Joe, >But you only mention breathing, not attention. Attention, to me, seems to be >key.
The key in vipassana is the insight wisdom you get from the attention/mindfulness you give to the object of meditation. Would you say that in Zen this insight only comes exclusively from intuition (prajna?)? If so, how is this insight incorporated into everyday life? Is there any room for discursive thinking at all? Mike ________________________________ From: Joe <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, 7 August 2012, 15:38 Subject: [Zen] Re: Guided Meditation with Joseph Goldstein - YouTube panda b.s., Attention to the breath is just one of the body-based methods used in zen training. It's a method usually given by teachers to students so they can make a beginning in the practice. Zen Buddhism is the meditation-school of Buddhism. There are many methods that have been developed in the 2000-year practice so far of many generations. None is better than another, and one may be more suitable at any time. Are you a beginner in zen practice? Or maybe some other school of meditation. Counting, or following the breath, are you? I would disagree with your simple claim that the breathing is the best guide for meditation. The best guide for meditation is what your teacher recommends at any time. What I mean is, your teacher is the best guide. A method is not a guide: it is a method. Practice keeps changing, and so do we. So does the teacher. But the teacher is the guide. "Best" is an empty and uninformed suggestion, and misleading certainly, even if not meant to be. Perhaps you're just proud of the way an attention on breathing is working for you in your practice. But you only mention breathing, not attention. Attention, to me, seems to be key. Maybe you'll tell us more. --Joe > <pandabananasock@...> wrote: > > Time and place aside, the key is to meditate while breathing, not to breathe > while meditating. The only exception is when it's the other way around.
