An Introductory Guide to Meditation

Parts of this text are translated from the Chinese transcript.

GarTul Chimi Dorjee Rinpoche

2025.06.28 Taipei

Reminder: for the actual practices mentioned in this text, please follow Rinpoche's guidance in person.

Opening and Preparation

Before we go into sharing about the meditation, we begin with some breathing exercise.

Before we begin, just relax your body. Make sure there is no unnecessary stress that you are creating in your body. It is good if you can breathe from the belly, as deep and as low as possible. Never rush yourself; just relax and slowly begin. If you have a little bit of headache or tension, then just simply breathe out slowly.

If you are new, your exhalation may be weaker, but that is no problem. You just learn the rhythm, and the force is going to increase later. Breathing is not like a muscle, which needs a long time to build up; it takes only a few days to develop. So don't rush yourself, don't push yourself. Do it carefully, with good posture and understanding.

For safety, with breathing and wind exercises we need to be careful, not forceful and not too strong, because internally our body has many sensitive and very small nerves that can be damaged. Forcing it may cause unnecessary headaches and internal damage. So begin very gently, with your own understanding, slowly, slowly.

Points to Note

If you have high blood pressure, it is better not to use force, or to skip it. If you have just eaten and feel very full, you can also skip it, because it involves pressing the abdomen.

Go at your own pace, and don't create too much stress or pain for yourself. It is good if you can go as deep and as low as possible, deeper into the belly. You don't need to push yourself to be fast. Just relax and slowly begin.

Most important is to be sensitive to your body, and not to create unnecessary stress and pain.

Always listen to your body, take care of it, and never force it.

Basic Exhalation Exercise

In this exercise, how fast or slow you pump the belly is up to your own judgment; you don't have to follow anyone else's speed. If you feel some problem with the breath or some tension, then don't go so fast. If you want to go very fast, that is also fine; it depends on your own condition.

The volume of the inhalation is also up to your own judgment. If you feel pain from taking in too much, a headache or pain in the body, then don't inhale so much.

We do three rounds: first 60, then 70, then another round of 60 again. How much you breathe out and how fast depends on your own state. The main thing is to breathe out: press the belly and blow the air out.

How to Practice

There are three ways:

1. Breathe out through the nose as usual, pressing the belly.
2. If you feel it is not enough, you can add more force from the chest.
3. If you feel it is uncomfortable, slow yourself down.

Benefits of the Practice

This practice has several benefits:

• It activates the abdominal muscles
• It helps the digestive system
• It helps generate body heat
• It purifies the winds
• It raises our energy
• It adjusts our posture

It can also show where the body is weak. Sometimes it is lower back pain, sometimes upper back pain, or nerves we rarely use. Through this practice you can find where the weak parts are, and help them start to function.

It can also help clear brain fog, sleepiness and dullness, so that we become more awake. Of course this practice can be done at any time, but it is best done two or three hours after a meal.

Just now we practiced with 60, 70 and 60, but that is because we are practicing as a group. When you practice on your own, there is no fixed number, no fixed speed and no fixed volume of breath.

Once you go beyond two or three hundred exhalations, it really can show which nerves and parts of the body are weaker, which areas are not functioning much, and where the stress and tension are. Based on this, you can stretch, relax and move that particular area. So the practice itself is very simple, but its functions are many.

Basic Nine-Round Breathing

(Note: the nine-round breathing uses a specific hand position. Please receive Rinpoche's complete instruction before practicing it.)

Next is the nine-round breathing, which is a way to cleanse the stale winds. It includes several different ways of breathing; the exhalation in particular has some differences, with three different levels.

Three Types of Exhalation

The first exhalation: after a deep inhalation, it begins slowly, then with force in the middle, and ends slowly. That is, it is long, starting gentle, with a big force in the middle, and ending gentle. But this forceful exhalation is done slowly, not quickly.

The second exhalation: with force, but short. You release it all at once.

The third exhalation: very simple, without any sound. Very gentle, breathing out without any sound.

Finger Position

The finger position is important: you are not squeezing the nose shut from above, but placing the finger lightly below the nostril. The angle is important.

