Way to Peace

WALKING MEDITATION – Ajahn Brahm

Walking meditation is an activity in which
one can focus and concentrate the mind or develop
investigative knowledge and wisdom. Walking meditation
is not a separate practice, but a continuation of the practice in a different posture.

In the Forest Meditation Tradition in Northeast
Thailand, there is a great emphasis on walking meditation. As so much of life is taken up with the activity of walking, if you know how to apply awareness to
it then even simply walking about in your house can
become a meditation exercise. Another benefit of walking meditation is that it is
especially suitable for those who have physical discomfort when sitting for long periods. If you find it difficult
to sit in meditation because of pains in the body, walking meditation can be a very effective alternative.

Some people find that they are naturally drawn to
walking meditation because they find it easier and more
natural than sitting meditation. When they sit they feel
dull, or tense, or they are easily distracted. Their mind
doesn’t calm down. If this is the case with you, don’t just persevere; try a
change of posture or do something new. Experiment
with standing meditation or try walking meditation.
This new meditation posture may give you some other
skilful means of applying the mind. All of the four postures of meditation are just techniques, methods for
developing and training the mind. Try and develop walking meditation; you may start to see the benefits of it.

While walking, place all your attention at the soles of
the feet, on the sensations and feelings as they arise and
pass away. As you walk, the feeling will change. As the
foot is lifted and comes down again into contact with
the path, a new feeling arises. Be aware of this sensation
on the sole of the foot. Again as the foot lifts, mentally note the new feeling as it arises. When you lift each foot
and place it down, know the sensations felt. At each
new step, certain new feelings are experienced and old
feelings cease. These should be known with mindfulness. With each step there is a new feeling experienced—
feeling arising, feeling passing away; feeling arising, feeling passing away………

You can slow down or slightly
increase your walking pace as an adjustment when the
count and step are not coinciding, but do not try to
speed up or slow down the breathing. It is very important to let the breathing happen at the rate the body
sets. Controlling your breath can tire you quickly.
Physically straining in this way is counterproductive,
leading to undesirable mind-states such as worry or agi￾tation. On the other hand, slowing or slightly increas￾ing the number of steps will lead to more relaxed
physical and mental states which help bring forward
tranquility. Let the practice develop
naturally without strain and you will find yourself
walking in this way spontaneously whenever and wher￾ever it can be done.

If while doing sitting meditation, the mind becomes
tranquil with a certain meditation object, then you can
use that same object in walking meditation. However
with some subtle meditation objects, such as the breath,
the mind must have attained a certain degree of stability
in that calmness first. If the mind is not yet calm and
you begin walking meditation focusing attention on the breath, it will be difficult, as the breath is a very subtle
object. It is generally better to begin with a coarser
object of meditation, such as the sensations of feelings
arising at the feet. A sit should follow immediately after the walk or you will lose some or all of the mindfulness built-up during the walk .

While walking,
constantly re-establish your mindfulness pulling the
mind back, drawing the mind inward, becoming aware,
knowing the feeling at each moment as it is arising and
passing away.We can be aware just of walking,
simply being with that process. Our minds can be still
and peaceful. This is a way of developing concentration
and tranquillity in our daily lives. This calmness and tranquility is known as passaddhi; it is one of the factors of Enlightenment. The Buddha said that the bliss of peace is the highest happiness. A concentrated mind experiences that peace, and this peace can be experienced in our lives.

Having developed the practice of walking meditation in a formal context, then when we are walking
around in our daily lives going to the shops, walking
from one room to the other, we can use this activity of
walking as meditation. In the forest monastic tradition,
every aspect of our life is treated as an opportunity for
meditation.

Once you get accustomed to it,
walking meditation is adaptable to different physical
activities and allows you to combine exercise, mantra
work, and breath meditation. Incorporating at least 15–
30 minutes of such activity every day aids your spiritual
development.