Zen Meditations on Being Present: Vipassana Instructions

Zen meditation is simply being present.

And in truth, being present is not an action, it already is.

When all action ceases, when you are in complete stillness,
presence still remains, it is your very nature.

Sounds easy, but the problem is, you cannot do it with your mind.
Because being present happens beyond the mind.

So in the beginning, you use a technique to help keep you present,
to give your mind something to do.

Otherwise, you remain lost in your thoughts, completely unaware of this moment.

So you do something to have something to focus on, like watch your breath,
or notice whatever inner sensations you are feeling in the moment.

But as your awareness deepens, you do less and less.

You go beyond the sense of 'me' that is the doer and then
there is only presence.

Try this exercise below:

Take 3 minutes to do this exercise.
Please follow the directions exactly:

Sit down and close your eyes.

Let go of the thoughts about the past Let go of the thoughts about the future.

Notice the feeling of your breath moving in and out of your nose,
allowing yourself to breathe naturally.

Keep your attention on your breath.

Do this for 30 seconds. Then continue reading.

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Now close your eyes and while noticing the breath as above,
also notice whatever sensations you feel in this moment.

It is not to label them or describe them, just to allow yourself to feel
whatever sensations are here.

Do this for thirty seconds.

Watching the breath,noticing the sensations.
Then continue reading.

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Now, again, close your eyes and notice the feeling of your breath
and also notice the sensation of existing in this moment.

It is not to notice the various sensations, but the total sensation of being.
The feeling that you exist in this moment, without commentary, without description,
just to feel as sensation. The sensation of 'I am.'

Do this now for thirty seconds. Then continue reading.

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Now close your eyes,
noticing the sensation of your breath as above,
as well as noticing the sensation of 'I am.'
and when thoughts appear, do not identify with them.

See the thoughts appear and let them disappear,
remaining focused on your breath and the sensation
of 'I am' without getting involved with that thought.

Do this now for 30 seconds then continue reading.

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Awareness is incredibly simple.

So simple that my dog meditates with me every evening
with great awareness. Such a blissful being!

But it requires humility. It requires you to let go of what you think you know
and who you think you are and dive into the simplicity of this moment.

To give 100% attention to doing a simple exercise.

If you did follow this exercise exactly then you are quite peaceful
and clear right now. You have managed within 3 minutes
to become a witness to your thoughts.

You have proven that you are able to enter beautiful states of awareness.

Now, take it a step further:

If you don't havePure Shakti Meditation CDs already,
go listen to the sample of "Himalaya"
(doesn't cost anything) on The Deep Meditation Music Webpage

Play the sample (or play the CD if you already have it)
while repeating this exercise exactly.

It will take your awareness to a whole new level.

The exercise is meant to get you very quickly into a state of witness consciousness.

But in zen meditation, don't "do" more than you have to to stay present.
It can be as simple as watching your breath, or noticing the feeling of "I am"
or simply noticing the sensations that are there.

Maybe you use the breath along with one of the other techniques, maybe not.

Practice and see what works for you.

As said before, in the end, you don't do anything, you simply stop
all action, you get out of the way and presence simply is.

But as long as your thoughts have control over you, it is good to practice a technique.