/lit/ - Literature

I've been using pic related as a guide, not sure how well it compares to other methods but seemed like an approachable starting point. I find myself becoming impatient with it but maybe overcoming that is part of the process. I also tried the Sam Harris waking up app for a while, it was interesting but ultimately I found meditating alone a better experience (plus the subscription isn't exactly cheap)

>>18807339
Have you tried the headspace app? If so, how did you like it?
I think the creater of the app is a good teacher, but they generally talk way too much during meditations and I now get angry whenever I hear that woman's voice

Anyone have book recommendations for meditation?

>>18807363
Nah, never tried Headspace. The marketing made it seem more focused on stress relief and therapeutic benefits rather than insight/vipassana, which didn't really appeal to me. I can see how it would be really useful to someone else though

Shunryu Suzuki - Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

I also highly recommend the Balance app.

>>18807295
>>18788747
How does one do the meditations that Bataille makes?

>>18808166
question also asked here >>18808180

>18808152
>18807363
>apps

This is like recommending reading certain wine bottle labels to cure your alcoholism. Get a timer and stare at the wall for an hour. It's not that hard.

>>18807295
What does your practice do for you, anon?

My practice has become very intense over the last few months as I've began to incorporate working with felt-senses and the chakras. Would love if anyone could point me to something regarding these.

http://buddhasutra.com/
The sutras are generally pretty short and help me to adapt into the attitude required for meditation.
>He understands: "This way there is no disturbance emanating from perception of the city. This way there is no disturbance emanating from perception of human beings. This way there is only that disturbance which emanates off perception of the forest." Thus: "This way is empty of disturbance emanating from perception of the city. This way is empty of disturbance emanating from perception of human beings. This way there is only this that disturbs the emptiness: that is, the vibration which emanates off perception of the forest." In this way he regards that which is present as empty of that which is not present; and, with regard to what remains, he understands that: ‘That being; this is.’
>Thus, Ánanda, there is in the case of this case, a sitting-down-toempty-out that results in surpassing purity

I also had these in my bookmarks:
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/breath-retention/
https://aypsite.org/
http://www.innerworlddesigns.com/circle/book12/pdf/Robert%20Bruce%20-%20New%20Energy%20Ways.pdf

>>18808213
>What does your practice do for you, anon?
I feel that it helps me to structure my day better, i.e. realising how much time I spent doing stupid things (such as lurking on here, it is basically an addiction)
Also I know it sounds stereotypical, but evoking a general sense of calmness (not as in being numbed, but more of the sense of leading a calm, well-ordered life)

I only use headspace though, and would like to get into staring at a candle for half an hour

>>18808152
>Shunryu Suzuki - Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
I read this and am no closer to understanding Zen than before. Good book though.

>>18808203
If Bodhidharma did the wall method it's good enough for me

>>18808557
Wrong Suzuki. Read D.T. Suzuki's translation and commentary of the Lankāvatāra, and his essays on Zen. Fun fact, Bataille (pbuh) had read Suzuki and mentions his explanation of satori in Inner Experience.

>>18808264
>I feel that it helps me to structure my day better, i.e. realising how much time I spent doing stupid things
It makes me more alert to these things as well. Most surprising to me were my first experiences of falling out of my daily practice and noticing how hectic my mind behaved without it. Coming back from vacation I woke up on day and found that my mind was immediately racing with thoughts.

Does anyone know Sanskrit? I would love to talk to someone about how it compares to something like Latin. Saw a youtube video of a man explaining that the language was designed by mystics as a 1:1 representation of the true nature of reality which is found through meditation. Is this far fetched?

>>18808575
Yes, it also helped me notice when I drift off into pondering

>>18808264
>I only use headspace though, and would like to get into staring at a candle for half an hour
the best advice i can offer you is to distance yourself as far as possible from attempting to make progress in meditation. All my breakthroughs only occurred once i let go of measuring myself against standards I wanted to meet. It is of course important to have goals with something like this, but ironically it needs to as ungoal orientated as possible for progress to be made.

>>18807295
I’m thinking of starting Tara’s Triple Excellence. It’s an online Tibetan Buddhist program. You start with the Hinayana teachings and practices (the four noble truths, taking refuge in the three jewels, etc.), move on to the Mahayana teachings and practices (taking the bhodhisattva vows, cultivating the sox perfections, etc.), before finally receiving an empowerment to practice Zabtik Drolchok, a threefold tantric practice centered around Green Tara, and a combination of Dzogchen and Mahamudra. It takes several years to complete. I think maybe even close to a decade. It’s run by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, a Nyingma and Kagyu master, through his organization, DharmaSun.

>>18810084
Forgot the image

>>18808604
It's true, Sanskirt has more tenses than any other language in existence, something like 31 IIRC, and they're all designed to help pinpoint particular metaphysical concepts.

>>18810195
>conjugation is metaphysics
ngmi

>>18810084
Do you know how much it is?

>>18810289
There’s not a set price, but they suggest a donation price for each of the courses that make up the program. It’s usually around $100. I think there’s 11 in total spread out over the three excellences. I believe that completing the program takes almost a decade. But I haven’t gone through the program, so I’m not sure. Their website says the first two excellences take a little over two years, but they don’t give a timeline for the third excellence. I’m assuming that it must take many years though because the third excellence has more than double the courses than the first two excellences and the traditional preliminary practices (which are apart of the third excellence) take five years to complete. And those are just the preliminary practices. After that you have the outer, inner, and secret Tara sadhanas, and then after that you learn both dzogchen and mahamudra

recently returned home after spending 2 months at a forest monastery.. it definitely helps to spend time with other individuals in a real atmosphere if you truly want to develop a sustainable practice. One of the monks basically told me that all these online courses due to covid are ultimately for people wanting to dip their toes in but can't/don't really want to develop their meditation, or are just starting out. even upon leaving i felt like i was giving up, because i'm now able to go to the store or have a conversation with someone about any sort of trite subject without feeling completely overwhelmed. i went to costco in rural va with a monk and we basically walked around without talking just feeling the depth of what that kind of atmosphere involves. there are many vipassana courses around the US and even worldwide if you want to go a bit deeper. I've scheduled 3 weekend retreats for the next few months basically just to brace myself for the possibility of returning to school. There are quite a few monasteries around the world that let you stay for free as long as you work a bit and are sometimes willing to bow to monks, eat all your food before noon, and possibly even go on almsround in their given area. Kalyanamitta IS the spiritual life according to Gautama Buddha.. Thanks for posting ^

>>18810519
What monastery did you stay at?

>>18807295

>>18807295

>>18810195
holy what the fuck
tell me more. Do you have any particular examples?