Meditation

[Phra Erik]

Hi everybody,I'm Phra Erik. I stay in the Monastery for 2 years. In
Thailand : 7. I speak : English, French, German. Please feel free to
communicate in those languages.

I'd like to start this discussion about Meditation.

Meditation can be a very big help in your recovery process. Why ?

- A survey with 100 westerners addicts interviewed during their stay
in TKB and back home shows that people who meditates stay clean.

- Joining a Meditaton center near your home allow you to : keep in
touch with a positive and healthy path and people. And why not ? Meet
new positive friends.

- When you'll have a lack of will power it will remains you softl, the
ABSOLUTE NECESSITY of a DISCIPLINE to stay clean.

- You will learn how your mind is working and then how to be able to
control it. Mainly : Impulsions and Feelings. You won't be your mind's
slave anymore and won't believe any stupid ideas it gives you.

- It will clean up your unconscious and all the wrong and bad
memories, ideas, feelings you keep there, sometimes, without even
knowing it.

- It will help you to keep in mind where you're at just now. To forget
is to fill in the unconscious. Don't stop to think : just don't be
affected by your thoughts.

- You will remember your Sajja and the fact that you do all this not
only for you but for all the people you love (and even perhaps the
ones you don't) then you will understand the need to find inner Peace,
at least for a while at the beginning, being in contact with the best
part of yourself.

- And who knows, you'll see the light.

Any questions or comments welcome.

Choke Dee & Meta & Enjoy a Full Power Spiritual Life.

Phra Erik
+66 (0)8 56 59 37 81
FaceBook / Skype : Phra Erik

[stuart]

Hey Phra Erik..
I do try to meditate, although i have to admit
not as often as i should. I also try the breathing techniques when iam
walking or just needing a break from the mind, i learned a lot from
Phra Hans actually, and putting it into practice i tend to find that
it works. i have been doing this for a while now as it is over 7 years
since i first went to Thamkrabok, at first it was a bit alien to me
and the mind would constantly tell me i was crazy...i knew that anyway
lol, although through practice i found that it is very beneficial to
me. i must admit i did like the walking meditation with Hans, can do
this anywhere really. To be able to sit still and meditate is a bit
of an achievement, my mind was never still when i was using, was a
prisoner to it so to speak. Hope everyone is well.

Stuart

[Audrey Delaney]

Thank you Phra Eric, Meditation is one of the two tools I brought home with
me from Thamkrabok in July 08. The other my sajja.

It is not always easy but whether I do a good meditation or not I always
feel better than before I did it. Much more positive. It replaced sleeping
tablets for me whilst in TKB which was amazing as I had been on them 20yrs
amongst other stuff. No doctor was able to help me get a natural nights
sleep, it was a huge problem for me.

I have just received some more information and help from Vince with
meditation and I am looking forward to improving.

I do think you are right I believe there is something in meditation that
goes deeper than we realise and we connect with ourselves.

I know nothing about Buddhism and do not try to be knowledgeable on the
subject as I was only in the monastery a few weeks, most of that sick. My
up bringing was a Christian one. Though I have broke away from any religious
group and just believe there is something greater than ourselves out there
and this higher power connects us all. I believe meditation is something
anyone can do no matter what your beliefs.

Never forget kindness, and understanding of others who come from different
places and backgrounds.

Thank you

Audrey

[John Cox]

Good call Eric old son, but its hard to find a good place coz I reckon you need a good teacher. Any tips???

---

From: Audrey Delaney <audrey...@eircom.net>
To: friends-of-tham...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, 29 September, 2009 21:22:53
Subject: [FOTM:2301] Re: Meditation

[gary devine]

Hi Phra Erik,

 

Good to see you on this,I need all the help i can get with trying to understand meditation

and i promise to come to more of your sessions in the future,i really struggle with the

stillness part, i mean slowing the (mind) down,learning to be still,god its easier said then

done,thanks Stuart for the walking idea,might be my only hope at this stage,the way i feel today,i use

to think it must be something monks really have sussed,but more recently iv realised its

all down to practice and endurance and goodwill.i wish id been more open to meditation

in my earlier recovery but my mind did,nt begin to slow down for two years.Well i look

forward to seeing you in a few days phra erik,im on the move again,myself plus one will be

returning to tkb on friday and noel another friend will be accompanying two people for detox

many thanks to audrey,noel,and richie for their input into making this happen,i feel burned

out at the moment,and i think i may be ready for wat suan mokkh?? maybe not,thanks for

the suggestion,no it was,nt you who suggested that,it was vince?.is there any thing i can pick

you up on the way? other then french chocolate.take care.

