One Big Meditation or lots of small ones

[tnkasthuri]

Hello Everyone ,

I am on trying to gradually get into the path of Nibbana , I heard that after you gain the 1st Jhana , everything changes , your concentration improves a lot , Your Wisdom will increase , so I hope to attain Jhana , But I don't have a good concentration , I can only hold good concentration for about 2 or 3 minutes .
So i came up with a plan .
I am going to Meditate 1.5hours per day , and my question is , Is it better to do 9 x 10minute meditations throughout the day whenever i get the time or one complete 1.5hour meditation(this will be really hard) ??

Please comment and suggest , any alternative methods ?

Thank You,
With Metta,
Tharaka.

[David2]

9 x 10 minutes is not very practical and you don't get very deep usually with 10 minutes.
On the other hand 1,5 hours is a bit long.
2 x 45 min sittings, one in the morning and one in the evening, if it is possible for you, would be perfect.
Of course it is also good to try to be mindful when you are not formally meditating.
(For example in waiting times.)

I can only hold good concentration for about 2 or 3 minutes .

What do you mean with this? If your mind wanders away after 2 minutes that's perfectly normal, no reason that you can't meditate longer. Just bring your attention back, again and again.

[santa100]

You could combine both since "meditation" is a broad word. For example, you could apply mindfulness/awareness "meditation" to everything you do daily (working, walking, eating, etc..). Then you could dedicate longer time to your (at least 45 min/session) regular meditation session. If you want to focus on Jhana, then the Anapanasati Sutta is a great one to read first to make sure you do it correctly(http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html ). Also, Ajahn Brahm gives great lectures on Anapanasati on YouTube (just search for Brahm and Anapanasati). Good luck..

[tnkasthuri]

Thank You Both, Okay then , I will do 2 45min sitting in the morning and evening

[Zom]

Please comment and suggest , any alternative methods ?

Comment is - don't plan when you will attain jhana. It may happen that you won't attain it at all in this life

Better learn Dhamma in all its aspects and practise all path factors - not one or two. This is not that "sitting" alone is enough to reach jhana. You need much much more.

[Buckwheat]

I can only hold good concentration for about 2 or 3 minutes.

This means that every two or three minutes you have the opportunity to see how your concentration gets derailed. This is the point of meditation. Go with it.

[Goofaholix]

This means that every two or three minutes you have the opportunity to see how your concentration gets derailed. This is the point of meditation. Go with it.

Yes, realising your concentration has gone off every two or three minutes is actually very good, it's not uncommon to not realise it for half an hour or so.

[tnkasthuri]

This means that every two or three minutes you have the opportunity to see how your concentration gets derailed. This is the point of meditation. Go with it.

Yes, realising your concentration has gone off every two or three minutes is actually very good, it's not uncommon to not realise it for half an hour or so.

Wow , I did not realize that , Thank you all for the inspiration .