Teachings related to the Mahamudra Curriculum
for Bodhi Path Centers

Teachings presented at the Bodhi Path Center
in Remetschwiel, Germany, August 2004

Part 6

Questions (Q) and Answers (A)

(Q): If one is not able to sit on the ground and has to sit on a chair, what is the right sitting position then?

(A): To sit on a chair is all right, but not on a soft chair like a sofa. Sit on a harder chair where you can sit up straight. Only advanced meditators can sit in a sofa and still meditate. They can even meditate while sleeping.

(Q): Is it better to do a cycle of breath of 21 times?

(A): It depends. As I've explained, the counting has to be done with quality. It is safer if you start from a small count with quality. You can then progress with quality to the higher counts.

Some people have difficulties counting with the mind during meditation. In that case, it is fine to use a clock for three minutes, or five minutes at a time. During the sitting, you can look at a watch but it is better to put a clock in front of you. However, don't try to hurry and finish the session.

You might have heard a lot about Shi'nay teachings. All of you have attended courses everywhere. But have you achieved Shi'nay? This is why it is very important to do Shi'nay properly. You have to do more than going to the dharma talks and participating in the events. You should do the practice very properly.

The information about how to do Shi'nay should be given intact. Otherwise, the students will not fully know or understand the practice – how to do it, why it is the way it is, and then to practise.

There is a proverb popular in the community of Vajrayana practitioners.

Mahasiddhas in India attained all the yidams by one yidam. But the Vajrayana practitioners in Tibet didn't achieve one yidam through the hundred yidam practices.

It means that the Tibetan practitioners were less successful in meditation when compared to the Indian Buddhist practitioners. This was what Atisha had discovered when he was in Tibet. He had found the Tibetan mentality very much like that of a shopper. They were always picking and choosing to find something very high, or very big. They liked to hear about the energies and miracles, and so on. They liked to listen to all these things, but when they tried to actually do the practices, they were not as successful as the Indian Mahasiddhas. These were some observations that Atisha had made.

(Q): When I look at the watch while practising then I am also distracted.

(A): Don't try to look again and again. You can put a bigger clock in front of you and then just look at it once or twice. That is not a problem. Don't look at it too often.

Summary of meditation posture and method

We will do some meditation now.

The posture: The right hand is in the left hand and rests on your left leg. Raise the shoulders a little, but not forward, a little more towards the back. Keep the stomach in. Breathe into the stomach and press it down. Keep it below the navel, in the abdomen. The spine should be kept straight up. The neck is bent down a little. The eyes look to the ground along the nose. The mouth and the tongue are kept normal. The mouth is closed but without pressure. The advice is not to close the eyes when doing Shi'nay. Keep the eyes normal as usual. Blinking is not a problem.

Then concentrate on your breath. Breathe out gently, visualize your breath as a slightly curved beam of light, and it almost touches the ground. Then, it independently comes back in. You inhale and it goes down almost touching your navel. In, out, in, out. Concentrate and keep the awareness of whether the mind is focused on the breathing and the beam of light, or not.

While you are meditating, don't be tense. But if you are too relaxed then you will fall asleep. So by thinking, or by forcing your mind to be brighter, you energize yourself.

Visualize your breath from the two nostrils, but as one beam of light, slightly curved, and independent of you. It's tiny but very clear. Inhale and exhale. Do not try to think that the light is really there. It is just a vision. It is like training a wild horse. In the beginning, it is very uncomfortable for the horse to be controlled by people. It's the same for the mind. At first, the mind doesn't want to agree with you. But later, the mind will become naturally calm. Then, the mind will be very comfortable.

Concentrate on one thing. Try not to think so much.

When you breathe out, the tip of the light beam nearly touches the ground, and the other end of the beam is almost out just underneath the nose. Since the beam is visualized, it does not have to exactly follow through the whole body.

When you are used to it then you can expand it. You could do it all the way to the tip of the toe and so on. You will do that later. It will produce a good effect also. For now, visualize the light beam from the navel to the nose and out, more in a curve.

For beginners, those of you who have never done any meditation, this is very uncomfortable. The mind won't stay focused. You may feel that you can never do it well. But do it. Quickly you will get used to it. You can do it.

Day two, morning. The Refuge Vow >>>