Zandtaomed is based around Mindfulness with Breathing from Ajaan Buddhadasa (see below).
 In Zandtaomed there is no emphasis placed on posture except:- |
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 Sit with a straight back. |
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Sit still. |
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Here are example postures, you choose. (Here is Theravadan monk, Ajaan Jayasaro, taking about posture).
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Why do we have a straight back? One reason, it helps the stress drain away - down your spine.
Lotus:- If you can do this comfortably, go for it; it is the best position. Do you need to strive for this
position? I say not. Many Eastern approaches want the lotus but this is a position their children learn from birth. For western people they do not have this training so I don't stress it - only have a straight back.
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Watch your breath. Breathe in through your nose. Watch the breath enter through the tip of your nose, and follow it down to your stomach. Pause for a while, and rest with your breath in the stomach, and then breathe out watching the breath following the breath as it flows out past the tip of your nose. Pause for a while, and then breathe again. That's it. This is the beginning of anapanasati-bhavana ....
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The first problem you will find with breathing is that the mind will wander. You start with thinking about the breath, and then the next time you focus you see that your mind has wandered starting to think of something else. Leave this thinking alone, and gently bring the focus of your mind back to the breathing. Note gently; meditation is a calm exercise so it is not necessary to force the mind to focus on the breath .... just gently.
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Timing is a very important part of the discipline of Zandtaomed. To begin with it is not necessary to sit for England. Just start with a short length of time - 5 minutes or less. Decide on the length of time before you start, set the alarm, and do not finish until the alarm signals the end. Try to do this meditation twice a day. In the morning; after you wash, but before other activities. In the evening; Zandtaomed recommends before you have eaten and before any other activities.
One purpose with regards to time is to increase the meditation time, I am always trying to increase
my time.
Do meditation every day - WITHOUT FAIL.
That is the end of the introduction to Zandtaomed. Remember - to describe the method is easy, to do the method is hard but it will give you the benefits of a quality life. As you develop in your practice then all the problems caused by an ill-disciplined mind will start to fall away, and you will start to follow your Path as Nature intended.
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DO NOT START ZANDTAOMED WITHOUT A MEDITATION ELDER.
Meditation develops, it is not static. Not only this but meditation can unearth deep emotional issues, and whilst this in general is beneficial if not handled correctly it can cause problems. Zandtaomed has been designed for you to work with a meditation elder.
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It has been devised so that after each meditation session the meditator writes up a daily report, and the meditation elder then comments on the report. If you wish Zandtao to be your meditation elder click here.
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Below
Ajaan Buddhadasa died in the 90s.
Zandtaomed is independent but greatly respects the teachings of Ajaan Buddhadasa; Zandtaomed makes no claims that the way Zandtaomed is taught is the way Ajaan Buddhadasa taught or the way Suan Mokkh would teach. Apart from using the book on anapanasati-bhavana Zandtaomed claims no other links with the legacy of Ajaan Buddhadasa.
Endorsement by Suan Mokkh (his surviving monastery), Suan Mokkh Bangkok nor Santikaro (his English translator) has not been sought even though Zandtaomed recommends the teachings (including their meditation teaching) and work done by these organisations represented by these links.
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