Buddhism for Beginners

This is a traditional concentration meditation. We use a counting exercise to help encourage the mind to stay on track, giving it a bit of extra stimulus to stay attentive.

Kindness is an important part of concentration practice. We can easily begin straining or stressing during practice. In this meditation, we make a little effort to bring kindness to the forefront of the mind.

This is a body scan meditation. In a body scan, we move through the body slowly in order to observe our experience in different parts. There's nothing to do here but observe!

Vedana is a Pali word that means "feeling tones." This is the Second Foundation of Mindfulness, and is the practice of noting whether an experience is pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. It's a practice that is often left behind in secular mindfulness practices, but an important part of the path of mindfulness.

Finally, we have a traditional vipassana practice. This meditation actually goes through the instructions how I personally meditate. It's based off a practice from the Burmese teacher Mahasi Sayadaw. In this practice, we begin by bringing our attention to the breath. Then, we open up to our other senses to see what else is present. Vipassana means insight, and often involves a mental noting.

This is a guided compassion meditation. Just as we did with the previous metta meditation, we will use phrases to tap into the intention of compassion.

Walking meditation is a piece of the path that is often left behind. The Buddha himself recommended walking meditation many times. Although we think of meditation as a sitting practice, it's just as important to practice while up and moving. For this practice, you'll need just 10-15 feet of space in which you can walk back and forth.

If you are unable to walk or would prefer not to, you may try this practice moving other limbs or body parts.