Reddit reviews The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

>What is meditation?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation

My point is there is no single definition. You have to ask the question in the context of something.

>What does Shakyamuni has to say about it?

I don't think the word "meditation" existed in his time. You'd have to use something more specific.

>What does Bodhidharma has to say about it?

>>MANY roads lead to the Path 1, but basically there are only two: reason and practice. To enter by reason means to realize the essence through instruction and to believe that all living things share the same true nature, which isn’t apparent because it’s shrouded by sensation and delusion. Those who turn from delusion back to reality, who meditate on walls 2, the absence of self and other, the oneness of mortal and sage, and who remain unmoved even by scriptures are in complete and unspoken agreement with reason. Without moving, without effort, they enter, we say, by reason.

>>Footnote 2: Walls. After he arrived in China, Bodhidharma spent nine years in meditation facing the rock wall of a cave near Shaolin Temple. Bodhidharma’s walls of emptiness connect all opposites, including self and other, mortal and sage.

Outline of Practice, from The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma, This appears to be the only text that scholars agree is likely from Bodhidharma and this is the only section in the text that uses "meditation" or "meditate". There are three additional texts in the book, some of which include "meditate" or "meditation", but scholars think they were likely written posthumously and attributed to him later.


>What later zen masters have to say about it?

Depends on who you include in your list of "Zen masters". Depending on how broad or narrow you make your list it could range from meditation is the only way to get enlightened all the way to meditation might hinder your ability to becoming enlightened (or perhaps make it impossible), and anything in between. Or even something outside of that scope.


>What do you have to say about it. Do you practise it? How you do it?

Meditation seems to be a critical component to integrating any kind of "enlightenment experience" into life in the "real world", but that statement also depends of your view of "enlightenment experiences" or your experience with "enlightenment experiences".

Yes, I do practice.

I sit in half/full lotus on a meditation cushion with a meditation mat underneath. Both knees touching the mat for stability. I close my eyes and sit there. Sometimes for a minute. Sometimes for an hour.

I do not believe meditation is a requirement for "enlightenment" nor do I believe regular meditation is a requirement for maintaining one's "enlightened state". That said, the odds seem to be stacked towards meditation being useful for "enlightenment" as well as being useful for maintaining an "enlightened state".

Everyone has to figure out what works for them.

I use the kindle version:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005EYXBGM/

Worth the $10?

https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Teaching-Bodhidharma-ebook/dp/B005EYXBGM/ref=pd_sbs_351_20?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B005EYXBGM&pd_rd_r=92DJ5N45DCCYTYXBDFQD&pd_rd_w=gWBCY&pd_rd_wg=VbF0Y&psc=1&refRID=92DJ5N45DCCYTYXBDFQD