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Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

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c. Spinal column straight;<br />

d. Chin drawn inward toward the neck <strong>and</strong> touching the<br />

glottis;<br />

e. Shoulders set well back, <strong>and</strong> open (then the lungs<br />

exp<strong>and</strong> well);<br />

f. Tongue in its natural place; <strong>and</strong><br />

g. Eyes half-open <strong>and</strong> fixed 16 widths of the meditator's<br />

fingers in front (see Appendix I, Part Two,C, 4).<br />

The mistake here is to neglect these seven, thinking that<br />

meditation is only for training the mind in quietness. It<br />

is also necessary to consider the effect of bodily posture<br />

<strong>and</strong> training upon the mind. <strong>Meditation</strong>s in the<br />

Hinayana <strong>and</strong> Mahayana stress the psychological side,<br />

the calming of mental activities <strong>and</strong> the development of<br />

insight. But in the Vajrayana, meditation takes into<br />

account mind <strong>and</strong> body, as mind <strong>and</strong> energy are both<br />

required for Tantric practice (here energy represents the<br />

body). It is necessary in the meditations of Mahayana<br />

<strong>and</strong> Vajrayana that the posture of the body be well<br />

composed.<br />

5. Fifth, there are those who have read many books on<br />

meditation in the different religions of the world.<br />

Taking something from one teaching <strong>and</strong> something<br />

else from another, they try to make a system from this<br />

mixture; or, they are distracted by the many methods<br />

they have read about <strong>and</strong> so try to practice first this <strong>and</strong><br />

then that doctrine, frequently changing from one to<br />

another. People like this cannot go deeply into<br />

54

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