WALKING MEDITATION
AS AN EXTENSION OF OUR SITTING MEDITATION AND WHY!
by Rev. Sister Khema
August 18, 2010



Student’s question: There are many references to walking meditation in the talks, but no precise instructions. Can you help me out here and give some instructions?

A: Sure.

“…When we practice TWIM ( Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation, we like to think about the WALKING MEDITATION as being the first step of integrating the practice of the meditation into the motion of everyday life…”


Walking meditation is used to get the blood flowing, keep the body healthy, especially protecting the legs from getting soreness and developing clots. We train in this way to support being healthy and happy so you can sit longer and experience deeper meditation without hurting yourself.

You may have heard in past time, instructions given for straight Vipassana retreats that are very different. People may be doing V E R Y slow walking meditation at such retreats where the emphasis is on noticing all of the parts of the movements which occur in the foot. Bhante Vimalaramsi was trained this way originally in Burma (Myanmar) too. It took over 45 minutes for him to cross a room sometimes while performing these extremely slow movements as he attempted to note them. It does have value in a particular way. This is a method used for observing the many individual movements to a step and each fraction of a movement; each one arising and passing away being IMPERMANENT.

BUT, the question here is, what are we learning overall during our training in the suttas that would need this approach and how does it immediately help the meditation?

As you follow the training, you will begin to realize that the meditation instructions have the intention of helping the practitioner see more clearly the impersonal process of Dependent Origination and how this changes our perception of the world as we learn them more clearly. Then you wonder about the value of observing thousands of movements in each step and going so very slowly.

The most important point for the walking meditation is that "walking" gets the circulation moving in the body for a healthier situation in your legs and sitting position. It helps you lengthen your sitting times so you can see more of what is going on. This is pretty cut and dry.

At Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center the practice of Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation, whether using the Breath or Loving Kindness for the object of the meditation, there are no bells to begin or stop your meditation. There are no interruptions during the day. We found that here are no bells in the forest. Here, people join together in one room for the first sit of each morning and sometimes we come together for the first sitting after lunch and rest time. People sit for whatever length of time they can.

After sitting, they then do the walking meditation or level trails or through the woods on paths for UP TO 45 MINUTES. During this time they continue sending METTA or lightly following the breath while their eyes are down towards the ground in front of them, about 4 feet in front of them. They walk at a rather usual unhurried pace, NOT SLOWLY.

Following this walking meditation, they go and sit wherever they wish. Under a tree, in a screened –in tent or in a kuti if it is really hot with the AC on. OR they sit on a bench in the open or in the Dhamma hall.

The sit for however long they can individually site within their own development level.

It is in this way that the walking meditation differs from a group Vipassana Retreat approach.

One I tell you that whatever arises, passes away, I expect you to then watch within the meditation session how mind’s attention moves and how whatever arises does indeed pass away without YOU doing anything about it.

It turns out that during the walking meditation, it's more important to get the blood flowing when you are in a retreat for days on end sitting and walking. The longer you sit, the longer you should walk 9 But no more than 45 minutes before going back into sitting).

So this is why we do a more natural form of walking which increases circulation and stretches our muscles.

What are we doing with our minds in this situation when we walk more naturally is always continuing the meditation of the previous sitting, keeping it going, continuing to send out the loving kindness and tranquilizing or using the breath and tranquilizing; SMILING, while OBSERVING THE MOVEMENTS OF MIND'S ATTENTION MOMENT TO MOMENT. One is just walking now instead of sitting while they are staying on the object of the meditation: the observation. In this way the student continues the meditation without a break.



Q: How is this so?

A: Because you are now walking and continuing to observe how mind’s movements are not personal as you once thought they were. You discover that you can walk to a car, open a door, walk to get some water in the office, or be doing most anything mind used to be doing other things. But now mind’s attention becomes more a part of your present moment and this observation technique will continue on all the time.

Gradually your ability to be just the present moment will increase. You begin to RECOGNIZE how Mind can wander off task as you are working and, as this happens, you RELEASE the arising distraction, RELAX body and mind, begin to SMILE and RETURN to what you were doing again and then KEEP this going! Then life lightens up and you feel better about everything.

To sum this up then, your Walking Meditation times help you to experience how this meditation practice can become integrated into daily life. It is the first step in keeping the meditation going all the time.

Life gets lighter and we feel happier if we keep it going.

Therefore, our walking meditation is seen here as simply an extension of our sitting meditation, a continuation of the observation technique observing the movements of mind's attention while getting our circulation moving in a healthy way so we can return to the cushion and continue on with our observation work.

Hope this is helpful for understanding the difference in how we do the walking meditation and why we do it this way.

Metta and smiles to you there.

Rev. Sister Khema
Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center.
Buddhist American Forest Tradition
Annapolis, MO-USA



Page last edited: 18-Aug-10