When we do wind and breathing exercises, the key is not to force ourselves, because internally our body has many sensitive nerves and blood vessels. Being too forceful may cause internal damage. So always do it gently, with understanding, following the instructions fully.

The Three Rounds of the Nine-Round Breathing

First round: begin with the right hand. With the right index finger placed lightly below the left nostril, gently close the left nostril from below and take your full inhalation through the right nostril. Then move the finger lightly below the right nostril, gently close it, and breathe out through the left.

• First breath: a deep inhalation on the right. Then breathe out on the left, first gentle, then with force, then gentle again; "weak, strong, weak" completes one breath
• Second breath: a deep inhalation, and release it all at once
• Third breath: breathe out without any sound

Second round: switch hands, with the left hand below the right nostril

• Repeat the same three types of exhalation

Third round: without blocking any nostril

• Repeat the same three types of breath

This is how we do the nine-round breathing. Even if you can't do it properly right now, no problem; we are learning. Always listen to your body.

The Deeper Meaning of the Nine-Round Breathing

This breathing technique is very special. Many serious practitioners, such as those practicing the Six Yogas of Naropa, begin with this kind of cleansing breathing to clear the stale winds.

It has great benefit for the entire channel system that the left and right nostrils connect to, the left channel, the right channel and the central channel. Our entire respiratory system becomes very active and clear.

I suggest and recommend that you check your breath, check both sides of your respiratory system. If you feel a blockage, you can open it up with this special practice, or with general exercise such as stretching, to make sure both nostrils are open.

There are many traditional doctors with forty or fifty years of experience who say that when they check their patients, often one nostril or both are blocked. When you get sick, there is something wrong with your breathing; when you are sick, you also cannot breathe well.

Once our wind passages are open, it benefits us in every aspect: mentally, physically and emotionally. If the nostrils are blocked, many diseases accumulate. Some people become dull, and the body has all kinds of aches and pains. So keeping our breathing open benefits body and mind in every way.

Basically, when you are sick, one nostril or the other is often blocked. And if you are about to get sick, the nose also starts to block.

So it is crucial to check whether there is any blockage. Opening up the airway is very important, because it is connected with whether we are healthy. The nine-round breathing can help us open the airway. The key is to keep the breathing open. If there is a blockage, make sure to deal with it.

The best time to practice is early in the morning. Don't do it casually at any time of day; at most, three times a day.

Nine-Round Breathing with the Four Elements

Now we try to connect with the external elements: earth, water, fire and wind.

Our body comes completely from the external elements, so we are just like one drop of water in the ocean. Psychologically, we are connecting with the entire external world.

In particular, we focus on the energy of the elements. Normally when we look at the earth or the water, we don't have any special thought about it. So right now we focus on the entire grandness and vastness of the elements; we particularly focus on the great energy that is there.

How to Combine the Four Elements

When we inhale, we try to extract all the elements. If you find it difficult to do all four at once, you can do the earth element, the wind element, the water element and the fire element separately.

We try to connect the external elements with our own internal elements:

• Our body's mass, such as the flesh, the muscles and the bones, is the earth element
• The water element is our bloodstream and any liquid in the body
• The fire element is the body heat
• The wind element is the oxygen

We extract from outside, trying to purify the elements within us and make them more energetic.

If you cannot focus on all four elements at once, choose one at a time. For example, if you feel you especially need the fire element or the water element, focus on that one energy.

In this way our internal four elements connect with the external four elements. We extract the elemental energy and power of the entire universe, and bring it into our body, and our body becomes healthier and stronger.

Key Points of the Practice

If you are familiar with it, you can relax and be at ease, and slowly and gently feel your body. Your own mind will give you the details of what to do next.

If you rush and force it, many details will be forgotten or skipped. So I suggest being calm and relaxed; nothing very serious is going on. Come back to yourself, slowly and gently, and follow all the instructions.

When we exhale, visualize whatever diseases, sicknesses and negative things are within the body going out completely. Once they go out, they are completely dissolved by the force of the external elements. Don't think that what goes out remains out there. It goes out and is purified.

