Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

through living a wrong life in which they commit
immoral acts, and then think of meditation. They
practice this a little and so relax, again become strong,
commit unwholesome deeds, experience strain, and so
on. Meditation is not meant for this.
3. The third is a mistake which seems to occur most
among lay people. They often have no wise guru to
guide them and so do not receive instructions, without
which there is no proper experience. Instead of
practicing with the help of a good teacher, these people
just read books and try to get all the information from
them. In this way meditation is not regarded as religious,
but instead is often taken up with concern for bodily
well-being. Without a guru, without instructions, and
with wrong aims, such meditation is without foundation
(see Appendix III, A).
4. Other people think that meditation is only a
psychological matter. With this idea they do not care for
the development of correct sitting, such as the
cross-legged lotus position, and they know nothing of
the seven conditions for posture in meditation. These
are important, so I give them briefly in order from the
bottom of the body to the top (see also Ch. VII, F):
a. Legs crossed and folded in the lotus posture
(padmasana);
b. Hands placed in the lap, their position (mudra)
varying according to the meditation practiced;
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