Ornoth

Buddhist teachers stress the importance of two kinds of meditation: daily sitting, and sitting in a group with other practitioners. In my observation, it seems much more difficult for people to find time for daily practice, as opposed to sitting with a whole sangha.

Part of that is that group sittings have a formal schedule, whereas one can always time-shift an activity one does alone. And there’s undoubtedly the positive influence of peer pressure to get you out of the house and down to the meditation center, which you don’t have on your own.

But, as usual, there’s more to it than that.

I think a lot of people meditate in order to feel like they’re doing something good. Or, more circuituously, to look like they’re doing something good.

I think that’s the nub of the problem. No matter who you are, I think there’s a subconscious motivator to sit as a way of influencing either one’s own self-perception, or the way one is perceived by others. When your main reason for sitting is for external appearances, you’re no longer doing it for the inner benefit to yourself.

Buddhism is all about your internal mind states. If you practice in order to alter someone else’s perception of you, you’re not really doing the internal work that needs to be done. You need to engage in the practice for its own merit, not for how others look at you as a result.

I think that’s one of the reasons why people often find it hard to sit alone: because no one is watching!

I have to admit that I, too, have had difficulty maintaining a daily solo meditation practice. For whatever reason, sitting at home just doesn’t work for me.

However, I have been able to find one way to sit pretty routinely: by going ouside for half an hour during my lunch break at work. I’ve been able to sit in numerous parks, squares, and other public spaces.

Having grown up in Maine, I’m a nature-lover, and I love sitting outdoors, whether it’s by Boston Harbor, the Charles River, or in the urban canyons. If there’s a little breeze or a little sun, that’s enough to encourage me to plunk myself down and spend a little quality time observing. So far it has worked pretty well for me, and noon seems to be a better time for me than early morning or evening.

But finding it easier to meditate in public spaces has got me questioning to what degree I’m motivated by a desire for others—even strangers—to see me a particular way, versus doing it solely for the value inherent in meditation. It’s kind of hard to judge, since being outdoors at all and being publicly visible are pretty much synonymous when you live and work in the middle of a city of five million.

I think those motivational questions are something every meditator must watch. But personally, I’m just glad that I’ve found a time and method for daily practice that works pretty well for me.