In past posts, we have talked about how there are many types of meditations and under that many more ways of meditating. Meditation styles will differ; from transcendental meditation to meditation on an object, for example. Under Buddhist meditation you will find many varieties as well, some are breathing based and some are matra based. Breathing meditations are where we use the tickle of air going in and out of the tip of our noses for Vipassana or “breathing” meditation, in Mantra meditation we will use the reciting of phrases to both be a focus for our minds and a sound for greater awareness.

“Om Mani Padme Hum” is one of the more well known mantas you will hear. From pop movies with Buddhist themes to how-to CD’s, this one phrase is the sound of Buddhist meditation. To recite this over and over, one is attempting to bring on the power of the mantra, or the blessing of Chenrezig, the one the mantra is really speaking with. All mantras will be speaking to a subject, some will be asking for the embodiment of one who is now enlightened for instance. Chenrezig is in Tibet one of the most recognized deities of Tibetan Buddhism, he is the embodiment of compassion.

So, when we meditate by reciting the mantra, it helps to know what the mantra is about and whom it’s speaking with; it helps to focus on those attributes as you meditate. If you are seeking greater compassion, then you recite “Om Mani Padme Hum” and you are meditating with Chenrezig, like using a key to unlock the door by which Chenrezig sits behind. To access them, you use this mantra.

One doesn’t have to sit and recite the mantra either, often we will see spinning copper wheels that look almost like lint rollers. I’m sure my analogy will make a few laugh. The wheels can be seen as the main photo of this post. The more you spin the more you send the words out and seek compassion from Chenrezig.

How to pronounce the words is important, the mantra is pronounced as follows: Om (ohm), Ma (mah), Ni (nee), Pad (pahd), Me (may), Hum (hum).

Before we begin with this meditation, I want you to read and become familiar with whom Chenrezig is; one of the best sites to explore that are www.chenrezigproject.org/chenrezig.htm.

Now to perform the meditation we need to again find our meditation spot or a comfortable spot where we will not be interrupted. Often I’m asked whether we need to be sitting in a particular way or position, and the answer is yes and no, we will try to cover that later but for now we just want to pick what is comfortable and what you might be used to. For some, that might be half lotus and for others it could mean sitting upright in a chair. So long as you keep your focus and don’t fall asleep, it’s up to you.

After we have settled, we want to think about why were are here, it’s to seek help and feel the energy of Chenrezig, using this powerful intention of compassion to help our minds focus. Now we want to take a few deep breaths and relax.

When we are ready, we want to start to recite the mantra but not in a hurried manner. Maybe at a count of two, if a measure of music is in 4/4 time we want to recite each to a count of  two. This is a nice rhythm for feeling each of the words. Try not to speed up and just get through the meditation but feel the resonance of the sound. If 2/4 time is too quick and you can’t feel the vibrations in your body, slow it down. You do not want to only hear but feel the words. As you say the mantra you want to try to get the full mantra out on one breath also a full mantra recited on an inhalation of breath:

Inhale…ommmmmm maaa neee paaaaddh huuummmm

Exhale…ommmmmm maaa neee paaaaddh huuummmm

When you go from word to word, let them blend into each other, almost like one constant sound. The only real mistake one can make in this process is to say them too quickly and not feel them int he body.

Recite for as long as you like, of course, the goal is to be able to sit for longer and longer periods of time, using the mantra as a way to keep your focus and surround yourself with vibrations. Start with 10 minutes and move further and further in time as you practice. Try to also stay with one mantra for a while, we want to focus on the principles of the mantra as we meditate on them. Let the words steep into your consciousness. This could be a year, a month, a week but know that the less time you spend the less benefits you will receive.

Meditation is a process and not a flavor of bubble gum to be picked that morning out of a box of colored bits.

Other popular mantras:

Simple English phrases such as; “I am at peace” or “I am calm.”

“Om,” or the sound created by the vibration of the creation of the Universe in Hindu thinking.

