starting out

Hi everyone

I'm looking for some advice on starting on this pathway. I have been playing with meditation for about ten years. I've gone through periods of enthusiasm and scepticism as I sometimes perceived people to spend a lot of time sitting and not getting anywhere. So I wouldn't stick with anything for long. I have practiced vipassana (one ten day Goenka retreat), home exercise of various systems (shamatha, insight, open focus), mindful based emotional processing and various self-enquiry (headlessness, journalling etc). It has all been beneficial but now I'm ready to start putting the practice in in a more structured and focused way.

So my question is where to begin. I've read through the information here and skim read MCTB. I feel like my concentration is weak so I want to start practicing shamatha for at least one 45 minute sit per day with attention on the breath and then assess once I start to progress. Am I on the right track? I'm wondering if at this stage it would also be worthwhile for me to seek out personal instruction.

All input gratefully received. Thanks
Sam

Hi Sam,

I took a 6 week online Mindfulness course this year and it was a good foundation and covered many basics of Buddhist meditation. The instructors were great and it was free. If you're interested here's the link:

sites.google.com/site/mindfulnessonlinecourse/?pli=1

Here's some info on the instructors of the course:

www.vipassanahawaii.org/teachers.php

Also, here is a link to Ron Crouch, one of Kenneth Folk's students who teaches meditation. He is a great guy and teacher.

alohadharma.wordpress.com/

Whether in person or online, I think having a teacher is important. Good luck and I hope you find what you're looking for. Take care.

Peace,
Don

Hi Sam,

Starting off by establishing concentration is a good approach. I also highly recommend seeking out competent personal instruction. Here's a quote from the Q&A page at Shinzen.org:

"...stagnation [in practice] is a human thing! I'm sure that the causes of this are subtle and complex but, at the risk of gross oversimplification, I'm tempted to say that it is due to not getting a "critical mass" of guidance and support in their practice. By a critical mass, I mean guidance that is: 1) profoundly competent 2) sensitively personalized 3) continuous."

Another thing, hanging out with people who meditate and talk about this stuff is very useful as well. Whether in a formal sangha or just a small group of like-minded friends, talking about practice in group where what you're doing is not seen as weird helps a lot.

All the best, Alvaro

Follow Kenneth's instructions here:
kennethfolkdharma.com/2012/03/how-can-i-...-nonduality-at-work/

(when he says to follow the stuff outlined on this site, he's talking about the menu on the left - beginning with "start here")

Good luck!

Thanks mumuwu I haven't checked out those links yet.

Sam, I'd also suggest that the whole shamatha vs. vipassana distinction is not always helpful, especially in the beginning. It's okay to pick one as your main theme, but lots of folks have made shamatha progress through noting practice -- which would seem to be impossible if shamatha and vipassana were such different practices.

One of the things that seems common is to think that progress can't be made because shamatha hasn't happened. In fact, lots of folks are getting stream entry without having strong shamatha skills. Ironically, after stream entry they quickly develop the ability to access the jhanas.

So no problem with using attention on breath, but just don't have too strong expectations about needing to achieve some level of proficiency or the practice isn't working. A teacher can help quite a bit, it's the shortest path.

Hi,

Thanks everyone for your responses I will look forwards to following them up. I tend to be easily distracted by new things which is why I thought a bit of concentration practice would be helpful, and I'm surprised to find myself enjoying it also. I can see how important community is also so look forwards to learning more here.

Do we have a reading list here? Nana's and jhana's. I like to see something laid out in print instead of a series of articles. Any recommendations gladly received.

Cheers
Sam

I see that you already have a copy of Daniel Ingram's Mastering The Core Teachings of the Buddha. This book has more than enough information for a novice yogi to start off with. I have a hard copy and the e-book version on my Kindle. Sometimes I use the text-to-speech feature on my Kindle and let my Kindle read it to me while I'm doing stuff around the house. I wish there was an audio book version of MCTB but text-to-speech will have to do. I have lots of Dharma books that have been helpful but this book has been the most practical for me as a beginner.

Sam,
Don't worry too much about books and reading lists. I say that as a booklover and book hoarder! But seriously, Western Buddhism has been called "nightstand Buddhism" with good reason: we have so many lovely dharma books. Far better to forget about trying to understand the dharma through books and try to understand it though your own experience. If you have MCTB, Mahasi Sayadaw's Progress of Insight and maybe the middle length discourses, plus Kenneth's instructions on this site, that's really more than enough.

45 mins a day is a great goal. Keep at it and let us know how it goes!
Andy

Strongly recommend:
www.dhammasukha.org/
Basic introduction to meditation as the Buddha taught it:
www.dhammasukha.org/Study/basic.htm

Metta,
B.

Seeing as you are on KFD - check out this thread:
kennethfolkdharma.wetpaint.com/thread/48...o+Get+Enlightened%21

Hi, thanks for all the tips and links. It feels like quite a lot to work through so I'm going to keep reading and doing my own practice, and once I've got more idea I'll start a practice journal. Look forwards to going deeper.
Cheers
Sam