 

with metta

 

gary.

[Audrey Delaney]

Gary speaking of new people going out, are you introducing them to this forum, it is something I believe would be very valuable to them before and after Thamkrabok.  I have not seen any new Irish people who you say are going out to TKB on this which can only be described as being another wonderful asset to them.  It is something I would advise them to do straight away before they go should they be PC literate.  That way they get many experiences and can ask questions that perhaps you may not have had the time to go through with them individually as clearly you only been back a short time this would have left very little preparation.  I would also ask you to give them my mobile phone no and Ritchies, so they can be involved in our new social and support set up that has been growing of late.  Though I will be passing these details on to Mae Shee Rhambais to pass on to any Irish who are going or returning.  They all need someone who will talk to them on their return.  Or perhaps you have something else set up for them entirely for their home coming.

 

Anyway our non drinking social nights are just what the doctor ordered.

 

Audrey

 

---

<br

[Brian Haffenden]

Hello to you all,

Meditation

May I suggest that those who wish to learn more, and benefit from regular meditation, that you go to www.bswa.org

This is the website of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia, and our Spiritual Director is

The Ven Ajahn Brahmavamso.

Ajahn was trained and ordained in Thailand by the renowned Meditation Monk – the late Ven Ajahn Chah.

He is the Abbot of the Bodhinyana Monastery at Serpentine, just south of Perth. He is also the Spiritual

Director of the Buddhist Fellowship in Singapore and I am honoured to say a good friend.

He is in demand globally to give Dhamma Talks and is renowned for leading Meditation Retreats.

You will see that on the home page of this website there is a You Tube. Here you can sit quietly, wherever

you are in the world, to see and listen to these valuable talks.

I am proud to say that Ajahn has been the Patron of our Foundation from the very beginning.

My recommendation to you all is that you pay a weekly visit to this site and benefit from the experience.

I will ask Ajahn if he would offer a special talk on meditation as soon as possible.

Much Metta to you all,

Brian Haffenden   

 

---

From: friends-of-tham...@googlegroups.com [mailto:friends-of-tham...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of gary devine
Sent: Wednesday, 30 September 2009 1:58 AM
To: friends-of-tham...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [FOTM:2303] Re: Meditation

 

Hi Phra Erik,

<br

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.409 / Virus Database: 270.13.114/2402 - Release Date: 09/29/09 05:54:00

[Audrey Delaney]

 

Brian tanks a mill for that will certainly check this out.  I have set some time aside this week for one of my ever long emails to you..  Good toilet reading. haha

---

[Vince Cullen]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a great believer in the benefits of meditation.  Don't get me wrong, I still find 'sitting' difficult and at times boring (being able to name this just shows it works!!) but I can confidently and happily say that mediation has changed my life, 

I was recently asked the question "Do you meditate?"
 
I do meditate but not as regular as I know I should, at least not alone at home. I generally blame this on the unsocial and haphazard nature of the shift work of my full-time job but I know that this is just an excuse. I am aware of and have often experienced the beneficial effects of regular sitting practice and not just when I have a crisis or I can’t get to sleep!
 
Regardless of my struggles when sitting at home, I do try to get away on retreat at least once a year. I have been particularly helped by the 10-day silent Anapanasati retreat held every month at Wat Suan Mokkh in Southern Thailand. Despite the concrete beds and wooden pillows, I have completed 3 of these retreats. The Suan Mokkh environment is very supportive for those new to meditation as well as for those individuals with some experience. It’s a personal thing, but I think the traditional Dhamma lessons here are wonderfully presented and very informative.
 
