[Navzrrqt]

Fellow Travelers,
During meditation, how do I overcome my sorrow? That's the short question.
The long version- I have been meditating each day for the last three months, using the chant
om mani padme hum to focus the mind and foster deeper compassion. During some sessions, I get caught up in the thought of dissolution, loss, and I begin to cry. I continue the mantra, but my mind continues
to generate faces of people I know, and people I don't, and I get almost "stuck" on the fact of
their demise, and my own. I understand that this practice is focused on the truth of reality,
and death is true for all of us. So I wonder if this is just a typical stage in the development of
this practice, and will their eventually be a deeper understanding or at least a level of acceptance?
Thank you.

[loikrso]

Hi Red Thread,

Can I ask if you were given this practice by a teacher, or did you decide to do it yourself?

I wonder perhaps if you weren't instructed to do daily sessions of mantra recitation and you're feeling sad and having a lot of emotional reactions, it might be better if you did breath meditation, which helps calm and relax the mind and body rather than agitate them.

with kind wishes to you,

Aloka-D

[Grainiary]

Dear Red Thread

Welcome to BWB.

I gained inspiration when I read your post.

I am unsure how om mani padme hum results in your mind generating meditation on death.

However it seems om mani padme hum is making your mind clear enough to see death is true for all of us.

To answer your question, yes, there will eventually be a deeper understanding and a level of acceptance.

However, sorrow will always arise from meditation on death (and will only end when perfect understanding and acceptance is developed).

Meditation on death is a most powerful practise. The Buddha said meditation on death gains a footing in the Deathless (Nirvana).

It seems, due to your mind's natural wisdom, your mind is generating meditation on death spontaneously.

The fruits of meditation on death are not coldness & detachment.

To the contrary, the fruits of meditation on death are tenderness & compassion. The Buddha said in the Dhammapada:

There are those who do not realise one day we all must die.
Those who do realise this end their quarrels. If you are a Mahayana student, you would have heard many stories about Bodhisatvas who cry & cannot bear the suffering of sentient beings.

The tenderness & compassion from meditation on death & teary eyed Bodhisatvas are born from this sorrow.

Kind regards

Element

[beonecenry]

Thank you both very much for your replies.
Aloka-D> I have taken the academic route for the last ten years or so, but didn't start practicing until this Autumn. I have read a number of books on how to practice and about Buddhist philosophy, but didn't start practicing until this Autumn. I am an artist, and have been fascinated with funerary practices from around the world, since death is one of the basic commonalities of all sentient beings. The mantra I started to use was not instructed, but (this sounds silly) found a track on youtube of chanting monks. I am also a singer, so the vocal resonance was very appealing, so I gave it a try.
Element> thank you. Somewhere I read a short parable about inviting death to dinner so that one will be familiar with it when it comes calling. It is a difficult position, in being present with the idea that all things around me, including myself, my thoughts, my works, will all turn to dust one day. I find myself paying closer attention to my immediate world, my family, and their needs. I sometimes cry for them in knowing that my little girls will one day have to bury me. I don't feel cold about it, but instead, becoming more and more raw. So I say to you, thank you for sharing some wisdom on this matter.
Cheers!
-Red

[Michaelnewerb]

Your'e welcome.

Thank you for your kind words & sharing your experience.

Warm regards

[evalayCap]

I would suggest sitting with your sorrow,l would suggest that it's not a good idea to surpress it,everything passes as will this.
'Just' sit it out,when the emotion has run it's course then it will give way to somrthing else.

[Appeselve]

Thank you for sharing with us, Red Thead, it was good to hear from you. Feel free to ask us other questions or join in the discussions.

[spapsinee]

With regard to meditation and crying, Ajahn Chah said in his teachings called "A Still Forest Pool" :


"Do not try to become anything.
Do not make yourself into anything.
Do not be a meditator.
Do not become enlightened.
When you sit, let it be.
When you walk, let it be.
Grasp at nothing.
Resist nothing.
If you haven't wept deeply, you haven't begun to meditate."

http://www.what-buddha-taught.net/Bo...orest_Pool.htm

[tipoketpu]

Thank you Aloka-D, well quoth...

[Duaceanceksm]

Red Thread, welcome.

Just a bit of advice from my own experiences: If, during whatever type of meditation you're doing, a particular subject or theme arises, that's your subconscious at work. If it's death, then that's what your mind needs to deal with at this time in order to restore balance to your being. So, instead of worrying about it or letting it stress you, go with it. Meditate on death. There are numerous descriptions in the Pali Canon on death meditation.

For example, visualize a fresh corpse, a corpse a few days old, a few weeks old, etc, with a mind towards peaceful acceptance of the inevitability of death. Become disillusioned, in the literal sense, with life, yours or others'. Detach from the view of yourself as an enduring entity. Death will come to every living thing. What's to do about it? Nothing you do can change the inevitability of death, so the only thing left for benevolent beings is to try to affect more peace and less suffering for our fellow ephemeral beings in the present and future. After you let go of life can you really begin to live more deeply. I'm not talking about transcendent ideals; I'm just saying that there's not much else worthwhile for a benevolent being to do. Someone will one day bury your children, too, won't they?

Nothing new came into being at birth, nothing ceases to be at death. There's no way to lose, no reason to grieve.

