How to Sit (Mindfulness Essentials Book 1)

Instead of “striking the bell,” I like to say “inviting the bell to sound.”

Following our breathing, we can say: All phenomena are impermanent. They are subject to birth and death. When the notions of birth and death are removed, this silence is called great joy. This meditation sums up all of the Buddha’s teaching.

All the mental formations exist in the unconscious mind as seeds. When a seed, for example the seed of anger, is touched, it manifests in the conscious mind and there we call it a mental formation.

We are made of ancestors, culture, food, air, and water. We are made of form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. We invite every component to listen deeply to the bell.

“Breathing in, I know that this is only an emotion. It’s not the whole of me. I am more than my emotions.”

There is no separate self. We are a current. We are a stream. We are a continuation.

Every in-breath can bring joy; every out-breath can bring calm and relaxation. This is a good enough reason to sit. We don’t need to sit with an intention like getting smarter or becoming enlightened. We can sit just to enjoy sitting and breathing.

Sit in order to sit. Stand in order to stand. There is no goal or aim in sitting. Do it because it makes you happy.

“My dear child, I know you are there, and I am here for you. If you have something to tell me, please say it to me.” After some moments, allow yourself to speak as that small child, expressing anything you never got a chance to share.

Consider daily sitting meditation to be a kind of spiritual food.