Meditation. How to start

Hi Gosia,

In my opinion, a beginner should start from the beginning. And in EBTs the path begins not with meditation/stillness but with the causes and conditions for it to take place: right view, right thought/attitude, right speech, right choices/actions and right livelihood.

These five things should set the ground for right effort/endeavour to gain strength, which in turns will make one’s heart more and more open to right mindfulness which serves as the solid foundation for right stillness Buddhist meditation is all about.

Note as well that just like meditation is not the beginning of the path it is not as well it’s end. The right sort of stillness advocated by the Buddha in EBTs should lead to the gain of a profound knowledge and vision of the causes of suffering, which in turn would give a precise idea of what is to be let go for suffering to naturally cease.

All that said, meaningful EBTs I wish I had read back when I was a younger sort of beginner are: AN10.2 / AN11.2, MN117, MN118, MN139

Last but not least, mind that SuttaCentral’s Discuss & Discover focus is not exactly a space to discuss the practice of Buddhism: