Instructions for Walking Meditation

adapted from a talk by Gil Fronsdal, December 1st, 2003

Most people in the West associate meditation with sitting quietly. But traditional Buddhist teachings identify four meditation postures: sitting, walking, standing and lying down. All four are valid means of cultivating a calm and clear mindfulness of the present moment. The most common meditation posture after sitting is walking. In meditation centers and monasteries, indoor halls and outdoor paths are often built for walking meditation. On meditation retreats, regular walking meditation is an integral part of the schedule. In practice outside of retreats, some people will include walking as part of their daily meditation practice-for example, ten or twenty minutes of walking prior to sitting, or walking meditation instead of sitting.

Walking meditation brings a number of benefits in addition to the cultivation of mindfulness. It can be a helpful way of building concentration, perhaps in support of sitting practice. When we are tired or sluggish, walking can be invigorating. The sensations of walking can be more compelling than the more subtle sensations of breathing while sitting. Walking can be quite helpful after a meal, upon waking from sleep, or after a long period of sitting meditation. At times of strong emotions or stress, walking meditation may be more relaxing than sitting. An added benefit is that, when done for extended times, walking meditation can build strength and stamina.

People have a variety of attitudes toward walking meditation. Some take to it easily and find it a delight. For many others, an appreciation of this form of meditation takes some time; it is an “acquired taste.” Yet others see its benefits and do walking meditation even though they don’t have much taste for it.


To do formal walking meditation, find a pathway about 30 to 40 feet long, and simply walk back and forth. When you come to the end of your path, come to a full stop, turn around, stop again, and then start again. Keep your eyes cast down without looking at anything in particular. Some people find it useful to keep the eyelids half closed.

We stress walking back and forth on a single path instead of wandering about because otherwise part of the mind would have to negotiate the path. A certain mental effort is required to, say, avoid a chair or step over a rock. When you walk back and forth, pretty soon you know the route and the problem-solving part of the mind can be put to rest.

Walking in a circle is a technique that is sometimes used, but the disadvantage is that the continuity of a circle can conceal a wandering mind. Walking back and forth, the little interruption when you stop at the end of your path can help to catch your attention if it has wandered.

As you walk back and forth, find a pace that gives you a sense of ease. I generally advise walking more slowly than normal, but the pace can vary. Fast walking may bring a greater sense of ease when you are agitated. Or fast walking might be appropriate when you are sleepy. When the mind is calm and alert, slow walking may feel more natural. Your speed might change during a period of walking meditation. See if you can sense the pace that keeps you most intimate with and attentive to the physical experience of walking.

After you’ve found a pace of ease, let your attention settle into the body. I sometimes find it restful to think of letting my body take me for a walk.

Once you feel connected to the body, let your attention settle into your feet and lower legs. In sitting meditation, it is common to use the alternating sensations of breathing in and out as an “anchor” keeping us in the present. In walking meditation, the focus is on the alternating stepping of the feet.

With your attention in the legs and feet, feel the sensations of each step. Feel the legs and feet tense as you lift the leg. Feel the movement of the leg as it swings through the air. Feel the contact of the foot with the ground. There is no “right” experience. Just see how the experience feels to you. Whenever you notice that the mind has wandered, bring it back to the sensations of the feet walking. Getting a sense of the rhythm of the steps may help maintain a continuity of awareness.

As an aid to staying present, you can use a quiet mental label for your steps as you walk. The label might be “stepping, stepping” or “left, right.” Labeling occupies the thinking mind with a rudimentary form of thought, so the mind is less likely to wander off. The labeling also points the mind towards what you want to observe. Noting “stepping” helps you to notice the feet. If after a while you notice that you are saying “right” for the left foot and “left” for the right foot, you know that your attention has wandered.

When walking more slowly, you might try breaking each step into phases and using the traditional labels “lifting, placing.” For very slow walking, you can use the labels “lifting, moving, placing.”

Try to dedicate your attention to the sensations of walking and let go of everything else. If powerful emotions or thoughts arise and call your attention away from the sensations of walking, it is often helpful to stop walking and attend to them. When they are no longer compelling, you can return to the walking meditation. You also might find that something beautiful or interesting catches your eye while walking. If you can’t let go of it, stop walking and do “looking” meditation. Continue walking when you have finished looking.

Some people find that their minds are more active or distractible during walking than during sitting meditation. This may be because walking is more active and the eyes are open. If so, don’t be discouraged and don’t think that walking is thus less useful. It may in fact be more useful to learn to practice with your more everyday mind.

