The Jewrican Traveler

I’ve always heard about how great meditation is and I thought, “what better place to start practicing than here in Asia?!” I asked some students the best way to practice meditation and they said the following:

• Get a Buddha statue
• Sit on the floor with your legs crossed
• Have your hands relaxed on your knees
• Have your eyes slightly opened
• Sit up straight
• Don’t think about anything
• Chant ‘A Di Da Phat”

First of all, it’s nearly impossible for me to not think about anything. My mind is constantly clouded with thoughts about everything possible. Even when I told myself to stop thinking, I realized that was a thought in itself.

Second, I was curious about this ‘A Di Da Phat’ business. Some people sometimes say “Nam mo a di da Phat.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it’s English translation.

So then it was time for me to meditate. I followed the steps from above and waited for hopefully a life altering experience. Whenever a thought seeped into my little head, I took a deep breath and tried to let it go. I realized that my deep breathing did make me relax and I felt as if I couldn’t feel my hands at one point. I thought, “sweet, the transformation has begun.” It was either that or my hands were going numb from lack of blood circulation – I couldn’t tell.

Not so long story short, I meditated for 10 minutes before I stopped. I read that meditation is like everything else we learn – practice makes perfect! I’ll try to meditate every day for 10 minutes until I get the hang of it.