Photo By coquetboy

Books I own and love, for just the right mantras:

A koan is a simple saying that a Zen Buddhist (Zen Buddhism is a form of Mahayana Buddhism) teacher will give to a student, the answer to that saying or question is not important; rather it is the journey and intuition gained while meditation on that koan that is the key. Koan’s are key concepts in Zen Buddhism where the koan is a reflection of an enlightened mind, meant to bring a mind into awareness.  The really great part about koan, I think, is how steeped in history they are. Koan’s are usually tales or small stories from the lives of great masters in the past. Moments that they experienced that in themselves are enlightened moments. Practicing these meditations will help focus the mind. Much like focusing on breath in a Vipassana meditation.

Koan meditation is very intricate and very difficult to perform alone, meaning you really should have an experienced teacher to guide you. Not that it’s hard to ponder and focus on a saying but the role of the teacher is to help guide your mind back by asking more questions. All this is part of the process, from the Zen Buddhist perspective, of separating the self from the ego.

Two koans that give me a chuckle but also have given me insight over the years are also two very classic koans:

If you meet the Buddha, kill him.

-Linji

Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand?

-Hakuin Ekaku

The first time I saw those two, they came up on a “365 Days of Buddha Calendar” I had on my desk. Yet think about those two sayings, think about them. There is no right answer but there is right thinking, and this is at the heart of Buddhism. This is the “how-to” part of this post, I want you to meditate on those two sayings and when you think you have the answer, think again.

Sit for as long as you like, preferably in a comfortable position, and work the koans in your mind until you have the answer. If you liked this exercise, you might consider buying a Zen Card Pack, much like a deck of cards, a koan for each day of meditation.

Zen Koan Card Pack (Book and Cards in Case)

*Photo by Hamed Saber

Morning all and Happy Sunday, I hope the sun is shining where you are, seems odd to see it here in the Pacific NW.

We’ve talked here about what Mindfulness is in several posts:

What it isn’t | Who exhibited it | Using Gratitude as a Tool

For the most part we have talked about using meditation and breath as a way to cultivate mindfulness yet our Friend over at The Middle Way has posted a fantastic list of cultivating it in many ways. Please check out the blog post here to see the full descriptions, the summarized list is below:

1. Take a breath
2. Smile in public (I’d also add “smile to yourself all the time”)
3. Spot your moods and how moods affect your life
4. Feel your body, how it is
5. Eat mindfully
6. Notice when entering a new space
7. Try feeling any jewelry you are wearing, as often as possible
8. Let the phone ring a big, breathe first

If you have other suggestions, head over the The Middle Way and post a comment.

~LaBoheme

How much of your life do you spend looking forward to being somewhere else?

-Matthew Flickstein, “Journey to the Center”

My new friend @ The Middle Way has included our post on the difference between Namaste & Gassho, please check it out. This version of eSangha is fantastic and full of other posts on; Music, Meditation tips, Enhancing Attention, and an eBook on “Small is Beautiful”.

Gassho,

Kris

Links

The Middle Way

Beyond Zen Post: “Namaste or Gassho, Hola or Halo”

The Middle Way Post: “eSangha #12″

Yesterday was one of those days, you wake-up completely on the wrong side of the bed. Tripping, spilling, cursing the morning away. I thought for sure it was going to be a horrible day. To boot, I’m late and there is ice all over my car. So, after de-icing the car and cranking up the heat I feel the heat of being late. Not that I was going to get in trouble, I just really hate to be late anywhere. So, there I am in my car, driving through my neighborhood, thinking of nothing but being late and how bad of a morning it was.

Freeze……Can you see how the day is shaping? It’s going to be bad and I’m determined to make it so. Ok Go!

As I get to a corner in my neighborhood I notice my neighbor and her grandchild waiting for the bus. This woman always waves to me and I wave back but it will take a huge undertaking to remove my negative thoughts. And then it happend. Although I might have been 20 degrees and ice everywhere, her Grandchild looked up with that pom on top of her knitted cap and her stripped mittens to “smile and wave” at me. I was stuck in my tracks, unable to move.

