General Meditation as an aid

[Nevergivup]

Please note

This review is a reflection of personal experience only. It is not a recommendation to any other party. Neither does it claim to predict the impact of the practice herein described.

This thread is about meditation as an aid for supporters. I searched the forum for a thread that I could attach to but found only casual references, so are starting anew.This discussion will be quite long. I will write it up over a number of days – probably weeks. There are many aspects to consider.

I am writing this for supporters (of which I am one) not for sufferers. I have never practiced as a sufferer - or been one. The program of meditation I use (which henceforth I will refer to as “practice” or “Zazen”) can be very powerful. I have been told it can be detrimental to certain psychological conditions. This does not mean that sufferers should not try it in small doses and come to their own conclusions.

I will be discussing Zen meditation (Zazen) as I have practiced no other. Zen is a branch of Buddhism that was brought from India to china where it blossomed over many centuries under the name of “Chan”. From there it eventually spread to Japan and thereon to the West, last century.

There was a time when I was a very sick boy having red-lined for too many years in private business. Stress had resulted in 24-7 chronic pain. I happened to one day to pick up a book on Theravada Buddhism. I came to the first principle of Buddhism: “All beings suffer” and that “Suffering is a result of ignorance”. Immediately, I new that I had found a home. That was 28 years ago. The term ignorance may rankle some readers. I will explain a more relevant interpretation later.

For those that are atheist please read on. The debate over whether Buddhism is actually a religion has persisted for centuries. If it is it is certainly like no other. Ultimately, Buddhism aims at eventual “enlightenment”. Getting hung up on this is a hindrance. We need not consider this as Zen is about daily practice, not goals.

Daily practice means daily meditation. There are 2 features to Zen that makes it different to any other practice (yoga, mindfulness e.t.c.): its simplicity and the physical posture one adopts for meditation. I cannot emphasise the second too strongly. There is something about the posture that has a very strong influence over our physio-psychological state. By “our” I am referring to a certain number of people. It does not work for all.

Zen’s simplicity is something that we can tussle with for a lifetime. Occasionally the simplicity becomes clear then is gone. Zen is about reality which can only be found in the present moment. What is the present moment? That too can be too complicated, so we just practice.

What does it do and how does it help?

I emphasise again that this relates to personal experience backed up by reports of other students of Zen and reading material.

Various studies have tried to measure physio-psychological changes that occur during meditation. Changes have been recorded that have been shown to persist for some hours after the practice. It is like a re-set on a computer. I/we get off the sitting cushion in a quite different mind-state to that in which I/we first sat. For a want of better expression, I will say “calm and relaxed”. It is much more than this. For me it is as though I have been injected with a tranquiliser. When I rise the world is different.

I live in a young family setting. My wife suffers from PTSD. I have learnt that if I am in a state of stress it effects the whole family. We all know how one family member can influence the rest, try as they might to remain calm and cordial. I suggest that the most important contribution a supporter can make to a partner with PTSD is to ensure one’s own mental well-being.

More Later.

 

[Sweetpea76]

I suggest that the most important contribution a supporter can make to a partner with PTSD is to ensure one’s own mental well-being.

I agree this is very important for a supporter.

There is a basic trifecta of being the supporter when PTSD is in your relationship... 1). Realizing your partner has a mental illness that you cannot fix, 2). Setting firm boundaries about what can and cannot be tolerated, and 3). Managing your own mental health and self-care.

These are the bare minimum that makes these relationships work.

 

[Nevergivup]

There is a catch

Zazen practice is simple. One just sits in a certain posture for a given period of time every day. Doing nothing for 40 minutes each day can’t be hard. But it is. Doing it every day requires dedicated discipline and planning. There is something about our modern rapid life-style that creates an abhorrence of sitting still and doing nothing. But this is what we/I need to do (IME).

The positive thing is that we can make extra time to do it that will not detract from our normal lifestyle. Losing 40 minutes by sitting last thing at night or getting up early to sit results in us needing less sleep. Most practitioners find that they sleep deeper and expend less nervous energy during the day. I personally find a sit around mid-day very beneficial.

