Calm Abiding

"...one takes a stable seat with good alignment...practicing Calm Abiding to rest their road-weary mind.." - Walking the Wakeful Path Home

Here is the general instruction for Calm Abiding practice.

As for points of view, these are:

1. Recalling that the Faculties Being Trained by Calm Abiding are Mindfulness--the capability to rest one's attention upon an object of attention, and Awareness--in this case, the capability to sense where one's attention is actually placed, whether on the desired object of attention or elsewhere.
   
   

2. Recalling that the Experiential Qualities of Calm Abiding are Friendliness and Non-judgement. For the duration of practice, one has a 'front-row seat' to observing their own mind. To develop a healthy relationship with Calm Abiding practice, it is recommended to extend friendliness and non-judgement to whatever may arise within one's own mind during practice and to release expectations for swift accomplishment of expert skill in working with one's own mind.

As for points of practice, these are:

1. Find a good space to practice in.
   This would be a fairly quiet with few incidental interruptions and little-to-no foot traffic--it could be a dedicated space at home, or in a quiet public space such as a library study room. The room itself should have good lighting--ideally natural lighting--yet not be too bright. The room should be fairly free of clutter or projects in-progress that could serve as a distraction during practice. The temperature of the room should be fairly comfortable. The room should be well ventilated without being too breezy.
   
   These qualities of a space to practice in set up good initial conditions for practice. Busy, crowded locations, outdoor locations, or locations surrounded by domestic clutter could be considered more challenging spaces to practice in.
   
   

2. Take a good seat.
   One takes a seat on a cushion or chair across from a fairly stable scene to the front. The knees should be at the level of the hips or a little lower than the hips, with feet touching the floor. If one is missing lower limbs, then supports could be used to stabilize the body in an upright position. In a chair, the feeling should be like a tripod between the two feet and the base of the hips. On a cushion, the legs should be crossed naturally in a way that allows for stability and uprightness of the torso, free of pain or irritation in the leg joints.
   
   The crown of the head should have some lift to it in an upward and forward direction that gives a slight tuck to the chin. The back should feel stable and buoyant, allowing the internal organs to rest with their natural weight. The shoulders can be released by letting the arms rest at the sides of the torso. Without moving the elbows too much, the hands are then placed palm-down on the thighs. If one is missing upper limbs, let what remains rest in space.
   
   

3. Open the senses.
   Allow the open eyes to rest, looking forward in a natural, diffused gaze. The vision takes in a full panorama without focusing on any one thing. The vision is not blurred, yet light is simply allowed in. If one is over-stimulated by the panorama in front, the gaze can be lowered to the floor, around six feet or so in front. If one finds themselves drowsy with a lowered gaze, they could raise the gaze up to the horizon.
   
   The other senses can be held in a similar way--hearing and feeling should take in the panorama of sense perception without focusing on any one thing. Smell and taste are left to rest. The tongue can be rested without too much effort at the roof of the mouth, behind the front teeth. If any senses are missing, as in the case of blindness or deafness, these missing senses can be left as they are, without requiring any further judgement.
   
   If one discovers during the practice session that the senses happen to be focused on a particular object, one gently returns the senses back to open spaciousness and the attention back to the breath.
   
   

4. Place the attention on an object.
   Bring your attention to the tactile experience of the breath as it enters and exits the body. Follow the breath gently as you breathe naturally, without deepening the breath or clinging to it. The experience of the breath is the focus here, rather than ideas about the breath--such as counting breaths, evaluating the quality of the breathing, and so on. The attention should mostly focus on the breath yet still allow for the panorama of sense perceptions to enter one's awareness--perhaps an 80 / 20 emphasis of attention between the breath and the panorama could be a good target.
   
   

5. Open the mind.
   Similar to how the senses remain open to the outer environment, the mind remains open to the inner environment.
   
   If a mental focus arises during the practice session--for example, a fond memory, a to-do list, a timely song, and so on, one gently returns the mind to open spaciousness and the attention back to the breath.
   
   If especially strong visions, judgements, or opinions arise during the practice session--for example, an embarrassing memory, an intimate fantasy, an argument with a perceived rival, and so on, this is where the qualities of friendliness and non-judgement are applied. With friendliness and non-judgement, one gently returns the mind to open spaciousness and the attention back to the breath.
   
   If especially important ideas or insights arise during the practice session--for example, a solution to a difficult problem, an idea for a new creative work, or a new perspective on an old concern, one also applies the qualities of friendliness and non-judgement to prioritize gently returning the mind to open spaciousness and the attention back to the breath.
   
   If one finds one does not particularly want to return the mind to open spaciousness and the attention back to the breath during the practice session, this can also be met with friendliness and non-judgement. One then gently returns the mind to open spaciousness and the attention back to the breath.
   
   

In this way, one practices Calmly Abiding with what arises in one's own mind using the breath as a support.

To build one's practice:

One should practice Calm Abiding in the way described above, beginning with short, fairly frequent, ie., daily or 3 x weekly sessions of 15 minutes or so, building up to sessions of 45 minutes as time allows. One should stretch or move gently between sessions, with attention at the crown of the head, at the heart center, or at the soles of the feet.

One can extend their Calm Abiding practice during the session into working with Meditation Focuses as the inspiration arises.

Practicing Calm Abiding is known to increase one's stability of mind--to place the mind with reduced distraction, one's clarity of mind--to know what one is actually paying attention to, and one's strength of mind--to return the mind gently to a desired object of attention.

At the end of a session of Calm Abiding practice, one should dedicate without bias any openness, clarity, sense of well-being, or beneficial insight that may have arisen during the session to the benefit of all the people and all the beings one encounters in one's daily life.

May this instruction in Calm Abiding help develop a good foundation for determining the way home. May it be of benefit.