The moment of seeing a child smile and wave changed everything. I felt that “Inner Smile” blurb up and fill my body. The last thing to hit was the smile on my face. A simple act of joy and a smile melted me, turned everything around.

I couldn’t stop smiling the whole way to work…..then it cascaded to a spring in my step and my humor…….I felt like bouncing to every meeting.

The “Inner smile”, from Lao Tzu to Buddha, a concept of love from the inside.

What I felt was a massive amount of Qi cultivation at that moment, continuing throughout the day, thinking of my Qigong instructor saying “let a smile float up to your face” only brought more Qi. My practice of “Loving-Kindness” as of late came to mind as well and I was again washed in Qi and calm.

Some call it the Buddha Nature or Loving-Kindness and some call it the “Inner Smile”, I called it unexpected.

This just goes to show how much of a quality day we create by just thinking it as well as the power of a wave and a smile from another being.

For meditation and more articles:

Meditation from Yoga Journal

Metta: The Practice of Loving Kindness by Kris Vockler

As many of you know we were part of a wonderful project called “Spread the Love NOW! Group Writing Project“. Created by those wonderfully enlightened folks at [The Middle Way], [Zen-Inspired Self Development], and [UrbanMonk.net]. The project was fantastic and led me to a whole new group of enlightened ones to read and be a part of on this crazy path we each share yet walk alone. To read Beyond Zen’s part of the project, check out this post: A Story of Compassion and Dying.

I want all of our readers to also enjoy some of the great writing from this project; stories of compassion, concepts of compassion from many spiritual themes, and discussions on definition of the word “Compassion”. The list is below, enjoy!

~La Boheme

Entries

Ben Lumley at The New Horizons Project.

Kris Vockler at Beyond Zen.

Corinne Edwards at Personal Growth with Corinne Edwards.

Isabella Mori at Change Therapy.

Paula Kawal at Journey Inward Coaching.

Liara Covert at Dream Builders.

David Bohl at Slow Down Fast.

Deb Estep at Deb_Inside.

Swami Nirmalananda Giri and ReddyK at the Atma Jyoti Blog.

Mary Jaksch at Goodlife Zen.

Takuin Minamoto at Daily Action and Natural Expression.

Robin at Reflections on Compassion, posted at Yogini Myspace Blog.

Karen Zara at Abaminds.

Jenny Mannion at Heal Pain Naturally.

Evan Hadkins at WellBeingAndHealth.Net.

Shawn Williamson at do you LIVE or simply EXIST.

Patricia Singleton at Spiritual Journey of a Lightworker.

Alex Blackwell at The Next 45 Years.

Akemi Gaines at Gratitude Magic.

Vitor Bosshard at The Fractal Forest.

CG Walters at Into The Mist.

John Torcello has also contributed an entry by email, I’ve included it in the comments below.

Brightdays at Brighter Days for you and me!

Karen at Loving Awareness.

Krista at Lucid Amphibology.

Karen Lynch at Live The Power.

Andrea Hess at Empowered Soul.

Waters at Waters: The Last Thing I Wanted To Give.

Eric Grey at Deepest Health.

Stephen Hopson at Adversity University.

Em Dy at Pulse: Intention to Treat.

Iain Hamp at Follow Your Passions.

Rahul at Raw Speak.

Stephen Miracle at AltNoise.Net.

Pearl at Interesting Observations.

Mark at My Tropical Escape.

Matthew at Loving Awareness.

Daylle Schwartz at Lessons from a Recovering Doormat.

Charities Link at Charities Link.

Mihaela Lica at Pamil Visions eWritings.

David at Virginia Breeze.

Jerry Summers at Nothing Like Now.

Wishbone at Wishbone.

Arvind Devalia at Make Things Happen.

Samir Bharadwaj at Samir Bharadwaj dot com.

Often when I tell a story I shy away from those in which I was part of or a party to, to me it smacks of ego-center and self-serving. Yet this story, as it happened to me, was one of great compassion and love for my family. I did nothing but be present and party to something so amazing, I will never forget it.

