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I do really appreciate tranquil posts about immersing oneself in actual life, like this one. But as a long-term meditator I have a duty to inform everyone that
by summarybot 2mo ago
I do really appreciate tranquil posts about immersing oneself in actual life, like this one. But as a long-term meditator I have a duty to inform everyone that doing something is not meditation.
- antonyt 2mo agoIs meditation so rigidly defined? It would seem to me that a certain kind of activity done with a certain kind of mindset could be deeply meditative. Disclaimer: I am not a meditator.
- summarybot 2mo agoYes, classically the Point of meditation is to enter into absorption via gathering-poise [not a common term but one I have begun using as of late as a sense-for-sense translation of samadhi]. Unfabricated reality is not accessible through doing things.
- jcgl 2mo agoAs far as I understand, there are numerous different kinds of meditation, even within just single traditions. Different kinds with different goals and techniques. I’d be careful about talking about “the point” of meditation.
- summarybot 2mo agoYou can either have a conversation free of contradictions or a conversation about the truth,, can't have it both ways!
- dudefeliciano 2mo agoI never know what to respond to people when talking about meditation and they mention something like running/playing guitar/reading/etc is their meditation. I don't want to diminish their experience or sound like a contrarian but also know that > doing something is not meditation. so usually those conversations end with a "hm yes that's nice too"
- strken 2mo agoThere's this very annoying thing where meditation experts try to dumb it down until they're basically describing a state of not thinking about stuff, and then someone else goes "oh cool yeah I don't think about stuff when I run", and the experts immediately go "but not like that!" I wish that meditation experts would either dumb things down better or not try at all.
- summarybot 2mo agoBeing mindful is sage advice. But equating some repetitive task with meditation is the same as equating riding a bicycle with deep REM sleep.
- brennanpeterson 2mo agoSo prayer beads aren't meditation? Indian traditionalists are out. Walking isn't, so zen is out. Chanting isn't, so.i guess all bhuddism is pretty much not ok. Maybe there is no true meditation. It is ok to be focused and mindful with different aids. Always has been. There are self focused (mindful) and also self-abnegating traditions, and all count. No harm to.me if others have a different way. If music, or chants, or gardening, have at it.
- dudefeliciano 2mo agoI am not saying that it's harmful I just find it hard to explain or relate my experience of sitting meditation, having only "internal aids" (the breath, the body, or thoughts themselves) rather than external aids or activities like running. I also know what the flow state feels like when doing sports, playing music, drawing, etc, but to me that experience is something very different than just sitting. That difference is what I find difficult to convey.
- summarybot 2mo agoAll the things you describe can be meditative after one has experienced a meaningful glimpse. But the only way to initially get such a meaningful glimpse is through seated meditation.
- Cider9986 2mo agoBut you can meditate while doing something.
- summarybot 2mo agoYes.