I try to avoid talking about meditation. (Those who know don’t talk. Those who talk don’t know.) I’ve been meditating for years. I started listening to guided meditations but for several years now simply sit (30-45 minutes) each day, “following the breath.” Had something of a streak (371 days) going last year when a bout with pneumonia caused me to miss a day. But that’s okay, the only day that counts is today. Today is 500 consecutive (almost) days on the cushion.

I bring this up for those who might have thought about this practice. It’s the best half hour of my day. Here are a few books (and some quotes) I’ve found helpful.

Books on Meditation

• Living As a River: Finding Fearlessness in the Face of Change – Bodhipaksa
• Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind – Shunryu Suzuki
• Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice – Kosho Uchiyama Roshi
• Meditation Now or Never – Steve Hagen
• Still the Mind: An Introduction to Meditation – Alan Watts

Quotes

• Meditation is the only intentional, systematic human activity which at the bottom is about _not_ trying to improve yourself or get anywhere else, but simply to realize where you already are.
• (We meditate to realize) “…that things are already perfect.”
• Meditation is about deeply seeing what’s going on within your own mind.
• At the heart of meditation is the intention to be awake. (To experience) Reality as it is,before goals, ideas, or desires sprout. … Meditation is never a means to an end.
• Meditation is a matter of zero or 100 percent. Either you’re present or you’re not. There are no in-betweens.
• Meditation is awareness.
• The desire of one who is awake is simply to be awake.
• Meditate just to meditate.
• Most people who believe they are meditating are merely thinking with their eyes closed. Meditation is a technique for waking up.