Not far after my Grandfather passed away, the wife of one of his brother’s also passed away. Her husband had passed on some years before and she lived the rest of her life without him. I am very fond of that side of my family, although my father and my immediate family are not blood relation, you would never have guessed it. My Father and I are direct blood relations to this family in every spiritual sense of the word.

My Mother called to tell me that my great Aunt was passing, in hospice and not expected to live much longer. I remember thinking to myself; “It’s ok, I can go see her at 2PM tomorrow”. Why 2PM? I’m not sure but I knew that I had the time and that was the perfect time. So the next day at 2PM I went to the hospice center to visit. When I arrived I found my family all huddled around her in various states of shock, fear, sadness, love, kindness, and compassion. I was immedately welcomed and took a place in a chair next to my cousins.

As is customary in our culture, we all sat around and told stories of this woman, remembering the past and enjoying each other; laughing and crying together. As I sat there I thought to myself; “What can I do right now? What should I do? What is appropriate?” In studying Buddhism for years I wasn’t sure how to behave in front of my family at this moment, if I said anything, would it come out lost on a crowd who didn’t study Buddhism as I did or would my words we welcome?

After some time, a little voice in my head said, go see her, put your hands on her. This didn’t bother me either as I had been studying Reiki for years and placing my hands on an other to ease pain and suffering is a pleasure. I asked; “Do you all mind if I hold her hand”? Of course my family was like, “Please, get up here and join us”. So I did, I placed my hand in hers and joined the stories around her bed and tried to project energy and compassion onto this woman who was about to pass. The moment was very enjoyable as when I joined the group the stories seemed to flow and become more intensified.

Some more time went by and another voice in my head said to place a hand on her chest and one on the crown of her head. It felt so natural to do this, it felt like home to be in the energy field of not only my great Aunt but my family. It felt like being home, truly a good feeling.

What I felt was truly amazing, I could feel my great Aunt in the throws of her last few moments on earth. It was at this moment that I knew why I was to be there at 2PM, it was truly her last hour. With my hands placed on her head and chest I could feel her energy slowly untangling and lifting away. The next vision in my mind was of her husband and my Grandfather who appeared to be waiting for her to arrive. Right then, at that moment, I knew it was time for her to pass.

I told my family; “Come everyone, join around, put your hands on her, you can feel her; she’s here and she feels good”. Slowly each person in the room, about 15, got up and joined the rest of us around this woman and placed their hands on her feet, legs, hands, chest, head and stomach. I felt as if I wasn’t myself, like the sound of my voice wasn’t mine, I was elsewhere. Then I said to every one in the room; “Hold great thoughts of compassion and love for her, she is leaving now, she needs to know it’s ok and she is loved and love is waiting for her when she untangles from this life”, everyone did that, the room got silent.

In that moment when the room became silent, everyone could feel her. As soon as the last person put their hands on her, the room got very quiet yet very loud with love for what felt like forever but surely was just a few seconds. She passed on in that moment, the second the last person joined, she left. In that moment, what Tibetan Buddhists call Bardo, we all experienced that time in between when one life ends and another begins. The moment didn’t last forever and one everyone realized what had just happened, the tears began to fall. They were tears of joy for the ending of this life and the joining of pure love on the other side, where her husband and my Grandfather waited to welcome her and bring her into everything.

I didn’t do anything other than just be there, I could not have been more grateful to have done so in that moment. I can only hope when I pass from this life I can be in the presence of those who have witnessed my life and help me pass as we did for her.

In Tibetan Buddhism there are 6 levels of Bardo; This Life, Meditation, Dream, Dying, Dharmata, and Existence. They are the fragmented in between states, the gap between the ego and the self and the gap between the self and the next.

The Three Monks of blogging– Wade of The Middle Way, Kenton of Zen-Inspired Self Development, and Albert of Urban Monk.Net – have asked in this holiday time of year for us to share our stories of compassion. To see the original post please click he following links: [The Middle Way], [Zen-Inspired Self Development], and [UrbanMonk.net].

