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First Floor - Small Vehicle • Module 1

• Introduction
• Video 1: Introduction to Buddhist Meditation Theory
• Video 2: How śamatha-Vipaśyanā Works
• Video 3: Meditation Posture (Optional)

Estimated time to complete: 90 minutes

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Beginning

You’ve probably tried meditation. Maybe through an app promising better sleep, a corporate wellness program teaching stress reduction, a parent’s recommendation to “just breathe,” a friend’s admonishment to enjoy the present moment, or even a Buddhist teacher’s smiling suggestion to let things be as they are. The instructions were simple enough—follow your breath, notice your thoughts, let them go. But what are you actually doing? How is this supposed to help you? What were those techniques designed to do long term? And why did the instructions stop there, just when you started wondering what comes next? Is this all there is to meditation?

What to watch for: How Buddhism spread geographically and evolved into different frameworks. The relationship between these frameworks—are they separate traditions or something more integrated? The question of whether meditation can be extracted from its religious context.

Video

Duration: 19 minutes

You’ve now seen where Buddhist meditation comes from and the scope of what we’ll be exploring. Some people claim that Tibetan Buddhism involves the practice of all three vehicles in a condensed way, which is why it provides a comprehensive perspective on meditation theory that is useful as an overview for secular or Buddhist students of meditation.

What to watch for: How meditation technique has two aspects that work together. The analogies used to explain this relationship. The role of questions in developing insight. Most importantly: what attitude to bring when you notice your mind has wandered.

Video

Duration: 25 minutes

The video you just watched contains what may be the most important instruction you’ll receive in this entire curriculum: when you realize you’ve been lost in thought, the attitude you bring to that moment matters more than whether you can stay focused on your breath.

What to watch for: The seven key points of sitting posture, and the principle behind them. Notice the emphasis on sustainability and comfort over achieving any “correct” form.

Video

Duration: 13 minutes

Now you’re ready for the guided meditation. Don’t worry about doing it correctly. The goal isn’t to achieve a particular state but to observe what happens when you attempt to rest your attention on something as simple as your breath.

What to watch for: The beginning technique for settling. The shift from focused attention to broader awareness. The final instruction to stop all technique. Most importantly: what happens when we simply try to rest attention on breath.

Video

Duration: 17 minutes

What You May Have Noticed

If you tried the guided meditation, you may have noticed something: the mind doesn’t always want to just sit there. It may wander into questions—“What am I supposed to be doing?” “Why am I here?” “How is this supposed to help?”—or into thoughts about more immediately pressing concerns. Some people feel restless, dissatisfied, unable to simply be present with the breath. Some lose count repeatedly, or never quite settle into anything that feels like “meditation.”

A few Insights:

When I first tried meditation, I assumed the goal was to stop my mind from wandering. Every time I drifted into thought, I counted it as failure. I spent years battling my own mind, which of course only made things worse.

Until Next Time

If you choose to practice between now and the next module, here are some suggestions:

For daily practice: Try the breath meditation for 10-15 minutes once a day. Morning often works well, before the day’s concerns accumulate, but any consistent time is fine. Use the guided meditation video, or simply sit and follow the instructions you learned: three deep breaths, attention on the out-breath and the pause, counting to 21 if helpful, then 50/50 awareness.

Questions for Reflection

These questions are designed as ongoing investigations, not one-time exercises. If you’re practicing meditation, let them inform your sessions over time. If you’re studying theory without practicing, use them to think critically about the frameworks you’re learning.

1. The Wandering Mind What form did your mind’s wandering take during the meditation? Direct questions about what you were doing? Thoughts about other concerns? Physical restlessness? Planning? Memories? Notice whether these different forms might share something in common—a movement away from simply being present.

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