How to learn meditation? What should I pay attention to before I settle down?

my real experience in meditation /p/284785357? Pn=1

The oldest, most popular, systematic and practical method of meditation-in-and-out meditation (number-interest view)

The most operable meditation patch! Don't look at it and regret it!

Please don't reply to this post. The relevant reference content is in another top post.

Sit-in consultation column on counting interest and revising questions: Please come to this column to ask questions, and don't ask questions and communicate in the top post. This makes the questions centralized, so that other bar friends can see similar questions and avoid repeating questions.

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In view of the fact that many bar friends are beginners, although the original top post contains a small amount of scripture content, it is not easy for some bar friends to understand, so I will try my best to popularize the content, make the pre-(final) procedure of the method of counting interest clear, and strive to make friends even at middle school level clear at a glance.

The background of this method

The concept of "entering and leaving" is also called "the concept of counting interest". In Sanskrit, it is the "two manna gates" left by the Buddha when he was alive. It is the oldest, most popular and most understandable meditation (enlightenment) practice method in Buddhism for thousands of years. According to this practice, not to mention practicing meditation or internal skills, it is more than enough to realize all the way to nirvana and jump out of the three realms and not in the five elements.

In "Six Miao Men", an encyclopedia of meditation written by a wise master of Tiantai Sect of Buddhism in China, it is pointed out that there are six levels of the concept of counting interest: (1) counting breath-counting, (2) following breath-following, (3) settling or concentrating-stopping, (4) recognizing-viewing, (5) returning, and (8)

since this post is aimed at beginners, only the first three steps are introduced, and you can settle down after completing these three steps. I won't introduce the last three steps, that is after I have the basic skills of concentration.

The first three steps are: counting the breath, following the breath, and stopping paying attention to one point on the body (integrating the method of mindfulness, limiting this point to the area under the nostrils and the upper lip).

Truth needs nothing to decorate. Practice this law, don't worry, the method is simple, that is, you can understand it immediately. For those who are still outside Buddhism or lack interest in Buddhism, you don't need to believe in Buddhism or know anything about Buddhism. As long as you practice in good faith by sticking to the top, even if you are illiterate, you can achieve according to law. Even if you have no intention of entering Buddhism, meditation can make your heart clear as a mirror and your wisdom wide open; Your mind is like a stone, and you are not surprised. Doing things with this mentality will be unfavorable!

The length of life is between one breath and one breath. Without one breath, we may go to another world. Therefore, this method uses everyone's breath, starts with breathing, and observes one's own breath quietly, so as to explore the physical and mental world and relieve the troubles of life.

the mind is connected with the interest, and observing the interest is the art of controlling the mind. Breathing itself is the externalization of mind. The mind stops more and more, and the breathing becomes more and more subtle; The shortness of breath indicates that the mind is moving more and more wildly.

Breathing is not only a physical level, but also a manifestation of the mind, so this method is a bridge to communicate with the body and mind. Through this method, the truth of the body and mind can be found most easily.

Therefore, breathing itself is a manifestation of delusions and distractions. If you add other methods, it is tantamount to putting your head on your head and adding madness to it. It is even more difficult to settle down. Especially those methods with obvious religious traces are not easy to be accepted by people of different religions or cultures, and the truth is universally applicable, which has nothing to do with religion or culture.

Basic content and practical steps of entering and leaving the concept of counting interest

Because people have different roots and karma, this method will focus on beginners and integrate Vipassana with other methods of counting interest. I hope friends can refer to it flexibly.

Step 1: Counting Breaths (in the stage of wandering thoughts)

(1) First of all, emphasize that you can understand "Breath" as breathing, but in the initial practice, counting Breaths does not mean counting breaths (times). Those who rest "stop" also have a very short moment between breathing and inhaling. This moment is not breathing or inhaling, that is, "breathing". Counting interest is to count this "interest"-the number of stops in the middle.

When the baby is in the mother's womb, it doesn't need to breathe through the nostrils, but "fetal breath"-breathing through the umbilical cord connected to the mother outside the navel, inputting nutrients and exchanging energy. Therefore, the yogi can achieve the state of "fetal interest" through the method of counting interest, so as to stop the mind and achieve the state of least delusion and distractions like a baby.

