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“I surrender myself to Lord Shiva, who has three eyes, who is as pleasurable as a sweet smelling incense and who gives vitality to the devotee to perform devotional service. Just like a cucumber is freed from its stem naturally, be merciful upon me and release me from the shackles of death, not from immortality.”
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“Mindful meditation" is often a term used in Zen Buddhism. According to Zen, every act can be performed as a meditation. That means you have to be very conscious and aware of what you are doing.
For example, you are typing an answer to a question. You are seated on the chair before a computer or a laptop. You are aware of the contact of your body with the chair. You are aware of the computer or the laptop before you. You are aware of the contact of your fingers with the keyboard. You are aware of your finger movements as you flip your fingers from one word to another on the keyboard. Your mind is totally with what you are doing. This can be called “Typing Meditation”.
Similarly, you are in the kitchen cooking a food. Being aware or conscious of the entire process of cooking can be termed “Cooking Meditation". Like that you can go on…performing thus, every act can be performed as meditation.
Then there is the famous “Walking Meditation” which has been much popularised in the recent times by the famous and legendary Viatnamese Buddhist monk Thich Naht Hanh. It's an extremely graceful one! There are videos of Thich Naht Hanh's Walking Meditation. It's a sight to be seen and experienced! The grace, the elegance, the majesty and the dignity with which he walks is something to be seen and it's worth seeing! The very seeing has a calming effect on the mind. Here are some pictures of Thich Naht Hanh's Walking Meditation….
Thich Naht Hanh walking with young children
Thich Naht Hanh walking with his brother monks in the Plum Village, France
Here is a very beautiful poem by Thich Naht Hanh on Walking Meditation…
Walking Meditation Poem — Thich Naht Hanh
Take my hand. We will walk. We will only walk.
We will enjoy our walk without thinking of arriving anywhere. Walk peacefully. Walk happily. Our walk is a peace walk. Our walk is a happiness walk.
Then we learn that there is no peace walk; that peace is the walk; that there is no happiness walk; that happiness is the walk.
We walk for ourselves. We walk for everyone always hand in hand. Walk and touch peace every moment. Walk and touch happiness every moment.
Each step brings a fresh breeze. Each step makes a flower bloom under our feet. Kiss the Earth with your feet. Print on Earth your love and happiness. Earth will be safe when we feel in us enough safety.
The standard meditation is what's performed by sitting in a particular posture like Sukhasana, Padmasana or the Siddhasana, closing the eyes, placing one palm upon the other and focusing the mind on an object of one's liking, say some divine form…here meditation can become limited to the act of sitting and performing only.
In the Standard Sitting Meditation, you watch your breath, you watch your thoughts, feelings and emotions without judging, without criticising, without labelling, and without condemning all that you watch. When you can remain totally unaffected by what you are watching, then the watcher starts watching itself…you yourself become the object of your meditation.
Thich Naht Hanh in the Standard Sitting Meditation
On the other hand, the scope of Mindful Meditation is much more. It not only includes the Standard Meditation but also includes every minute act of human life!!
Or to put in a different way, the Mindful Meditation can be a wonderful preparation for the Standard Sitting Meditation. The only difference being in the objects of awareness.
The final question…. What is the best type of meditation that would help someone that has been through a rough time in life?
The best type of meditation that would help someone that has been through a tough time in life is a combination of the Mindful Meditation and the Standard Sitting Meditation. Both these are equally important and great in their own places.
Thanks for reading
Nirvritananda
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