In addition to my various retreats, there are also my private and working visits to Thamkrabok Monastery. During one particular detox trip with a heroin addict in 2005 it transpired that there were no English speaking monks available to facilitate meditation sessions. As an ex-Thamkrabok monk, albeit a novice, I was given permission to facilitate meditation classes in the treatment compound for any addicts that wanted to 'sit'.  To ease the possible discomfort of sitting cross-legged and to encourage those addicts new to sitting practice I arranged with the Monastery’s carpentry workshop to make some kneeling stools which were very well received and much used.
 

(Photograph © Agnès Dherbeys 2005)

 

I am mindful of my sometimes half-hearted commitment to sitting practice so I am attempting to start a meditation group local to where I live.  Somtimes you've got to do it for yourself but at other times there is definitely strength in numbers!  Here's the BLOG that I put on the Wiredin website in the UK:-

Meditation for recovery group

For a number of years now, I have been considering the idea of a ‘meditation for abstinence’ group. The arrival of the Buddhist Recovery Network has acted as welcome catalyst and has provided some much needed guidelines to finally get this off the ground.

My own meditation practice, albeit haphazard, supports my continued abstinence in recovery. I would like to form a ‘Fifth Precept’ or ‘Thamkrabok Sajja’ group in West Berkshire, ideally Newbury or Reading.

• The Fifth Precept is an endeavour to refrain from intoxicants in nearly all of the orthodox Buddhist traditions. It is usually presented something along the lines of: “I undertake the training rule to refrain from intoxicating liquors and drugs that lead to carelessness.”

• Sajja is a public commitment to abstinence as practiced by the Thamkrabok Monastery, in Thailand. Thamkrabok Sajja is a promise made at a public ceremony never to consume, promote or handle drugs and/or alcohol ever again. “Addicts volunteering for treatment at the monastery, take Sajja, a sacred vow, never to touch drugs again and commit themselves to a new life.” Due to a strange quirk of logic, drug addicts taking treatment at Thamkrabok need only take a vow not to be involved with drugs; the alcohol vow is voluntary. Alcoholics taking treatment must take both the vows.

There is a subtle but significant difference between endeavour to total abstinence and total commitment to abstinence, so I’m not sure which approach will ultimately be the most beneficial. At this stage, I would suggest a combination of the Fifth Precept with Thamkrabok Sajja i.e. total commitment to total abstinence.

In order to get a group going, I recommend using the guidelines on the BRN network as a starting point but the fine detail will still need to be worked out/agreed:

• The intention of the proposed group will simply be to support our own and each other’s recovery from addiction using various meditation techniques and discussion.
• Who/how will the group will be lead/facilitated T.B.A.
• Group membership to be aimed at anyone in recovery regardless of previous meditation experience. However, a commitment to all Five Buddhist Precepts will be necessary to ensure a common understanding and acceptable group behaviour.
• Meeting form and content; and venue(s) T.B.A

All things being temporary, transient and impermanent, I’m sure the function, form and membership of the group will evolve over time – once we experience what works and what doesn’t. I have been wrestling with this idea for several years now but I feel this is the right time to get a group started.

If anyone in the Newbury/Reading area would be interested in joining a meditation for recovery group, please send an email to vince....@tara-detox.org with your contact details. Alternatively, if anyone has some experience, thoughts or concerns around these ideas I would be most grateful to receive them.

Thanks in advance.

The full BLOG is located at :  http://wiredin.org.uk/member/profile/847

Best wishes to all.

With Metta,

Vince

__________________________________

308
It would be better to swallow molten iron
than for a renunciate
to live on offerings
deceitfully gained.
__________________________________
A DHAMMAPADA for CONTEMPLATION
http://aruno.org//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=241&Itemid=80

[Tommy]

2009/9/29 Vince Cullen <vince....@gmail.com>

Hi Everyone,

I'm a great believer in the benefits of meditation.  Don't get me wrong, I still find 'sitting' difficult and at times boring (being able to name this just shows it works!!) but I can confidently and happily say that mediation has changed my life, 

I was recently asked the question "Do you meditate?"
 

I believe you can't teach someone to meditate - or moreso make them do it -

We within our organisation do a weekly guided spiritual meditation session.