No learner I know has been able to maintain daily practice from the beginning. A more normal pattern is to try a few times. If and when the student feels benefit the sitting pattern intensifies over months.

Posture

Zazen is traditionally done cross-legged. One can see the various forms of this by searching the internet for “Zazen”. In fact most older westerners find this excessively painful. I can no longer do it because of arthritis in my knees. I sit in a chair. This is perfectly adequate as it is the posture from the hips upward that is important.

Look in the internet for images of Zen practitioners sitting Zazen. They are very erect in contrast to any other disciplines such as Theravada or Tibetan Buddhism. While it looks as though physical tension is involved there is none. It is the best posture for sitting the long hours of meditation adopted by Zen monks and nuns. It also what makes Zen unique. In my view it is also the main instigator of changes that occur within the body and mind.

To adopt the posture, stand and take up the posture of rigid attention as found in the military. Then allow the entire upper body to fully relax directly downwards. Tuck the chin in a little so as to be looking down at a slight angle. The loins will be concave inwards and the belly pushes out. The shoulders remain back. Cross the hands on the belly just above the navel. This is the posture - which we occasionally have to check and re-establish during sitting. We sit on the edge of the chair. A firm cushion slightly under the butt helps to keep the loins concaved inwards. It will feel strange for a while but becomes normal.

Hand position

The hand position is called the mudra. There are only 2 in Zen that I know of. For the moment cup the left hand inside the right and hold them against the belly just above the navel. If they tend to slip down place a garment or cushion on your lap for support. This is not an official mudra but will do for now. Both common Zen Mudras involve the hands touching in front of the belly.



How long?

I am going to recommend 40 minutes. Some students are started with short sits. I went cold turkey at 40 m and believe it is the best option. When we/I know it is to be a long sit we are more likely to stop thinking time. This is important. It is best to forget time. Moreover, the changes typically start to occur at about 25 m’s. Sit as though that we are there for ever. We use a kitchen timer that is out of sight. Trust the timer. There will be times when you feel it must be inaccurate.

Sit still. It is possible to be perfectly still (aside from occasionally stretching upwards to re-establish posture) for the full 40 m. In reality there may be times when we want to brush an insect off our face or something similar. In formal group Zazen practice we don’t even do that. There will be some pain or numbness sooner or later. Muscular pain in the back is very common. It is up to you to decide how much to tolerate. Zen is a very serious practice. It is very uncommon for a serious Zen student to pull out of a sit in a formal setting due to pain. I am not suggesting that you go this far. Interestingly, most learners that a free to move do so less and less over time. Accepting a degree of pain becomes normal.

Relaxation

There should be no tension. The best way to gauge relaxation is through the face muscles. Check them now and then and allow them to fully relax. Breath can be used to relax too. I will write a section on breath shortly. The mouth is closed and we breath through the nose. Most Zen teachers recommend that the teeth are in contact. I don’t like this as it involves some tension. I place the tip of my tongue between me teeth.

Eyes

Formally the eyes are open and are left to rest on a position slightly below horizontal and never move away from this point. I mostly close my eyes and find that they will open when they are ready.

What to do with mind during Zazen

Ha! Here we have a subject filling thousands of texts. These relate to “methods”. Different schools have different methods. Some have several. It’s a huge subject that I will cover later. Here I want to relay my own preferred method. This is to do nothing. Let the mind and thoughts go where they may. Receptive students (we are all students) like myself find that mind settles during every sit. If you find that near the end of a sit mind is simply following the breath, then you are in a certain mind-state that will carry over into the day or night for several hours. If this does not occur don’t worry. It is after a sit that we will feel benefits it any. Don't be surprised if feelings of situations long forgotten pop up. This one of the many mystifying fruits of Zazen.

How does Zazen feel?

One can only relate to one’s own experience. Zen practice is a personal encounter. For me Zazen is mostly raw and neutral. Other stuff can and does happen. We don’t sit Zazen because it feels good. The benefits come later.

