top of page
Sleeping Meditation
When practising meditation lying down, the meditator should do so in accordance with the Buddha’s instructions as follows: In the middle watch of the night, lying on his right side, he takes up the posture of a lion, resting one foot on the other; thus collected and composed, he fixes his thought on rising up again.
To clearly comprehend while lying down, the meditator can concentrate on observing, carefully and mindfully, either the feeling at the temple in contact with the pillow, at the buttock or side of the hip in contact with the bed, or on the breathing in and out, until
he is clearly aware of some such feeling as prickling or tingling in the area observed, arising and ceasing from moment to moment.
He then keeps on observing that feeling and also objectively notices the thoughts arising in his mind. While some kinds of thoughts aid and support meditation practice, others are disruptive to the practice. When aware of any thought that might distract and disrupt meditation, he must immediately let go of that thought by returning his concentration on his meditation object, and not follow the distracting thought or allow such thoughts to proliferate, because "Whatever harm a foe may do to a foe, or hater unto one he hates, the
ill-directed mind indeed can do one greater harm" and "What neither mother nor father too, nor any other relative can do, the well-directed mind indeed can do one greater good."
bottom of page