In Sanskrit the term for these meditations is shamatha. Many different concepts can be used here. I have become accustomed to using calm abiding. Alternatives are still mind, spacious mind, peaceful mind, tranquil mind, open mind, etc. The terms attempt to describe a mind undisturbed by experience, yet fully aware of experience.
In meditation you learn to work with the continual proliferation of thoughts. In calm abiding you develop the ability to calm the mind so you are not being swayed by the content of the thoughts, the emotions that are in thoughts and sensations. You develop the ability to rest the mind on the object of meditation in a way that you are in control of your thoughts rather than being controlled by your thoughts.
The following meditations were written with the nine stages of meditation in mind. Each meditation can be done on its own for as many days or months, whatever you prefer. The questions after the meditations are in a sequence in order to demonstrate the nine stages of calm abiding meditations. At first you may only be with the object of meditation for a few moments before your thoughts take hold and pull you away, or you become so sleepy you have lost the any awareness of the object of meditation. Each subsequent stage increases your ability in meditation until you reach the ninth stage where you have developed the ability to rest the mind for a very long time. For more information on the nine stages, click here. At this point your mind is stable and free from being swayed by stormy waves. It can return naturally to its source.
Calm abiding meditations involve a subject and an object. Think of weeds. With calm abiding meditations you are mowing the weeds. Eventually you want to uproot the weeds. The methods of uprooting the weeds are found in the next section, insight meditations.
The following meditations have a simplicity to them, but they are precise. The recorded time is only a suggestion. Pause the recording if you would like to increase the time. By engaging in each meditation, you will come to discover which method or methods you prefer and how to apply the method in life’s situations. With ‘after the meditation questions’, you can be aware of your progress by checking your ability with the nine stages, but refrain from making too much of the stages. In calm abiding meditations your eyes are slightly open resting about four feet in front of you.
Posture
- Sit comfortably either crossed leg or in a chair.
- Place your hands in your lap or on your knees.
- Ideally your back should be straight.
- The lips are slightly opened with your tongue placed gently on the roof of your mouth.
- In calm abiding meditations the eyes are slightly open, resting about four feet in front of you.