 

[Nevergivup]

Breath

Breath figures in most meditation practices. Zazen is notable in that breath is never controlled. We breath naturally. However, observation of breath is a method within Zen Buddhism. Its crudest form, repetitive counting of the breath up to say 10, is used as an introductory method for learners. When the mind inevitably wanders the student returns to counting. I don’t particularly like this method.

Following breath is another matter. Simply feeling breath entering and leaving the nostrils for extended periods of time can be very effective. Relaxation can be enhanced by allowing each outward breath’s energy to flow down to the belly. I have used breath to control pain while sitting, allowing each outward breath-energy to flow into the location of pain.

Here we see the simplicity of Zen. Following breath for months or years seams too simple to be credible. There are teachers in China who teach nothing but breath practice. It can be very powerful. The teacher is there to monitor the effects and give guidance on the many possible outcomes that can leave a very deep impression.

Koans

Koans are unfathomable riddles. They are primarily responsible for bringing Zen to the West in the 1960’s. Just as mindfulness has become a popularised of late, Zen went through a renaissance. This was driven by intellectuals, especially in university psychology and philosophy departments. It became chic to study Zen in an intellectual manner. This completely missed the point of Zen practice. It is quite the opposite. Intellectuals have no advantage. Koans cannot be solved through logic.

Koans are designed as a point of concentration that will not allow the mind to settle. Coming back and back to a problem that clearly has no obvious solution over months or years can induce the sudden revelations that are a hallmark of Zen practice.

Koan practice is advanced practice and should be undertaken with the aid of a teacher. We can play with them alone, which is rather fun but won’t get us anywhere.



Advanced practice

This section is for reference only. As a rough guide intensive practice involves sitting more than 2 hours/day. I don’t here advocate it as seemingly weird stuff starts to happen. Zazen is a very powerful practice. One needs a solid foundation of limited daily sitting before considering intensive practice as it is an entirely different experience that requires personal monitoring and guidance. This is usually done by a teacher in an organised group. People will naturally migrate to formal training if casual practice and reading strikes a chord.

I especially warn sufferers away from intensive practice. Limit sitting to once/day.

 

[Nevergivup]

Another method

This not an official method in Zen Buddhism. I do know of a few other students that use it. I understand that other meditation systems use it also. I find it particularly helpful in dealing with stress and apprehension relating to every-day issues or events of the past.

The best time to sit is when we/I feel least inclined to do so through some stressful event that is bugging us/me. Zazen can calm the waters.

This method involves concentrating on the given issue and observing the feeling it generates. We then immerse fully into this feeling, unpleasant though it may be. My own experience is that is after a time the feeling and associated stress will dissolve. We may have to return to the technique a number of times as the mind commonly wanders away. Later in a sit it becomes difficult to think of the issue as though it no longer exists. The same method can be used for stress and apprehension for which the cause is unknown.

I realise that re-encountering one’s gremlins is a standard method in therapy. The difference is that here one is doing it during Zazen and it is a private affair.

I often do a sweep around when I first sit looking for tension and stress. It is almost always there. Immerse into the feeling. It will pass (IME).

This advice is for supporters only.

 

[Starfish]

Just want to say that I am not a supporter but I find this info helpful. I did not read it all, just the gist. As a sufferer of ptsd and having difficulty finding relief, I noticed that I had an enlightenment when I sat with myself this morning, just breathing with no distractions. I realized that my body has never had the chance to “just breathe” without all the fight and flight stuff going on.....since childhood. I realized that my body needs this experience as much as possible to “get a break and form new ways of being (neuropathway stuff). I realize my MO is to panic. My path, which I have time and ability to pursue if I choose, is to stay with the nothingness and lack of activity (mental and physical) that this state allows as much as I can in any given moment. For me, the challenge is accepting myself and how I express outwardly in personality and being as a completely different person for myself and my family....... maintaining the stillness I am just beginning to discover while around others who are used to the “other me”..... the non-centered me. I must reveal that I am just coming to this after many years of various suggested methods used (including therapy and medication which I have not taken for 5 months) to deal with ptsd.