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1)We are indeed taught to question everything. Here is a quote from The Buddha himself:




2)There are two ways (that I know of) to meditate. The first is to clear the mind of all thoughts, sit in the lotus position, (or just cross-legged if you're as physically inflexible as I am!),with your back straight and breathe in and out, from the abdomen, keeping the mind continually clear of all thought. When thoughts try to invade-and they most definately will-clear your mind once again and keep at it. Persistance is key.

The 2nd way is to sit in the lotus or cross-legged position, with your back straight, breathing in and out from the abdomen, only this time chanting a mantra out loud or in your head. It could be anything at all, from "Om Mani Padme Hum", to "Mindfulness, mindfulness, mindfulness", to "loving-kindness, loving-kindness, loving-kindness".

There are more methods than the ones above, I am sure. I would advise that you do a bit of research and just go with whatever feels right.

i always wondered what people meant by 'dont know' meditation, which is ironic because i dont know anything about it. but i guess you are supposed to sit and examine what that could mean when you meditate in that style.

same with "just this" practice, though just this is alittle more self-explanatory.

those kooky zen monks and their cryptic sayings.

and im not sure if you have heard this a million times or not, but if you are having trouble not thinking, count breaths. focus on the counting. even then i still cant get three seconds in before i distract myself. but practice practice practice. more more more. keep going keep going keep going! i think eventually my mind will just get tired of trying to distract me and ill just beable to sit and meditate without thought, no problamo.

Well, I'm constantly getting distracted though, either thought pop into my head, or I get an itch or something. I suppose some of the thought issues come from my Asberger Syndrome, since I'm, more or less, constantly in boht the real world and my own little world... Either way, I keep trying to mentally tell myself when thoughts pop into my head "No no, stop, focus on your breathing."


...Man, meditating is A LOT harder than it sounds... I've also never 100% the entire meaning of meditation or the purpose behind it, btu I do know what a lot of it's results are, such as enhanced patience and stuff, one someone be kind enough to enlighten me on why we meditate?

First of all, good luck with your Buddhism. Second, the purpose is meditation is not to 'not think' it is to simply observe your thoughts as transient. If you spend all of your time on your stiff little mat trying not to think, you're going to end up passing out. Notice your thoughts as thoughts; transient, and simply not real. That's it. Let it go. Don't fight thinking, it's impossible.
On another note, question everything. The point of Buddhism is not to stick to some dogma. That's pointless, and is exactly what the Buddha tried to fight against. YES, question the noble truths. Question everything. Question every single thing you read about Buddhism, as that is the POINT of Buddhism, to step out of your everyday thinking and realize that the story you've built up around yourself ("I'm kind, I was born and raised here, then I moved here..") and so on, are nothing but that, stories. Life is relative, so on so forth. Buddhism is not for someone just looking for something to relate to. The Buddha teaches us to step outside of thinking like "I should do this" or "I shouldn't do this." The thinking the Buddha teaches us about is "What is this?" and "Is this real?" or "Why am I upset?"
And here's the trick.. No excuses.
It's all really confusing. It's not easy for a young person to entirely grasp Buddhism. Took me a good year or so to finally "get it." And man, does it still slip from my fingers sometimes. Get a good book on Buddhism. The Joy of Living, by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is the one Im working on. Look through it and try to apply it.

Right, right. But what is the purpose of a "meditation" in which you force thoughts out of your head? That's like saying "TRY NOT TO THINK OF AN ELEPHANT" and getting angry with yourself for thinking about an elephant. While the purpose of meditation is to find calm in the daily hustle and bustle of one's mind, the best way to do that is NOT by forcing all of that out. If you meet fire with fire, all you will do is create an even larger fire. An even larger hustle and bustle of the mind. The purpose of those cds is to give you something to focus on and relax to. Focus on it. Be entirely aware of all the sounds. If a thought arises, note that it's a thought, and LET it go. Do not force it, and that is exactly what you are trying. Almost every meditator experiences it. I do all the time. I have a hard time getting past 5 minutes when I do meditate. "MUST ATTAIN MEDITATIVE STATE" is the typical mantra. The message is to relax, and dont push yourself. The more you push, the more difficult meditation becomes. The point of meditation is NOT to clear your mind. The point of meditation is to be AWARE of your mind.

I think you calmed yourself down enough to finally realize that anger and all is transient, and passing. Were you listening to the music, or being mindful of it? Forgive my haste, but I think you may have a slight misconception about meditation. The purpose of meditation is to be mindful of what is going on. Meditation turns you inward to be mindful of what is going on in your head, and in your thoughts. This is central to Buddhism, and ultimately enlightenment, because enlightment is an entirely introverted. An entirely inside job. Meditation shows you the core of your own being, and your own thoughts, and allows you to realize that thoughts are transient, just like cramps in your legs, and struggles with your mind. All of those things are to be observed, not pushed away. You strip away the the bustle and just look.
Imagine a pool mixed with mud. If you are still, and calm, and let things settle, as they are, the mud will settle to the bottom and you will be able to see the clear pool. If you try to push the clumps of mud from the pool of water, what will happen to the water? It will become cloudy with mud. The same is true of your thoughts. If you try to push your thoughts away, your mind will become even more cluttered. DO NOT try to push your thoughts away. Let them settle. If they will not go away, look at them. Don't engage them, just look at them. I would suggest buying a copy of Bhante Henepola Gunaratana's 'Mindfulness in Plain English.' Very good intro to mindfulness and meditation. =] Forgive me if I sound like I am asserting that I know more about meditation, I am just trying to pass on what I've heard. I'm not the best meditator myself, but in my experience, the things I'm recommending have held true for me very well. This is how I've always heard it.

Okay, so I've been trying to meditate without consciously counting, but I've noticed that during my day to day life, whether I am consciously aware of it or not, that I'm constantly sort of "narrating" my life with my thoughts. I can understand repeating thoughts to myself doing things like typing, but this is a constant, and is what I believe to be one of the biggest hurdles to really letting my thoughts settle when trying to meditate. I have no clue how to overcome this and I would REALLY appreciate some advice people have to stop this...