The Principle of the Connection

We are part of the elements. We cannot set our feet down without the earth. We are like fish in the water; we are literally within the elements. Every food we eat and every drink we drink is part of the elements.

Even though naturally we are connected, mentally we are not connected; we are too busy, and we don't think about it. So the connection depends on our intention and our attention. We intentionally look for the elements and think about them, and connect with them mentally.

Nine-Round Breathing with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

The first two techniques can be shared with anyone and done by anyone; there is no problem. The third one is more for practitioners.

In this technique, we visualize the vastness and greatness of space. We invite the countless buddhas and great beings of the three times, with their aspiration, their compassion, their prayers and all their great qualities, because their aspiration and prayers have always been and forever are connected with sentient beings.

All we need to do is open up.

The Example of Rain

Here is an example: heavy rain falls over an entire continent, an entire city. But if no one prepares a container to receive that fresh water, the rain does not help. In the same way, if you don't open up and prepare, the blessings cannot reach you.

In this practice we are not just inviting them. We are also looking toward their state and their great qualities, we are praising them, and at the same time we are asking them to give us their blessings. So when we inhale, we are extracting all their great qualities into our body, literally filling up our body, every cell of our body, every pore, completely filled.

Visualization on the Exhalation

You don't need a special visualization on the exhalation, because during the inhalation you have already received the blessings and been completely purified. But if you feel you need it, you can visualize the obstacles within you going out in the form of dark air with the exhalation, and dissolving into the energy of the external elements.

But we don't particularly recommend it, because when we think about these things, it somewhat affects us psychologically, as if there is still something dirty to be released. Actually, during the inhalation you are already clean.

Guided Visualization

The infinite space is filled with all the buddhas, bodhisattvas and enlightened beings. Some are as large as mountains, some as small as dust particles. But no matter what size, their quality, their activity and their purity are exactly the same in greatness.

We look up to their brilliant presence, and with a sense of gratitude and joy we extract their essential qualities. Let all their essential blessings dissolve into us and fill us. Every cell and every stream of blood is completely blessed.

The Core Theory of Meditation

We have shared about meditation at length before. Today we will try to share in a little bit different way.

When we talk about meditation, we need to know three parts: the meditation technique, the meditation principle, and the meditation practice.

Normally our understanding of meditation is very limited: we think meditation just means a certain technique.

The meaning of meditation is to habituate, to get more and more familiarized. That is called meditation.

Today's Technique: Follow the Breath and Experience the Body

There are countless different techniques of meditation. The technique for today is a very natural, very normal approach, very close to our own self.

The technique is to follow the breath, and while following the breath, to feel your body. It is that simple.

Just keep your natural breath, your everyday breath, your normal breath. Keep trying to follow it, and feel the sensation of your body.

With normal breathing, we feel the various states of our body.

It sounds very boring; it feels like it is nothing. But there are many beautiful and great benefits that are going to be revealed to you.

Why Do We Need This Practice?

Generally, our mental state is very much oriented outward. We think about everything outside. When it comes to ourselves, someone else always knows better. This body is with us 24/7, all year round, yet we don't know it in detail. It is a very strange thing.

We may know more about this place, that restaurant and many other things. But when it comes to your own body, a doctor actually knows much more about it than you do.

So this simple technique really helps you to experience your body. What you are, who you are, what you are experiencing, everything about you starts to reveal itself to you.

The technique is to follow your breath and experience your body, as much as possible and as deeply as possible.

Levels of Experience

When you start to experience, the level of experience changes; you start to progress through different levels. It is just like a scuba diver.

When we look at the ocean, for us it is just a sandy beach and the waves. But those who swim out there have a different view, and those who dive deep have an entirely different vision of the ocean.

So the level at which we feel ourselves in the body also progresses and changes. At first it is the gross level: your joint pain and muscle pain start to come up. Then there are various kinds of discomfort, pain and tension, and the level becomes deeper and deeper.

Those pains, that soreness and that discomfort do not appear only because you start to meditate. They were already there; we just didn't notice them. It is because we meditate that we notice them, and they reveal themselves.