[mirvokrug]

Thank you FBM. I am not necessarily stressed about it, it's just interesting how powerfully this emotion can overtake. I have always been rather "sensitive", so this comes as no surprise. It's more of a distraction than anything. I have read about folks going to cemeteries and other places where the dead reside in order to come closer to an understanding of death. Intellectually, it makes sense and manifests everywhere all of the time- people die, our beloved pets, deer on the side of the road, everything is subject to this, even these thoughts and emotions. But knowing something doesn't make it any easier. I guess that's why I practice, so that I can get really "into" the experience to find out what about it is so hard to deal with.

Here's another question that is similar, but about practice itself. Is it advisable to practice different types of meditation in a day? I am enjoying this chant, but have already seen how easy it is to become habituated to this practice. Is it a good idea to maybe chant during the morning session, and then "just sit" during the evening session? Is there a conflict in these practices?

Thank you all, cheers!

[BitStillrhile]

Here's another question that is similar, but about practice itself. Is it advisable to practice different types of meditation in a day? I am enjoying this chant, but have already seen how easy it is to become habituated to this practice. Is it a good idea to maybe chant during the morning session, and then "just sit" during the evening session? Is there a conflict in these practices?

Thank you all, cheers!

Hi Red Thread.

This might not be a simple answer to your first question, because different methods or "types" of meditation are usually used for different purposes. For example most who begin practicing for the first while often engage in little more than Shamatha (calm abiding) meditation. Most teacher's tend to teach beginner's a method to help calm the mind. This is itself can take some time to accomplish. It's like going to the gym, one needs a certain period of time and training before any results may be noticed. I think it is a key point to remember, that in a sense we are trying to "train" our mind.

For some (not all) it can be disadvantageous to combine multiple methods initially. My teacher sometimes will use an analogy and say "it is better to open one door and walk through it instead of just opening various doors but not going inside" (or something like that).

Once we have gained a bit of a calmer mind, the it may be easier to do some contemplations at that point.

As for the second part of your question, as a Vajrayana practitioner, I strongly suggest that if you resonate with using this mantra during practice, it is best to find a teacher and request they give you the "transmission" of the mantra. Though it is a well known mantra, it is a very powerful practice, and a qualified teacher can pass this mantra on and explain how to use it during practice. Mantra's have many uses and functions other than just being words to focus on. As we are on a public forum, this is not the time or the place to discuss Vajrayana practices and their particulars, but I'm sure if you were sincere, a qualified teacher might explain some of this to you.

8)

Mani

[MaraReenece]

Thank you Mani, I appreciate the advice!

[ROYMANgo]

Hi Red Thread,

I agree with everything Mani said about mantras. Although Vajrayana mantras and practices can be found on the internet,they shouldn't really be done without the instruction and guidance of a teacher.

I think with regard to meditation in general, its also best to seek local Buddhist meditation classes if possible - and both Theravada and Vajrayana traditions usually focus on tranquility meditation (samatha) to begin with. (I can't comment on other traditions because I don't have any experience of them)

This video series with Ajahn Jayasaro on YouTube might be useful to you in the meantime.


Buddhist Meditation (1) Introduction

[86GlSqSK]

...
Here's another question that is similar, but about practice itself. Is it advisable to practice different types of meditation in a day? I am enjoying this chant, but have already seen how easy it is to become habituated to this practice. Is it a good idea to maybe chant during the morning session, and then "just sit" during the evening session? Is there a conflict in these practices?

Thank you all, cheers!

No, there's no problem with doing different kinds of meditation on the same day. In Mahasi Sayadaw's method, as well in Korean Zen, sitting and walking are alternated. It is easy to get attached to a particular method, especially if it's espoused by a repected teacher. It's important to know that some methods work better for some people, though. Just because the method or the teacher is famous doesn't mean that that method is the best for you. A quick rule of thumb: If you feel uncomfortable or stressed by the practice, change methods. It shouldn't be stressful.

Cheers!

[johnstylet]

I understand that this practice is focused on the truth of reality, and death is true for all of us.

Practice is focused on detachment. When your mind lingers on sorrow, death of loved ones I find it helpful to contemplate like this:

Bhikkhus, for these reasons in this matter, any rupa whether past, future, or present; whether internal or external, coarse or refined, crude or subtle, distant or near; all these rupa should be seen with right wisdom according to reality that "this isn’t mine, this isn’t me, this isn’t my self."

... same for vedana, sanya, sankhara, and vinyana

http://www.suanmokkh.org/archive/as/n10-45.htm Sorrow and fear are traits of attachment

[JonnTEN]

Greetings!
This afternoon while sitting, there was a random image from a comedy show I had seen that went through my mind, and I started laughing...and laughing more, until my stomach hurt and tears streamed from my eyes. And it made me see that the pendulum always swings the other way, and the key point is that weeping with sorrow and belly laughter are just extreme expressions of the same swinging ball. Though I would much rather go through life with much laughter, it is distracting during meditation. Here is a good case for a middle road, a stable state of the body and mind that allows for focus. I am not as concerned now as I was with my original post- it all comes and goes, and hopefully there is balance.
Happy Saturday everybody, may it be funny!

[somozasayre]

Dear Red Thread

I have been feeling sad too about the temporary nature of our existence but not surprised. I always suspected it was so. Nothing about us can be held onto. I think after a while you do come to terms with this idea/truth. As you accept it, you become stronger because you realise you are making progress. Think of all the people in this world who never think about it at all ever, at least we are lucky enough to get this chance to know it.