Should I Feel That Meditation Is Helping Me Improve My Life?

[With English interpretation] Ven. Pomnyun Sunim's Answer to “Should I feel that meditation is helping me improve my life? “
Selection from Sunday Meditation with Ven. Pomnyun Sunim. meditation q&a [Week 12] (June 28, 2020)

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Transcript

What is meditation?

I have been practicing meditation for over 30 years.

How long have you been doing meditation?

I have been practicing meditation for over 30 years.

But I wonder if there is a point in time when I should feel that meditation is helping me.

I know that the Venerable says we should not try to do well.

But shouldn't a part of meditation be that it helps me improve my life?

Yes,

We do engage in meditation to help our lives be more free.

But it doesn't come about automatically just because we desire it.

So we have to create the conditions upon which that improvement,

That healthfulness happens.

So what I'm saying is just because you are not in the right place,

You are not in the right place,

You are not in the right place.

So what I'm saying is just because you want to do meditation well,

Doesn't mean meditation is going to happen well for you.

In order to have a good meditation,

You need to relax your body and mind.

Focus your mind at the tip of your nose.

And be awake to the breathing in and out of your breath.

If you lose that focus,

Regain the focus.

Do not try to do well in this.

And do not tense up and try to do well.

And do not despair and give up because you are not doing well.

Just do it consistently,

Constantly.

And then your peace will achieve,

Your mind will achieve a certain peacefulness.

In the beginning,

Random thoughts will try to distract you.

But the more significance you pay to it,

It will actually increase in its destructive ability.

If you do not do well in this,

You will not be able to do well in this.

And do not try to convey any meaning to those distractions.

Just focus on your breath and the power of this distraction will dissipate over time.

You will not be able to do well in this.

That's why I tell people do not try to do well.