Over the past three or four years, wev'e tried different methods in group.  From low spiritual music, buddhist chants, raindrops, the sea, whales and dolphins.  Funny thing is that each person has a particular leaning towards each one.

I'm forever cutting discs for the various music to accompany the sleepinducing state.

However, after all this, and this is a firm belief of my own - the need to meditate usually occurs when you're least able to join a group - so I tend to try to encourage folks to train themselves gradually over an extended period.

The hardest thing folks find is to stay wide awake.

Here's a few tips I use

Bare feet  to keep you grounded, soft comfy upright chair (no sense armchairing and getting into a sleeping position)
And to ensure comfort - turn off phones (or take em off the hook), use a pleasant lighted room with little distraction on the wall and best of all - fill a basin with hot water, add your favourite tincture of potions or lotions (I use Lavendar with a pinch of salt to soften the heel skin) - ease the feet into the water which should be as warm as you can bear it.  This is your time, enjoy it and brook no interruption.  The water can take up to 30 minutes to go cool, but it cools so slow that you actually wont feel it getting cold.

We are great at giving our time to others who need it, whats the big deal about our bit of pampering.  Men find it especially hard - if you consider when a girl needs (or doesn't need) her hair coiffed, she looks forward to it - yet when it comes a mans turn to get a hair cut, its a flipping nuisance to him...  distubs his oh so important routine - pamper yourself guys - use a skin cream once a day, buy a nailfile, and use handcream. 

Dry your feet with a soft fluffy cloth towel, and use Johnsons baby powder to un-dampen them, plus the baby powder brings memory of your childhood baths :-)

Another foot tip for the toes and tired feet, "toothpaste", especially mint flavoured, has a cooling effect - look if it doesnt hurt your tender mouth, it can't damage your tough little toe-toes, a fingerful on your wet hands,  rubbed into the feet is so refreshing:-)
I believe every home in the country has at least one foot spa under their bed or in their cupboard somewhere - apparently it is the most useless or least used present given

Cheers
Meditation in different positions, is like sex really, you don't have to be good at it to enjoy it -   really :-))

Cheers
Tommy

[Vince Cullen]

One more thought about meditation and mutual support.

I would like to organise another 7-day retreat for ex-Thamkrabokers at The Barn in Devon, maybe in March/April 2010.  (Last years retreat was described here ).

I would expect that the cost will be about GBP 175 plus a dana offering for the teacher (last year's teacher and guide was Martine Batchelor).

Would anyone be interested?

Best wishes.

Metta,


Vince
__________________________________
309
Accumulated sadness,
troubled sleep,
blame and remorse
are an adulterer’s lot.

[bowerygirl]

hi phra erik!

i hope all is well with you. i am doing fine. i have been practicing
my meditation every day in the evening and even though im not very
good at it, you know how bad my focus was, i find that it does help me
get to sleep faster than when i dont put the few minutes aside to
try.just wanted to pop in and say hi and also thank you. you were a
big help to me while i was there and i finally see now that im back in
the real world how helpful meditation can be to someone like me. so i
will keep trying...if all else fails i can always cut LEMONS! haha~
jenni

On Sep 29, 10:02 am, Phra Erik <phrae...@gmail.com> wrote:

[metalface from kent]