It is not only the surface pain and discomfort I just mentioned. Slowly you go into deeper states, just like deep divers, whose vision changes every second and every minute. So what we need to do is follow this technique, and keep on doing it, and you will see yourself more deeply.

What Is Practice?

Practice means to keep experiencing, without running away. If we don't experience, but think with our head, imagining and expecting, then we are not connecting with reality; we are just collecting our own data. The actual, whole experience of our own state is what we call practice.

We already know the technique and the meaning of meditation in theory. What matters next is to really use these techniques, and follow them to experience and feel our own state.

When you experience, you have a kind of clarity. The details of the body reveal themselves to you clearly, for example, which place hurts and what is happening where. Because you clearly see details you normally don't notice, you can also find out where their root is.

Finding the Root of Pain

All experiences, whether stress, tension or pain, have two sources:

The First Source: The Body

• Poor posture
• Too little exercise
• An irregular diet
• An irregular lifestyle

When we see where the pain is and discover that a certain posture is not correct, or that our lifestyle needs adjusting, when we know the pain itself and find its root, we actually have many options. We don't need to wait for someone else to do something for us. If we are aware and willing, we can adjust and change, make our lifestyle healthier, add more exercise, and so on. Through this, the pain can improve.

The Second Source: The Mind

Even if you have a healthy lifestyle and no physical problem, there is some tension, and some tension is related to the mind. Sometimes, even though we exercise every day and eat properly, a bad thought just pops up and leaves us without energy for the whole day. Then we know that this challenge comes from the mind, and there are many teachings and techniques to purify and adjust the mind.

The True Purpose of Meditation

Meditation is a deeper observation of our own state. This deeper observation is not sitting there with eyes closed, waiting in the dark for some external force to change you and help you. It is not like that.

Through meditation we look at our own existence more realistically, and connect more directly with our own state. When you have a very clear understanding of yourself, you know how to help yourself. Being clear about yourself is what we need.

When we understand ourselves more clearly and more deeply, everything reveals itself. It is just like a deep dive into the ocean: every second and every minute, the deeper you go, the vision changes. The point is that we have to do it ourselves and experience it ourselves. Only through your own experience, being clear about your own state, are you capable of helping yourself.

If you are open, if you are willing, if you are determined, it can help us. Even the Buddha went through many different techniques and many different teachings, and found that they could take him only so far. He walked on his own, practiced in his own way, and found his own inner freedom. Through his personal experience he came to inner freedom. We also need to do it ourselves: with our own understanding of meditation, its function, technique and meaning, we follow it and practice, and just like the Buddha, we come to a full understanding of our own state.

The Importance of Experience

In our day-to-day experience, we are actually not aware of what we experience. When we try to find out what exactly we are experiencing, for most of the time we are experiencing the mind.

When you cross the street, you notice things: this bus is coming, that person looks like this, there is something next to him. These are all thoughts. With those thoughts, we feel our heartbeat changing, something in our abdomen, even the body tensing. But most of this still comes from the thoughts in our mind.

If we follow this simple meditation, it helps us return to the original, natural experience of the body, so that we are not only experiencing the mind as we usually do, but are able to experience the body. Normally we have very little connection with our body; we really lack connection with it, which is a very strange thing. This meditation helps us connect with the body, with the direct and original experience of the body.

The Importance of the Body-Mind Connection

During this meditation, we need to try to find and connect with that natural body experience, as much as possible.

Only by understanding our deeper state can we find a healthier way. We actually track down the state of the mind through the experience of the body. Because tension in the body comes from mental stress, we then know to adjust our mental state. So the body becomes the fundamental ground.

Any so-called higher practice is rooted on the ground of the body. No matter how high the tree is, the root is in the ground. So based on the body, we find out what is not right, for example poor posture or not enough exercise.

This really gives you a great gift. Besides longevity and a healthier body, our emotions also become stronger. And because of this, we then have the chance to purify and transform the mind.

Usually we have no idea about our own mind. We keep checking with the mind, asking what its state is. But that state is not stable. Sometimes it gives you a definite answer, and sometimes it comes with a whole bundle of answers, and you don't know what to think. So it is better to simply use the information of the body to check the state of the mind.

