HOME > Meditation >> Commentary on The Method of Sitting Meditation >> Preparation For Sitting Meditation
Preparation For Sitting Meditation
All things in this world require preparation. Sitting meditation is no exception to this rule. To successfully practice sitting meditation, you need daily doses of scrupulous preparation. Sometimes, success or failure in sitting meditation depends on the level of preparation you make. It would be an illusion to think that you can be careless in your thoughts and actions in your daily routine and that you can then put yourself in the right mood at a moment’s notice when the time for sitting meditation is near at hand. It is a facet of truth that nothing can be completed successfully without due preparation. Sitting meditation is no exception to this universal principle. A number of points to be applied in your daily routine in preparation for sitting meditation are as follows:
[ You must study the methods of sitting meditation ]
In order to practice sitting meditation, you must first study its methods. Through studying, you must thoroughly and completely familiarize yourself with its procedure. You cannot be successful in sitting meditation by merely sitting in a position pointlessly. Moreover, it is vitally important to decide which of the various methods you choose to take, for each method has its own merits and demerits, and points of strength and weaknesses.
Therefore, you must have a profound understanding of the methods of sitting meditation in your everyday life. Not only must you study them through the Principal Book, but also learn from more experienced practitioners by asking them questions and receiving their appraisals. Learning does not stop after the initial stage, but accompanies each stage throughout the entire process. This checking and assessing will prevent you from going down a wrong path and will directly lead you to a sound practice of sitting meditation.
[ Replenishment of the vow ]
The vow is the driving force. Without it, you will be unable to switch on the ignition, nor be able to move forward. Without the vow, when your body assumes the seated posture, you will merely be sitting, not actually practicing sitting meditation. The vow is the core and the main force in sitting meditation. Hence, the continuous recharging of the vow is a requirement.
For this to make sense to you, you must understand the following issues. What is the outcome of practicing or not practicing sitting meditation? How does practicing or not practicing sitting meditation influence your spirit’s ability and all aspects of your life in general? What outcome does your ability in sitting meditation have in store for the eternal life?
Once firmly convinced of the merits of sitting meditation, you will naturally awake to the desire for it without encouragement from anyone else. You will be driven to solidify your vow to practice sitting meditation and to do it well.
If such a vow has not been taken and strengthened, you will be lacking in the resolve to practice sitting meditation. You will soon lose interest, becoming an uncommitted practitioner. You will either reluctantly engaged in it only to seek others’ approval, or fail to focus your mind when in practice, merely ending up sitting in vain. Therefore, replenishment of the vow must be continuous.
[ Management of the heart and emotions ]
The heart and the emotions are so subtle that they capture the entire world of your imagination. However hard you try to do away with attachments, it is sometimes of little avail. The harder you try and the deeper you are dragged in, the stronger the hold the world of attachment will have on you. You may be willing to practice sitting meditation but, in the realm of the imagination, you completely succumb to the workings of the heart and the emotions. The stronger the sensory conditions you experience, the harder it is to resist them.
Therefore, those who want to practice sitting meditation must train themselves to assume a serene state of mind in their daily routine, avoiding the heavy emotional fluctuations created by joy, anger, sadness, or happiness. If such sensory conditions occur, you must ignore them. Only when these heroic emotions, which strive so hard to capture your heart, vanish of themselves will you actually be able to practice sitting meditation easily. Love and hate, lust, greed, hatred and delusion, desire for wealth and fame, and desire for food and sleep are the chief obstacles of sitting meditation.
[ Management of health and daily routine ]
Your mind alone does not practice sitting meditation. It does it together with your body. Hence, you must care for your physical health as well as your mental and emotional well-being. Several cases that would hinder sitting meditation would be as follows.
It is hard to practice sitting meditation when you are ill or suffering physical pain, or when you are exhausted. Extreme fatigue due to strenuous activity would also pose a problem. Lack of sleep due to any reason, of course, greatly interferes with sitting meditation. It is also difficult to be completely absorbed in meditation when you have digestive trouble due to an inability to control the intake of food. If you eat or drink a lot right before you go to bed, you won’t be able to fall into a deep sleep and you may frequently awaken during the night. This will in turn lead to a fruitless meditation the next morning. In addition to what has been mentioned above, if discipline in your life collapses or a sudden change occurs in your life’s everyday pattern, your practice of sitting meditation will be interrupted. Therefore, it is important to handle these issues appropriately.
[ Management before and after sitting meditation ]
Your body is bound to stiffen if it is not used or moved properly. If you only move your body in a set pattern, or repeat only certain movements, your body will perform only those motions comfortably, and ultimately lose its physical balance. Therefore, you need to do appropriate exercise to loosen muscles that have stiffened during the night before practicing sitting meditation. Novices, especially, are advised to increase the blood circulation and relax hardened muscles and joints through light but thorough exercise before entering the meditation room and starting meditation.
Assuming the correct posture is important during sitting meditation. Otherwise you may acquire weakness or misalignment in the pelvic structure. If such a problem becomes chronic, you may suffer pain in your back or in your legs as you get older. In order to prevent this, you are advised to acquire the habit of frequently sitting in a kneeling position during your everyday practice. When kneeling, it is best to put the right toes on top of the left toes. Due to frequent driving, you are forced to use your right leg a lot more than your left, and hence, the right side of your pelvis is more likely to become distorted. Placing your right toes on top of your left toes is a necessary habit to maintain a correctly aligned pelvis.
When your pelvis is correctly aligned, your spine is healthy. Only when your spine is healthy can you be free of distraction caused by physical discomfort. Therefore, proper care of your pelvis and your back is an indispensable part of sitting meditation. A weak pelvic structure and a poor back may not pose such a problem when you are young, but as you get older, they will become a major threat, both to sitting meditation and to your health. Counteracting these potential problems by meditating according to the prescribed method is a wise way to practice.
