Concentration Meditation

[Big_D]

Hi Guys,

I started to read the book "Mastering the core teachings of the buddha"  and he stresses the importance of concentration. I've got daily meditation habit for 3 months now. I meditate for 1 hour SDS + Do Nothing and I think to integrate the concentration meditation in my daily meditation habit.

But I don't really know how to start with it and how to do it effectively. How long should i do it? Is 10 minutes strong focusing enough? Or do I need to do at least 30 minutes or more to see results? Does it matter on what object I focus?

Just wanna hear some advice from you guys!

 

[Prabhaker]

59 minutes ago, Schuchti11 said:

he stresses the importance of concentration

Concentration is not Meditation

Concentration is a choice. It excludes all except its object of concentration; it is a narrowing. If you are walking on the street, you will have to narrow your consciousness in order to walk. You cannot ordinarily be aware of all that is happening because if you are aware of everything that is happening you will become unfocused. So concentration is a need. Concentration of the mind is a need in order to live–to survive and exist. That is why every culture, in its own way, tries to narrow the mind of the child.

Children, as they are, are never focused; their consciousness is open from all sides. Everything is coming in, nothing is being excluded. The child is open to every sensation, every sensation is included in his consciousness.

And so much is coming in! That is why he is so wavering, so unstable. A child’s unconditioned mind is a flux–a flux of sensations–but he will not be able to survive with this type of mind. He must learn how to narrow his mind, to concentrate.

The moment you narrow the mind you become particularly conscious of one thing and simultaneously unconscious of so many other things. The more narrowed the mind is, the more successful it will be. You will become a specialist, you will become an expert, but the whole thing will consist of knowing more and more about less and less.

The narrowing is an existential necessity; no one is responsible for it. As life exists, it is needed, but it is not enough. It is utilitarian, but just to survive is not enough; just to be utilitarian is not enough. So when you become utilitarian and the consciousness is narrowed, you deny your mind much of which it was capable. You are not using the total mind, you are using a very small part of it.

And the remaining — the major portion — will become unconscious.

[Naviy]

2 hours ago, Schuchti11 said:

Hi Guys,

I started to read the book "Mastering the core teachings of the buddha"  and he stresses the importance of concentration. I've got daily meditation habit for 3 months now. I meditate for 1 hour SDS + Do Nothing and I think to integrate the concentration meditation in my daily meditation habit.

But I don't really know how to start with it and how to do it effectively. How long should i do it? Is 10 minutes strong focusing enough? Or do I need to do at least 30 minutes or more to see results? Does it matter on what object I focus?

Just wanna hear some advice from you guys!

 

I think one of the most effective ways to train conentration is to do this:

 

 

 

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The author explains how to practise concentration meditation in the book. Concentrate on the illusory smoothness and continuity of the breath (as opposed to insight practise where you try to experience the individual sensations that make up the breath). 

Keep your attention sharply focused on the sensation of your breath leaving and entering your nose, or the rising and falling of your belly. When you're mind wanders (and it will) bring it back to the breath.

Do that every day until you can stay focused on atleast a part of every single in and out breath for a whole hour without getting lost in thought. It is possible. Try to stay focused on every single in/out breath for 15 mins at first, and then add more time when you feel like it. 

Keep doing that until you reach access concentration and then follow the instructions given in the book.