...Just to chip in my 'tuppence worth' on Meditation.I know its a
subject thats come up more than once in the past,but I guess we have
to consider the growing membership and not worry about covering old
ground (obviously).
Of course with addiction and recovary,the one thing that screws the
whole process up is a relapse and a deviation from what we first set
out to achieve,and that always starts with a wayward thought or
unsteady state of mind.What Meditation can achieve is a balanced,calm
and centred state of mind,not something many of us 'drunks and
druggies' would have thought possible before de-tox.Maintaining (!!!)
this is 100% Guaranteed to keep us out of 'trouble'!!!
It is a tool that needs to be used with regularity in order to
benefit-20 mins at the start of your day is managable and something
I've heard recommended for novices (or even busy people).A Tibetan
(monastary) practice that can easilly be transponded is to allocate a
corner or place that is your own and that is only used for this
purpose-if a shrine or Buddha is kept I guess that would be a good
place,but it must be understood that you must not be disturbed here-no
phones,T.V and as little noise as is possible.The idea is for it to be
a special,sacred place.It is also practice to sweep and clean the area
just before you start-even if not necessary and it wont be if your
regular (not sure why but I'm confident there is good reason-you just
have to trust these guys sometimes).You dont have to sit cross-legged
(I personally am not built to achieve that position comfortably-
perhaps one day I'll get some instructional Yoga which may (?) work)-
so a chair will suffice.The important thing is that the spine is
straight-the Tibetans recognise this as something to do with the
workings of the inner nervous system.Something soft and a little firm
to sit on or prop your back in a chair (if necc.) is good.Lay your
hands loosely on your lap.,palms facing upwards and on top of each
other.You can close your eyes or relax the eyelids and attempt to rest
your vision on an imginary point a few feet in front of you-look
without seeing and try and maintain not focusing.
That is the ideal situation and basic poise which anybody can achieve
without too much difficulty.
I know many people have trouble with Meditation and I think a lack of
patience has much to do with it which is one of the things that the
practice is attempting to negate-so it does pay dividends to
perservere which is actually very necessary to begin with.It does
settle into effortless practice and many old hands regard it as their
favorite part of the day (I wish I was that practiced!!).There are
many differant Meditations,from simple breathing,to contemplations (on
various themes or aspects) to Visualisations,but I think a basic
Breathing Meditation is the best to self-teach.This basically involves
inhaling/exhaling long slow deliberate breaths and concentrating
wholly on the breath and its physical presence and motion.This is
counted-One Breath=One Inhale/Exhale.If you can do this Ten times
without losing concentration,you're doing well.If you lose count,try
again till you do.Then set yourself a pattern to suit.You will
naturally get thoughts materialising in your head but you must let
them taper off without reacting-eventually it becomes easier and
easier and eventually you will have created an 'inner space' that
didn't seem as though it was there before-I suppose it was,but just
'cluttered'.This is the tranquil 'inner sanctum' that you will develop
and your 'control' will come from here,regardless of external
circumstances.I've heard it likened to a bucket of river water-if
stirred and shaken the mud,grit,dead plants and impurities cloud the
water.If along to remain still,the debris eventually settles and what
you are left with is clear water-'Clarity'-bloody right!!
...Its great advice and I may even take it myself.My Meditation
nowadays,though regular,takes a much cruder form and I'm much better
sharing the above method with you-I can assure you it will reap
benefits you probaly haven't even considered,if applied with
discipline.
You dont have to be a Buddhist to Meditate-they wont mind.

Very Best Wishes to You All (as always).
Mfk.

P.s.Nice to see you Bowery-hope your as well as you sound.

On Sep 29, 10:02 am, Phra Erik <phrae...@gmail.com> wrote:

[metalface from kent]

To Re-quote something that was posted previously in relation to this
topic (because its relevant,it exemplifies the point and also a
favorite of mine)-

"Let your Mind become still in any surroundings,like a clear forest
pool.All kinds of wonderful and rare animals will come to drink at the
pool,and you will clearly see the true nature of all things.You will
see many strange and wonderful things come and go,though you will
remain still and silent.This is why the Buddha smiles so."

Ajahn Chah,A Still Forest Pool.
(..not the same venerable 'dude' at TKB,but I'm certain he wouldn't
disagree!!)

On Oct 2, 1:43 am, metalface from kent <boswelia...@hotmail.co.uk>
wrote:

> > FaceBook / Skype : Phra Erik- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[metalface from kent]

"Sometimes to be faster, we have to be slower"
Three-times World Champion racing driver Jackie Stewart.

On Oct 2, 1:55 am, metalface from kent <boswelia...@hotmail.co.uk>

> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

[steve bennett]

hello Phra Erik
I have a couple of suggestions for those who wish to learn about meditation.
my favourite book (on meditation) is meditation for dummies..absolutely brilliant for westerners
and those into I-Tunes there are many cool meditation podcasts for free....
 
> Date: Thu, 1 Oct 2009 17:55:34 -0700
> Subject: [FOTM:2315] Re: Meditation
> From: boswe...@hotmail.co.uk
> To: friends-of-tham...@googlegroups.com