This is not as simple as it looks. Misalignment of the body brings all kinds of pain and disease; body and mind are closely connected. So once we understand how body and mind affect and connect with each other, by adjusting the body properly we can greatly benefit the mind.

Right now our posture is generally not good, so the circulation is not good, pain arises here and there, and diseases build up.

So we use this meditation to understand and listen to the messages of the body, and then we can adjust the mind.

This simple method reveals your own state to you. With that clarity, we also have more options to deal with it. Once we are clear about our state, we have many options; we know how to adjust ourselves. Adjusting ourselves relieves our stress and pain.

So now the most important part is the practice. Now that we have this simple technique, we need to habituate, again and again, and make things more obvious and clear to you. That is meditation.

The Principle of Meditation

The last part is the principle of meditation.

Normally, when we see pain, discomfort or stress, we immediately react. But this reaction keeps us from seeing the source of the pain and stress, and the reaction itself becomes another challenge for us.

So during meditation, all we need to do is just know, just recognize, without reacting.

Even if you need to react, try to delay it, lengthen that time, and keep tracing: where is this discomfort, stress or pain coming from? That is, we need time to analyze and observe, instead of immediately reacting. When we react immediately without knowing the cause, it is very easy to get into a worse state and create more problems.

So with the support of this meditation technique, we don't react immediately; we delay the reaction, and the key then is to keep tracing back and find out where the cause is.

So next, we need to practice this simple technique. As for how to know our mind, we have discussed many details before (see the teaching "Meditation Practice and Q&A"). New students can discuss it with those who have learned it before, and ask each other.

Meditation in Practice

To sum up the technique: relax your body and calm your mind. Body and mind are in a clear and alert state, while your breath is natural. With each incoming and outgoing breath, the body has some sensations, because the oxygen is carried into the body with the breath. Wherever your body feels it, follow it there.

Experience the sensations of the body as much as possible, as deeply as possible.

Following the breath has many benefits, because we are feeling the whole sensation of the body and always have a fresh experience. This fresh experience helps the mind settle. Otherwise the mind feels bored with this and bored with that, and runs here and there. When you follow the breath, the oxygen goes there and you feel fresh; just go along with that fresh feeling.

Always remember: this is my breath, this is my body, this is my mind. Experience the natural state of your body. However it is, let it be like that, and feel it that way.

Slowly, the existing pain and stress in the body will come up, maybe from the muscles and joints, maybe the legs, any part. Whenever you notice this stress and tension, just gently and slowly know it, and tell yourself: "Relax, relax."

We need to know where all this tension comes from. It comes from poor posture or poor circulation, which causes stiffness. Stiffness causes tension, tension creates stress, and this internal stress brings blockage. Over time it becomes chronic stress, and finally leads to pain. Pain also affects our emotions and makes us feel unsettled. If it is left alone for a long time, in serious cases it may turn into something like cancer.

So we need to know that this is also what we call suffering. We often talk about the suffering of the hungry ghost realm, the animal realm and the hell realm, but the suffering of the human realm is this whole path from tension and stress to serious disease.

If we recognize tension and stress, we remind ourselves to relax, as much as possible. Because if the mind is not relaxed, even if you look like you are meditating, inside you are collapsing, and that is not meditation.

The key is to recognize tension, stress and this kind of suffering. The moment you notice it, it already loosens a little. We remind ourselves to relax, and relax again, and find that we can see our inner state more and more deeply. This clarity, the ability to observe and experience our own state, also brings more options. You can help yourself relax in different ways, so that the body is more at ease and the mind flows more smoothly.

This technique can actually be used at any time. We often don't take good care of our bodies. In daily life, maybe walking in the street or in a shopping mall, you suddenly notice tension in some part of the body. Then you can let it relax by simply noticing it.

This method, this technique, helps us become more sensitive to the body. You may find it strange that for no particular reason, the chest, the neck or the heart is tense. When you notice it, let it relax.