You can train your mind to be present any time you walk. Some people choose specific activities in their daily routines to practice walking meditation, such as walking down a hallway at home or at work, or from their car to their place of work.

In our daily lives, we spend more time walking than sitting quietly with our eyes closed. Walking meditation can serve as a powerful bridge between meditation practice and daily life, helping us be more present, mindful and concentrated in ordinary activities. It can reconnect us to a simplicity of being and the wakefulness that comes from it.

source:http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articles/instructions-for-walking-meditation/

又来了

又想emo了。这次是故意的。
看感伤的文章，挺扣人心弦的音乐。庆祝考完试的方式，就是这样吗？嗯。我喜欢就好。
很难想象我emo的样子吧。我自己也想象不出。

挥挥手离开了康桥，又无言独自上西楼，忽然想化作流水，不再烦忧。
很喜欢无意间找到的一个组群：「° 假如流水能回头，请你带我走。」(http://www.douban.com/group/topic/18901418/)
她的文字，真的很有吸引力。
不得不承认，我是故意让自己陷入情绪的漩涡的。

读一些感性的文字，偶尔让自己也感性一下。

伊始

一年伊始，我没有什么特别的愿望，只希冀今年还能让你带……

的确，想到开学，我最想看到的，是你我同在一个屋檐下上课的画面。

其实，感觉还是1月1日。没错，我还没睡。我知道很迟了。

所以，一年的开始，总得留下写文字吧？

今天，完成了所有要送给中三老师们的卡片。不懂自己到底何来那么高的兴致，竟在开学的一个星期前冒出要制作卡片的念头。然而，始终觉得这是应该的，3i1的学生总得对教过我们的老师有所表示吧？制作完毕，用相机一一摄下，resize后上载到3i1的组群让大家过目。

突然有所感触，随着2011年的过去，我们的3i1也跟着消逝了……这个组群，会保留下去？更名继续使用？抑或渐遭遗忘，不再有new post, comment，或哪怕只是个like？

明年会是什么样的一年呢？分班会是以什么制度呢？

有些事，只有我知道，却又不能很肯定。心里其实很紧张地想得到一个肯定的答案。

自我安慰：我的预感向来挺准的。没问题的！

新的一年……

新的一年，继续扮演该扮演的角色，继续守好该守的本分。遇到困难，用平常心。

没什么不一样吧？

休息过了，颓废够了。振作起来，课内课外继续两头烧吧。

……

这一年，不像去年一样有大考，倒让人觉得提不起劲。

这一年，得学着适应中四的课程、SPM的格式，也是一种挑战。

这一年，主席秘书财政，要好好学习，择中庸之道而行。

这一年，办活动的时候不再只是小角色了，要用智慧处理事情啊。

这一年，要跳得比前两年远，还希望能有你陪。

这一年，不能再用发抖的手握着稿照念，一定要有所突破。

这一年，要确保不会忽略功课，因为一旦忽略了，要追上来会更吃力。

唉。

不是我想叹气，不过是开始想到很多会在今年发生的事。

心里有两把声音，一头说：“别担心，要给自己信心，你行的。”
另一头却说：“怎么这么多烦人的事？为什么要忙这么多东西？”

哈，既来之则安之。

好好面对，好好加油吧。

At..Last

"The recollection of the passing year,
with its bitter-sweet memories,
come flooding back and bringing tears in my eyes…
cause I know the past moments will never come back again.

Yet, I’m looking with bright and expectant eyes to the coming year…
what new adventures and exciting moments it would bring…"

Today, facebook's homepage is filled with status(s) talking about new year. It's the last day of 2011, and 2012 will be coming soon.

I was trying to review the whole 2011, a year full of many special things. Every time when I was down, I appreciate that I had you all standing by my side.

Now the time had passed, the hardships are over. While reviewing, though it was really hard and difficult during the time I faced all of it, now I found the memories...are sweet =)

Now, another new year is coming, and we'll be facing a lot of new challenges. Sometimes when I think of the new things, I feel scared and even hope that I can escape from all those things.

Well, I would like to make myself a promise here. Whatever challenge I face next year, I should always face all of that with courageous and optimism. All the hardship will become history one day, and that will be the time I found myself have learnt something.

Hopefully next year everything will go on smooth and everyone be happy and well-being.

>I just hope that you will be happy always and your boundless love for me will never decrease.

