The reason I ask is that, particularly within my own tradition, I've noticed that some people place a lot of value on the affective "feel" of meditation and other artefacts such as distractedness, presence of lustful thoughts, drowsiness, painful and pleasurable sensations & etc as indicative of how "good" or "successful" their meditative experience is.
Personally, I think its a mistake.
A lot of the difficulties we experience in meditation (hindrances) manifest as a result of attempting to meditate. They are, to a small extent, indicative of some progress. However, if we end up indulging in our hindrances during meditation then it becomes a barrier.
Sometimes we're going to have meditation sessions that will feel great and others that will feel...ordinary. Just don't place to much value or attempt to interpret the session through the phenomenology that is rising and falling.
They're (meditation sessions) are all good!
I hope I made sense!
with metta,

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
jcprice
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Re: The Dhamma Wheel Meditation Challenge

Post by jcprice »

Hi all,

very inspirational thread.

It was interesting to read the waxing and waning and waxing again of the practice. The disruptions of family life. Struggle with posture. Struggle with noise. Busy minds. etc.

It mirrors my own experience. :rofl:

I've been struggling this year to re-establish my own meditation practice after the birth of my second child.

Now it's just a matter of juggling meditation times between late nights settling the eldest child and the wife, and the youngest waking up early as I'm sitting down to meditate.

All that said, I've settled on my old practice of counting ("training wheels" as someone rather astutely pointed out above) and perhaps rolling into metta from there (especially in the evenings).

From past experience, it takes me about three months of daily practice to get to a good place with my meditation.

That said, I can feel the energy and enthusiasm coming up for each sit.

The real trick is to not drop the practice when the first disruption comes up (getting sick, travel, etc.).

Anyway, Metta to all with their own practice.

Jason
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