Category: Meditation practices
Why Do Buddhists Meditate?
Lion's Roar editor-in-chief Melvin McLeod looks at the reasons many Buddhists meditate.
How to Practice Shamatha Meditation
Shamatha meditation is the foundation of Buddhist practice. Lama Rod Owens teaches us a breathing meditation from the Vajrayana tradition.
How to Meditate Every Day
Featuring “Ten Suggestions for Having a Regular Daily Practice Even if You Would Rather Be Thrown into a Shark-Infested Ocean.”
The Benefits of Walking Meditation
Walking meditation, says Sayadaw U Silananda, reflects the Buddha’s injunction to practice mindfulness while in all the four postures, and in all the activities of our lives.
Awakening Compassion
Tonglen, teaches Pema Chödrön, is a method for awakening our compassion by breathing in suffering and breathing out relief.
Sleepy Mind, Monkey Mind?
Anita Feng, teacher for the Blue Heron Zen Community in Seattle, helps a practitioner navigate the path between drowsiness and daydreaming.
Is Meditation Painful?
Buddhist teacher Mushim Patricia Ikeda suggest alternatives when meditation becomes too painful.
Don’t Like Meditating?
Lila Kate Wheeler, author and trainer at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, answers what to do if you don’t like to meditate.
Practicing for Myself?
A Mahayana Buddhist who is encouraged to practice for the benefit of all sentient being feels like they are only practicing for their own benefit. Venerable Thubten Chodron answers.
Meditation Leading to an Unstable Mind?
Josh Bartok, a Zen teacher, suggest what to do if meditating leads to an unstable mind.
Still a Schmuck?
A reader asks Sylvia Boorstein: “What’s the point of practice if it’s not making me a better person?”
Overwhelmed by Emotions?
Author and lay Zen teacher Susan Moon is asked: “Should I stop meditating when emotions begin to overwhelm me?”
Practicing on Your Own?
An isolated practitioner asks dharma teacher Mitchell Ratner where to look for community.
Too Busy to Meditate?
As part of our #MeditationHacks series, Vinny Ferraro, senior faculty of Mindful Schools, instructs a parent too busy to maintain a meditation practice, asking: Are there moments in your day when you could check in with yourself?
Not Trying Hard Enough?
Tenku Ruff, a Zen priest, answers the question about finding the balance between trying too hard and not trying hard enough.
Nothing to Fix, Nowhere to Go
What reveals itself when you do nothing at all? Vanessa Zuisei Goddard on the practice of “just sitting.”
Walk with Me
On the occasion of Thich Nhat Hanh’s 94th birthday, Gary Gach remembers walking alongside his beloved teacher.
Chanting for Buddhahood
Shodaigyo meditation combines silent sitting with chanting to the beat of a drum. Ryuei Michael McCormick on how to do this calming yet exhilarating practice.
Inner Victory: How to do Insight meditation and walking meditation
Sayadaw U Pandita on how to develop insight: examining our experience closely and precisely in order to understand the true nature of mind and its objects.
Should I meditate with my eyes closed?
Whether you keep your eyes open or closed during meditation depends on your approach.