Three prerequisites to pay attention to before meditation.

It is very important and necessary for us to have absolute and unshakable confidence in meditation. Of course, confidence in decision-making is not created out of thin air, but also for a reason. To have such absolute self-confidence, you need your own efforts.

It is often said that learning Zen is a matter of self-cultivation and self-cultivation. So, what are the people who get the sharp weapon? People who use sharp tools are not those who are smart, clever and clever, but those who have confidence in their decisions.

A confident and trustworthy person is the last weapon. That fickle, fickle, two steps back three steps, hesitant person is not suitable for learning Zen, because he lacks self-confidence.

However, the fundamental division between benefit and passivity is not absolute, that is to say, confidence in this decision can be cultivated. Let me talk about several prerequisites of meditation from the perspective of confident decision.

First, keep the precepts clean. A householder has the precepts of a householder, that is, to observe five precepts and cultivate ten virtues; Becoming a monk has the precepts of becoming a monk, and Misha and the monks should abide by them.

The first merit we get from abstinence and purity is that we are full of self-confidence. People who break the precepts don't need to be told, and they are instinctively insecure. This is a loss of confidence. This is also something that practitioners should reflect on.

Every night, we should think about this problem. Do I still have enough confidence in Sambo? Sometimes you make a mistake, which will subtly affect your confidence. Over time, you will change from believing to not believing.

Unbelief and doubt are two concepts in Buddhist psychology. Doubt is an active doubt about Buddhism, which can prompt people to trace the answer further, while unbelief is negative, without confidence, in other words, fatigue, weakness and low confidence.

For example, someone told you that if you dig a foot underground, you will find gold. If you can believe it, you will start digging at once; If you don't believe me, you will never find gold if you look for tools, dig here and there for a while. We say that we believe in Buddhism, Buddhism, Buddhism and Buddhism, but on the other hand, do we really believe it?

If you really believe, you will make unremitting efforts. Why not? Explain whether you believe it or not. In order to keep our confidence clean, firm and strong, we need to keep the precepts clean. People with unclean abstinence will have their confidence affected and there will be many obstacles.

Second, have a healthy personality. This is related to the last point. We have a sound personality in this life because of our abstinence and purity in the past. If we always abstain from evil and promote good, we will have a relatively sound personality and body and mind in this life.

Having a sound personality and body and mind is an important prerequisite for us to practice meditation. We don't expect to cure some mental illness or some mental distortion through meditation. On the contrary, a relatively sound body and mind is the premise for us to participate in meditation.

Of course, only Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are completely sound. The word "sound" here means that as human beings, we are relatively healthy physically, especially psychologically. If our hearts are depressed and seriously distorted, I personally think meditation is not appropriate. Because meditation, a practice method, is a fierce practice method.

It may not feel very gentle at first, but when it comes to the key, you need to hand over your whole body and mind, and a sound body and mind is very important. If the body and mind are not perfect, it is easy to encounter obstacles and deviations in the process of practice.

There are many people with psychological problems in modern society, and there are more and more patients with psychological diseases. There is no doubt that self-observation and self-guidance with the wisdom of Zen Buddhism are effective in improving one's physical and mental health, but they are not suitable for mental patients or people with serious depression. They really meet in the meditation hall, study hard, meditate day and night, and see their true nature clearly.

Because meditation finally brings us a total revolution, fundamentally adjusting the relationship between our inner heart and the environment, as well as the way of understanding the whole world. At this time, we should have both good teachers and good quality. Everyone here once again sees the importance of keeping precepts.

The third point is to know the road. To participate in meditation, we must first understand the methods of practicing meditation. Originally, the Zen wind was directed at people's hearts, regarded nature as Buddha, took a step forward, and reached the place where the heart was broken. There's nothing to ignore.

But we modern people don't have that kind of roots, have no firm confidence in this method, and still have doubts. If we can make these doubts clear on the rational road, our confidence will naturally be strong.

In the teaching method of Sakyamuni Buddha, Zen is not specialized in theoretical argumentation, but points to the nature of mind, and directly starts from here to prove the body. Under the guidance of teaching theory, practice step by step, which is the method of understanding and teaching step by step. Zen is called Sect and advocates epiphany, but Sect and teaching are inseparable. There are some simple and general principles that need to be clarified in advance.

For example, as I said the other day, when I sit in the meditation hall, I feel very comfortable. I can always sit down and feel calm. When it's quiet, I still sit there and can't get down. Is it okay? According to the rules of the meditation hall, you can't. Strictly speaking, the meditation hall does not want us to practice four Zen and eight meditation, but wants us to practice Zen. What is Zen? Zen is the wisdom of the mind. This thing is alive.

However, is it possible or impossible to develop the wisdom of the mind? You can't. Because if our hearts are thick, impetuous and scattered, it is impossible to know our inner wisdom.

Here is a problem: we need to know the inner wisdom. What level of meditation is this primary and minimum meditation? According to the teachings of Buddhism, at the very least, meditation does not leak wisdom, that is, it should not be set underground.

Failure to reach the destination is a transition from the world of desire to * * *-the world of desire has no meditation, while * * * has four Zen. Yi Chan, the first of the four Zen Buddhism, is the first Zen Buddhism. There is a transition before each meditation of the four Zen Buddhism, which is called near separation. The first meditation transition is still in the state of desire, so it is called "not yet settled", and it is about to arrive there but has not yet arrived. This is the lowest meditation index that sees wisdom without leaking.

By "lowest" here, I mean: you are better than those who haven't decided yet, and Yi Chan, the second Zen, the third Zen and the fourth Zen are certainly better; It is not necessary to have * * * four Zen, but at least there must be a certain place, so as to develop the wisdom that does not leak, clear the heart and see the nature-consciousness. In this way, we know that your heart can't see its own light in a completely scattered state.

In the method of meditation, it is not necessary to meditate specifically. As long as you participate in a conversation wholeheartedly, there is a doubt that you can't decide or even ignore, which will naturally lead us to that realm. Your kung fu is effective, your strength is accumulated enough, and you will naturally enter the corresponding meditation realm.

Of course, the most important thing is awareness and observation. The power of observation will push us forward until we see sex. This is an analysis of meditation according to Buddhist teachings. This kind of analysis is redundant, and people in the industry will laugh at it because it is so verbose! Cut to the chase!

It's a drop in the bucket, but for those of us who haven't started yet, it is necessary to make these issues clear. You know, doubts are gone, and your confidence is increased. So I hope everyone will study hard in the meditation hall, continue to strengthen their confidence and go all out.