Here is my story…

My Grandfather died just over a year ago, today would have been his birthday. The call I got just before he died is one I’ll never forget; “Kristi, this is Grandma, I need your help, Grandpa is stuck in the bathroom”, “I’ll be right there I said”.

I would do anything for my Grandfather, he was in my mind the embodiment of everything that Buddha taught but didn’t know it. For about a year my Grandfather had begun a slow downhill fall to leukemia so it wasn’t a surprise at the end but that didn’t make it any better. When I got to my Grandparents house, there was Grandpa, stuck between the toilet and the wall, naked. He had grown too weak to help himself and was too heavy for my Grandmother to help him. He was in pain but we still had a chuckle as he said; “Little girl, I’m stuck” and I said; “and naked!”. He always had a fantastic sense of humor and kept it until he could not speak anymore. We wrestled a while as we tried to figure out how to get him back to his chair and after some time we did it at the expense of some humiliation on his part and pride on mine to be able to aide the man I adored so much.

Although he wanted to live to the end in his home, we both knew it was time for him to go to the hospital, the leukemia effects had fully taken over and his body was shutting down. Calling my Father to tell him he better come over, we needed to get Grandpa to the hospital, was rough as he at the same time was dealing with losing his father and being an only child and feeling fully responsible for his parents well being.

We stuck by him at the ER until it became obvious he needed hospice to aide in his final moments in this life. While in the hospital I had gotten a call from a good friend that his step Mother was also in the hospital across town and in her final moments in dealing with cancer. For the next few nights I spent time between a family who’s wife and mother I had grown very fond of and my own Grandfather, both about to die. During this, I started to lose my grip on “what was death” and “how could they go” and “what is next”. Keeping my family and theirs in humor and food was my goal, at least it pushed my agony away.

I wasn’t present for either of their passing, it happened late at night, but I was fully present in my own misery and suffering, as well as a possible loss of faith to boot. They both died within an hour of each other.

The next day when word had gotten around that Grandpa had passed and I was still in shock, the most kind act of compassion came my way. A friend had sent me an email, simply saying; “I know how this feels and we are thinking of you. Can I do anything for you?” Along with it she sent a graphic, seen below, of Buddha’s passing and those around him in agony.

Her simple act of; expressing her knowing of being in my shoes, a simple question of how can she help me, and an image of Buddha’s passing all swarmed in my head. This was the simple act I needed to keep my belief in Buddhism, humanity, and how a life lead with compassion is the only way to live. Thank you my friend.

Today over email a friend confided in all the seemingly crazy events occurring, all coming in waves and each one hitting harder. A relationship fading away, money issues causing worry, family drama and all the such. In reply I was pleased with my thoughts, having been through times like this I felt I was finally able to draw on my experience as well as relate to concepts of Buddhism. So, here is what I formulated:

It totally is cleaning house and a huge lesson. We all know, especially our circle here, that there is more out there than what we see in front of us. Our veils are very thick at times. This is one of those times where all energies are focused so you can clean house. It reminds me of why I picked a study of Buddhism, to clean things out of the mind, or to clean the room that is the mind. It’s like cleaning your room, as I heard a monk say once. All you see is the clutter in front of you and on that day you don’t see that the sun is shining and the neighbor is washing his car and people are shopping. Although, and this is another lesson, to be cleaning the clutter but thinking of shopping, this is the untrained mind. I guess my point is, you are cleaning house and you are meant to focus on this aspect right now. When you are done, the energy of the universe will shift as you need it to. Often when we enter a spiritual practice, things will die off; relationships, habits, ways of thinking. Just to make room for new understanding. It may not feel good right now but I am very happy you are cleaning house. 6 months from now you won’t have these negative attachments clinging to you and taking up resources for what you are meant to be doing.

Not that I’m some great Yogini or Buddhist teacher but once in a while I get excited when a concept makes sense through this veil of mine.