0 votes
by (330 points)
edited by

Hi ! 

In the booklet, it says :

"During walking meditation, if thoughts, feelings, or emotions arise, one can choose to ignore them, bringing the mind back to the feet in order to maintain focus and continuity. If, however, they become a distraction, one should stop moving, bringing the back foot forward to stand with the front foot, saying to oneself, “stopping, stopping, stopping,” then “standing, standing, standing,” and begin to contemplate the distraction as in sitting meditation, “thinking, thinking, thinking”, “pain, pain, pain”, “angry”, “sad”, “bored”, “happy”, etc., according to the experience. Once the object of attention disappears, continue with the walking as before, “stepping right”, “stepping left”."
https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/chapter-three-walking-meditation/

My question, is, is it possible to note  while still walking ?  Is this considered bad practice ? Do we absolutely have to either "choose to ignore them", or "stop to contemplate them if they become too powerful" ?

I'm asking this partly because sometimes I walk in the street toward a direction and my pace is quite fast, and it feels "right" to just note whatever object of awareness rises, and simply come back to the walking once the object has disappeared(but not stopping walking meanwhile) as I would do with noting and observing whichever object and coming back to the breath with sitting meditation.

Other than that, I would still practice formal walking meditation as described in the book to improve Samadhi, meaning, I would ignore the objects unless they become too powerful and stop to observe them if that is the case in order.


 Thank you in advance for your answer ! 
 

 

1 Answer

0 votes
by (18.8k points)
Technically if you keep walking and try to note something else, it's not mindfulness since walking cannot happen without intending to walk. Walking is not a semi-automatic process like breathing. That's why you need to stop if you are going to note something else.
by (330 points)
Hi sanka, ok, I think I understand.
Thank you very much for you answer.

Best regards,
by (18.8k points)
You're welcome!
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