If something needs posture adjustment or lifestyle change, do it. But don't expect some amazing effect right away. We should be realistic. The key is to keep clarity about the body, to be open, and to let the body be something we can go deeply into. Then we have more control over ourselves, and don't need to depend on others to take care of us. Whether on a bus in the city or in the mountains, you are able to take good care of yourself.

The most obvious is the pain in the muscles and joints. Deeper, it affects the organs, and deeper still, the nerves. You can even feel it when the blood flow is blocked.

Looking deeper, you can even feel whether the blood flow is smooth. In the practice of Highest Yoga Tantra, you can even sense the subtle channels. These subtle blockages are not caused by present emotions; they are memories from many lifetimes. As we keep observing the body, these memories can gradually open up as well.

This is a bonus point I wanted to share. If you only stay with the muscle and joint pain, you may feel bored, but in fact there are deeper levels behind it.

Guided Meditation

Make yourself comfortable and sit steadily. Relax your body and calm your mind.

As a gentle reminder, tell yourself: this is my own body, my own breath, my own experience. We don't need to expect anything from anywhere. Just stay close to yourself, and be comfortable with yourself.

Follow your incoming breath and outgoing breath, and observe your body. Go as deep as you can, and experience as much as you can. Feel your body naturally.

Keep following your breath and experiencing your body. However your body is, experience it as it is.

Simply follow the incoming and outgoing breath, and experience your body.

If you experience any discomfort or unease in your body, gently tell yourself: "Relax." Once more: "Relax." Completely relax.

Remember, your mind should stay clear. Make sure you don't fall asleep with the relaxation.

Keep following the incoming and outgoing breath, and feel your body as deeply as possible.

Relaxation is your main skill here. If you are able to relax, you are able to meditate.

Slowly and gently, open your eyes. You can rub your hands until they are warm and place them over your eyes for a moment.

Was there any difficulty? Don't let meditation become something unfamiliar. Let yourself go deeper and deeper into your own body.

Questions and Answers

On Observing and Reacting

A student asked: When we observe without reacting, the pain goes deeper and deeper. In the end, do we send it out? Is that the final purpose?

When you genuinely and sincerely ask yourself to relax and settle, the effect is very good. Definitely, you are able to release it.

When I said "don't react," it means we can observe the sensations of the body, our emotions and experiences, whether mild or intense. The problem usually comes when we say inside: "This is terrible!" Once that thought arises, it is easy to collapse. But if we tell ourselves, "It's okay, no problem," we don't go into an emotional explosion.

The key is to sincerely give yourself a chance, and to respond with a genuine attitude, instead of rushing to react.

Reaction and response are different.

A reaction is more like a reflex, without clarity and without wisdom. If we don't rush to react, don't rush into reflexive behavior, then that response has the touch of wisdom.

On Mindfulness

A student asked: Is watching our own thoughts what mindfulness is?

Mindfulness means placing the whole mind in the present. The mind has many different characteristics and many different areas; here it refers especially to the state of this very moment. Mindfulness has us witness what is going on freshly, now.

As for awareness, we have not gone into that level yet. Right now we are witnessing our inner state, observing its relationship with the mind, and making adjustments.

We have talked before about the characteristics and functions of the mind, including the positive and negative mind. Slowly you will come to the true nature of the mind. But right now, we start by looking objectively at the sensations of the body.

That is, right now we are the observer. When we talk about awareness, when the right time comes, we are actually looking back at the observer itself: who is this "I" that observes and knows?

Suggestions for Daily Practice

If you cannot come to the group practice, you can sit relaxed for five or ten minutes every day; lying down is also fine. Follow the breath, and let the experience go deeper and deeper. You will find that you have a deeper connection with your body.

It is like opening a door that helps us see what needs adjusting: you need exercise, or a change of lifestyle, or purification of the mind. These are all good directions.

You will find that meditation, exercise and life are actually connected, unlike before, when we read a lot of books and still could not figure out what it actually is.

Closing Dedication

May this merit be dedicated to all sentient beings throughout the dharmadhatu. May all sentient beings be free from suffering, attain happiness, and accomplish the state of a bodhisattva.

By the virtue of this practice, may we attain freedom. May all sentient beings be without any suffering, and accomplish the ultimate fruition.