Sitting Meditation

By Category: Meditation & PracticeTags:

Though sitting meditation was given to us from the ancient past it is a way for modern people to lead happy lives. Sitting meditation allows us to dispel the pressures of daily life that come from the mind’s confusion and a mistaken understanding of phenomena.

Practicing sitting meditation quiets the mind and stills our thoughts so that we can recover our intrinsic nature.

Sitting meditation makes us healthier.

The sutras say, “When the mind arises, all phenomena arise.” Modern medical science has proven that much of our sickness comes from our emotions, such as worry, greed, and anger. Meditation can give us a peaceful temperament, allows us to breathe calmly, and makes us feel refreshed. Sitting meditation also enhances circulation and boosts metabolism, thereby staving off the degeneration of bodily functions.

Sitting meditation enhances our morality.

In today’s society with its technological advances and material abundance, most people spend their days restlessly seeking after material pleasures, fame, position, and power, such that they cloud their minds with desire and lose sense of who they are. But, if these people can befriend sitting meditation they will become their own masters and will no longer be slaves to material things. They will be able to elevate their morality and transform their disposition.

Sitting meditation allows us to enjoy the bliss of meditative concentration.

The Buddha once said, “One who sits in meditation gains Dharma joy.” The Dharma joy mentioned by the Buddha is the bliss of meditative concentration. This bliss is created by a tranquil mind and cannot be compared to the happiness of the five desires. Those who diligently practice sitting meditation can obtain this bliss.

Sitting meditation develops our wisdom.

The Suramgama Sutra says, “Take focusing the mind as your precepts. Meditative concentration arises from the precepts; wisdom arises from meditative concentration.” Sitting meditation calms the body and spirit and purifies the mind. This not only makes us wiser, but it will win us everyone’s love and respect and make things easier to accomplish.

Sitting meditation is the path to cultivating merit and wisdom.

The practice of sitting meditation allows us to become Buddhas by seeing our intrinsic nature. Sitting meditation eliminates affliction and deluded thoughts, allowing us to be quiet both within and without. When the mind reaches nirvana, it expands into enlightenment. This is why a meditation hall is also called the Buddha’s court. As long as we put in the effort, we will be able to see our nature and become Buddhas.

The final goal of sitting meditation is to free the body and mind.

We must free ourselves from all forms of delusion and all discriminating thoughts, such that even the world of the Buddha and enlightenment is washed away without a trace. Amid the silence of ancient temples, Chan masters sat in meditation, burning stick after stick of incense. They dedicated their lives to the practice of sitting meditation, with their goal being to put an end to this world of delusion. They hoped that by constantly meditating they could purify their original mind and merge into time and space, reaching a liberated state of total freedom beyond enlightenment or delusion.

From For All Living Beings, written by Venerable Master Hsing Yun.

Image from Pixabay.

More Featured Articles

Born into Tribulation, Raised in Adversity, yet Experienced a Lifetime of Joy
People often ask me, “What ad­versity have you experienced in your life?” And for a moment, I can­not come up with an answer. I have always maintained the attitude of taking things as they come, as in the sayings “When the soldiers come, de­ploy the generals to fight back; when there is a flood, use earth to stop it” and “When encountering a mountain, cut Read more
To Live in Hope
When there is hope, there is a future. The worst tragedy in life is to live without hope for the future. When there is hope, there is a future. One of the mottoes of the Buddha's Light International Association is "to give others hope." That is the highest act of benevolence. On the other hand, to disappoint and render others hopeless is the cruelest act.People live Read more
The Stages of Counting the Breath
Master Zhiyi’s “six wonderful methods” describe four different kinds of specialized breathing: bellowing winds, broken panting, low-pitched breathing, and internalized breathing.1. Bellowing Winds“Bellowing Winds” describes when one’s inhalations become more and more powerful. As the breathing becomes deeper and longer it can become very loud. This is because, once the power of one’s concentration has been gathered, it can be transferred elsewhere with great force. Read more
Be Content in Body and Mind
Lessen desire and be without any wishes and the body and mind will be at ease.When our desires are balanced and reasonable, we can be content. The Buddha taught that deep wisdom can be found only by following a “middle way” between dualistic extremes. The middle way can always be found by contemplating which side of a dualistic pair is contending for our attention. If Read more
Healing the Body
Technological progress and advances in modern science have led to material improvements that have enhanced the quality of people’s lives on many levels. Yet, no matter how much we have progressed or how advanced our technology is, there still remain fundamental problems in life that science will never be able to solve.Two of the greatest problems people face are birth and death. No sooner are Read more
How To Change Destiny
What we often care most for in life is the self, and the most important aspect of self is none other than destiny. During one's lifetime, destiny changes frequently because of circumstances that arise. Because of a person, an event, a word, a dollar, or even a thought, entire lives may be altered. Similarly, the development of a country may be changed and the history Read more
To be Flexible
If someone is too tough or stubborn, one can say that they have a cold heart, or even a heart made of stone. But consider this: our teeth may be hard and rigid, but they will each fall out as we get older. On the other hand, the tongue more or less retains its form even after we die. In general, things can sustain themselves Read more
Diminishing Mental Afflictions
We all have our share of headaches and heartaches. Physically, we all have to face aging, sickness and death. Mentally, we have to deal with problems arising from greed, hatred and ignorance. The Chinese have a saying that aptly describes our predicament: “Heaven and hell sometimes end; the threads of sorrow continue forever.” Our afflictions are as deep as the dark blue sea and are Read more
Keeping Distance
We sometimes see signs on the highway warning: “Keep a safe distance.” Actually, it is not only in driving that we need to keep a distance. For safety reasons, any person and anything in the world needs to keep a distance.Take, for instance, the human body. Our eyes, nose, and mouth all need to keep a distance from one another. Our internal organs all have Read more
To Reform Oneself
We need to change and transform ourselves continuously: In order to achieve eventual perfection, we need to work on correcting our bad habits. Read more
Better Silent than Noisy
The great masters of the Chan School have always been like leisurely clouds and wild cranes, sometimes dwelling in the mountain forests, sometimes living by the water. Read more
Healing the Mind
People suffer from a variety of diseases of the mind, such as being greedy, judgmental, or quick to anger. The Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra says, “There are four kinds of diseases of the body, which are due to excessive wind, heat, phlegm, or other causes. There are also four kinds of diseases of the mind, which are greed, anger, ignorance, and pride.” Truthfully, it Read more