Of course, fetal interest is another complicated topic, so I won't discuss it in depth in this post. When the yogi often reaches the level of the first meditation, the nostril breathing can stop and he begins to breathe through the tiny pores of the whole body.

why should we use "one breath and one breath" as a breath? Why not "breathe" a number and "breathe" a number? Goode said that such a number will have the phenomenon of "stagnation in the throat", that is to say, the gas will be blocked in the throat and get sick, so this number method is not used.

in addition, when you start counting interest, it takes longer to breathe in and out. You try to inhale the air into the abdomen, because it takes a long way and a long time to inhale, distractions are not easy to occur; If you suck the breath into your throat, because of its short distance (short time) and high speed, distractions are easy to occur, and it is difficult for you to calm down and concentrate.

Ordinary people breathe from the nasal cavity to the throat and exhale immediately; There is a kind of person with a slightly better physical quality, who will exhale immediately after inhaling from the nasal cavity to the chest; There is also a person who has practice, or a person who is full of energy although he has no practice. The breath inhaled by this type of person is all sinking into the abdomen.

People who inhale air from the nasal cavity into the throat will breathe more times in one minute. If you can breathe into the abdomen, the number of breaths in one minute is very small, so this type of person is not easy to be out of breath, whether he works, runs or sings. He can recite more than 3 words in one breath, because there is still gas in the abdomen during his reading, and people who breathe into their throats need to breathe in continuously when reading articles and singing, because the journey of breathing in is short, and the gas is released soon, and they have to breathe in again.

now that we understand this truth, we should habitually and consciously sink into the abdomen when sitting quietly. Once you get used to this method, even if you don't sit still, even when you are sleeping, the inhaled air will naturally sink into the abdomen. Everyone who has practiced qigong knows the benefits and importance of Shen Dan Tian. Only when the air we breathe in sinks into the abdomen can the physiological energy be easily activated and awakened. At the same time, after the sucked gas sinks into the abdomen, it will stay for 3~5 seconds.

why stay for 3~5 seconds? Because if you just breathe in and sink into the abdomen, and then breathe out immediately, there is no effect at all; If you sink the qi into the abdomen and stay for 3~5 seconds, the qi will spread and disperse, and be transported to every corner of the body and reach every nerve ending. As long as you put the gas into the abdomen, it will definitely spread everywhere, and he can't stay here completely.

so you put qi into the abdomen, and it goes down, to the legs and toes; Go up and go to the top of your head; Go to the upper limbs, to the hands and fingertips. If the breath you breathe into the abdomen is exhaled immediately, then there is no way for physiological energy to be pushed by the breath to reach every nerve ending.

when qi moves, blood moves; When the qi passes, the blood passes. After the physiological qi and blood are unblocked, the body is naturally moistened and the physiology is not easy to dry up. Why do some people look like dead wood when they are very young? It is because his qi and blood are not running smoothly that his body is not nourished.

(2) how to count? This breathing pause time, have a plenty of breathing to the end, pause; Have a plenty of breath to the end, pause. According to your own situation, do whatever suits you. I took a breath to the end and paused. Because after exhaling one breath to the end, it is a "spent force", and it is even more uncomfortable to pause after the gas is not enough.

And this pause time can be gradually extended with your level of practice (breathing in and out for longer and longer). Of course, the Vipassana method does not require this, but only requires awareness of natural breathing. However, beginners are often impatient, and some people may not be used to introspection from the beginning. Because Vipassana is slow work and meticulous work, it is not in line with the psychology of beginners who are eager for success.

to start counting interest in this way, it is required to count from one to ten, and the recycling starts. From one to ten is the best number stage, otherwise if the number is too small, the heart will be easily agitated and scattered because of the narrow space; If there are too many numbers, the heart will be slack and dizzy because of too much space and too long time. If you don't count to ten, you forget to count, which means that your heart is beginning to get scattered, so you must count again; If you count more than ten and still count, it means that your heart is beginning to sink, so you must count again!

if it still doesn't work, you can use another more intense interest counting method. This method of counting interest is like a farmer counting quickly while measuring grain or pouring beans. How to count? You can count "11111" when you earn money and "11111" when you are productive; Count "22222" when you earn money, and "22222" when you promise ... So count to ten, so that your heart will not have a chance to stop. If you get paranoid when you are free, use this method.

If this method still doesn't work, there is a third way to count interest: when we earn, count "one two three four five six seven eight nine Ten", and when we make progress, count "one two three four five six seven eight nine Ten" ... In short, don't let our hearts have a chance to stop.

The purpose of doing this is to make you form a good habit of neither being scattered nor being groggy, because being scattered and groggy are the two great enemies of meditation. In addition, this is also to cultivate your heart and determination to live in the present. Because people have endless troubles and pains, the biggest reason is that they can't let their hearts live in the present, but they look back too much on the past or look forward to the future.