三毛

没有想到，当我真正开始阅读三毛的文字时，已是三毛逝世的二十年后。我想不通，藏在每一个文字背后的三毛，是那么纯真、那么活泼、又那么得人欢心的女生，她怎么会选择这样的方式离开大家？

看着睢澔平——三毛的知己，为三毛写下的文字，我彻底地被这对“心灵知交”打动了。

同样多情的两个人，同样以细腻的文字打动人心。三毛笔下的沙漠，充满柔情、充满热情；睢澔平笔下的三毛，依然纯真、依然活泼、依然得人欢心。读着他们的文字，我的心跟着起起伏伏。不需要太多华丽的辞藻，把心写出来，就能令人感动。

撒哈拉沙漠，这片遍布三毛与荷西脚印的土地。这里发生过许许多多的事，林林种种的人出现在三毛的生命中，在三毛眼里，“每一粒沙地里的石子，我尚且知道真爱它；每一次日出和日落，我都舍不得忘怀，更何况，这一张张活生生的脸孔，我又如何能在回忆里抹去他们？”

我无法不被三毛的文字打动。她的每一个句子，看得人心湖荡漾，总会想，沙漠上的故事，是真真切切地发生了。很感人，真的。

二十年前，三毛离开时，留下了撒哈拉的柔情，直到今天。她的人生很精彩，撒哈拉只是其中的一小部分。睢澔平他把三毛写活了，我眼睁睁地看着已经撒手尘寰的三毛出现在自己眼前，看着她的一生，甚至看透了她的心。睢澔平用笔让三毛活过来了。

睢澔平的文字很真，这点让我觉得和三毛很像。他不只是文字真，待人也真，两人都很真诚的对待彼此的友谊。睢澔平为三毛踏上了撒哈拉，尔后为她创作了二十幅画、二十首诗、二十首曲，在二十年后终于出版了这本《三毛的最后一封信》。

内心的悸动有时候很难表达出来，就像我现在一样。该如何形容这样的一种心情呢？是感动，却又无从说起，是吗？

撒哈拉的柔情不会消失，她会一直一直流传下去……

看部落格

看部落格，朋友的。

猛然想起自己的这片田地已荒废多时，这才赶紧回来浇水施肥，希望能挽救仅存的那一小片绿意，再次激起心中对文字的热情。

许是因为习惯了将心情化为日记簿上的文字，也突然不再那么急切想和人分享自己心里所想的，反而更喜欢静静地一个人写日记。网上的东西，可能没人看，但也可能一开始有人看，就成了公开的秘密，因此写博文的时候变得不直接了、有所保留了、无法敞开心怀了。

冲动。真的是冲动。要不是因为冲动，我不太可能开部落格，也不可能在一开始的时候，一个假期而已就吐出好几篇博文来。不知道接下来会是如何，但像部落格这样一个抒发心情的天地，老实说我还是喜欢的。

有些心情，藏在泛黄的纸上，轻轻翻阅，让时光倒带，偷偷再次体会过去曾有过的心情。
有些想法，透过键盘流尽无边无际的网络世界，偶尔重新阅读，回味过去曾有过的想法和体验。

日记写下的，是心里说不出来的话。部落格留下的，是难以埋藏的喜悦或悲伤。

热爱文字，随时随地，用文字记录下人生的点点滴滴。。。^^

为你祝福

“蛤？！”

和许许多多的人一样，一接到消息，“蛤”是我的第一反应。这声“蛤”的背后，是吃惊，是震撼，更多的是，希望第二次能听到不一样的答案……

很难接受，却不得不接受。

从知道你入院，到听闻你病态严重，当中心情的起伏是巨大的。不住地为你祈祷、祝福，急切地希望他们能捎来关于你的好消息。

时间很短。短得让人不知所措。

或许，这就是你与大家上一世结下的缘。

很短，但却留下回忆。

你用生命教育我们，应该更懂得把握当下，因为生命无常。你让你身边的人，对珍惜身边的一切，有了更深的体会。

你的位子，就在我隔壁。我总是很容易就想起你……

你走后，我更担心的是你的家人。母子连心，失去爱儿的痛，我怎想象不到？好希望你的母亲能赶快振作起来，把对你的爱加倍付出给你的兄弟。

至少，在时间即将停止的最后一刻，他们都伴你走过了。至少，他们没有让最后的最后，留下遗憾。

愿爱你的人能尽快走出伤痛。

愿你安详地离去，来世乘愿再来。