If some people are very demanding of themselves from the beginning, and have a long pause in the middle, and obviously have a tendency to hold their breath forcibly, I suggest you be realistic. In addition, when you start counting your breath, if you feel suffocated after counting a few times, you might as well take a big breath once or twice.

It should be noted that when counting breath, the mind should focus on breathing. Numbers are just a tool and a convenience, and we should not focus on numbers.

(3) At this stage, some people will think: Teacher, it's good that you don't teach me how to count interest. After I count interest, I realize that I have a lot of delusions. When I don't count interest, I don't think so much. Using interest will disturb my mind. In fact, because you think a lot, but you don't realize it, counting interest makes you realize that you think a lot, not counting interest causes you to think a lot.

It's like a stinking ditch in front of your house. You go in and out every day, and you won't feel it stinks when you get used to it. One day, your friend came to your house and was smoked back three feet by the gutter, shouting: how smelly! Only then did you realize that this ditch really stinks. As a result, you blame others for letting you find a stinking ditch in front of your house. Isn't that puzzling?

(4) It is important to pay special attention to the fact that beginners tend to be very diligent at first because of their eagerness to achieve success. When they come up, they have to sit quietly for dozens of minutes, only to disappoint themselves. Many people give up the method of counting interest in this way, thinking that this method is rather monotonous and has few tricks, and some may change to other methods. But you have to understand that you can't play simple things, let alone complicated ones.

Therefore, for beginners, the quality of counting interest every time is more important than quantity and time. Even if you only limit your time to one minute at a time, as long as you can count your interest in this minute, it will bring you confidence and then slowly extend the time. Confidence is strengthened step by step, not overnight! This is a marathon, not a 1-meter sprint.

beginners may have headaches, dizziness and difficulty breathing. That's because I'm nervous and eager to be good, so I'm angry with my head and can't breathe naturally.

the above is the first stage of entering and leaving the concept of interest (counting interest). At this stage, the breathing in and out is obvious and clear, and delusions and distractions are the most important. The most obvious thing is the "wind phase"-the breathing in and out of the nose has sound. Therefore, we should only pay attention to the breathing in and out, and don't have to pay attention to other things, such as whether the sound of breathing is big or small, how big or how small; Whether breathing is long or short, how long or how short; Is breathing hot or cold? How hot or cold is it? Because your mind is too thick to pay attention to more subtle things.

this is the stage of getting ahead.

Step 2: Follow the interest

(1). After a period of practice, if you can successfully count one unit-count from one to ten-start the second unit and the third unit again after counting. You can continue to focus on breathing for about fifteen minutes, twenty minutes, or even half an hour in this way. If your heart is calm and your delusions are reduced, you don't have to count your breath. Why? Because counting interest is only for beginners, because when you first change your climbing habit, you will be very uncomfortable, and your delusions and distractions will emerge one after another, so you should count interest to treat it.

If you can continue to focus on breathing for 3 minutes or 4 minutes ... Because your heart keeps focusing, you will find that your breathing is silent, and it goes in and out smoothly, slowly and finely, which indicates that you have entered the second stage-long breath.

long breath means that the whole process of breathing in and out takes longer. At this stage, the mind is already very focused. If you continue to count interest, it will destroy this realm, so you can "follow the interest".

In the interest-taking stage, because your mind is focused enough, you have the ability to pay more attention. At this time, you should focus on the area under your nostrils and around the contact point of your lips (larger than the "person").

when the breath is exhaled from the nostril, it is clear in my heart, and it is also clear when the breath is inhaled from the end of the nostril. With the coming and going of breathing, thoughts are tightly tied in this area, and they don't go anywhere else-just being aware of the breathing in this area.

(2) It is very important to focus only on breathing itself!

Breathing itself is breathing, so why should it be emphasized? We can do an experiment here. If we try to analyze breathing, we will be able to find many phenomena in breathing. For example, if you are asked to pay attention to the coolness when inhaling now, can you? Yes! You will be able to find a cool feeling in the nose or people. If you are asked to pay attention to the warm breath, can you? It is also possible. In the same way, it is possible to pay attention to the softness, smoothness, lightness, fluency and push of breathing.

If the meditator pays attention to the softness, smoothness and lightness of his breathing, then he is paying attention to his breathing, not his breathing. Why? Because softness, smoothness and lightness are the special features of a big place. If you pay attention to the fluency and flow of breathing, then he is paying attention to the water, because flow is the special phase of water. If you pay attention to the cold and warm breathing, then he is paying attention to the fire, because heat and cold are the characteristics of fire. If you pay attention to the promotion, support and strength of breathing, then he is paying attention to the strong wind, because the promotion,