WALKING MEDITATION

By Ajahn Nyanadhammo

This book has been printed for free distribution

Sabbadanam dhammadanam jinati

The Gift of Dhamma excels all other gifts

All rights reserved.

Any reproduction, in whole or part, in any form,
for sale, prot or gain, is prohibited.
However, copies of this book, or permission to reprint
for free distribution,
may be obtained upon notication from :

The Abbot Wat Pah Nanachat,

Bahn Bung Wai, Warin Chamrap,
Ubon Ratchathani 34310, THAILAND

First edition
2003 : unknown quantity
This reprint with enlarged text size
September 2006 : 4,000 Copies

2003 The Sangha, Wat Pah Nanachat

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa

--------

Walking Meditation
In The Thai Forest Tradition

Edited from Dhamma talks given by

Ajahn Nyanadhammo
at Dhammaloka Buddhist Centre (31 July 1992) and
Bodhinyana
Forest Monastery (22 January 2002)
in Perth, Australia.

Abbreviations :
AN
DN
It
MN
SN
Vsm

Anguttara Nikaya

Nikaya
Digha

Itivuttaka
Majjhima Nikaya

Samyutta Nikaya

Visuddhimagga

WALKING MEDITATION

1. Introduction
In this discourse, I want to focus on the
nuts and bolts of walking meditation. I shall
address the how, when, where and why of this form of
meditation. I intend this discourse to include both
practical instructions of the technical aspects of
walking meditation and instructions for creating the
quality of mind that leads to concentration, insight
and wisdom through the physical activity of walking
meditation.
The Buddha stressed developing mindfulness
in the four main postures of the body : standing,
sitting, lying down and walking (DN 22, MN 10). He
exhorted us to be mindful in all these postures, to
create a clear awareness and recollection of what we
are doing while we are in any particular posture.
If you read about the lives of the monks and
nuns at the time of the Buddha, you will see that
many obtained the stages of Enlightenment while on
the walking meditation path. Walking meditation
is called cankama in Pali. Walking meditation is an
activity in which one can focus and concentrate the
mind or develop investigative knowledge and wisdom.
Some people nd that they are naturally drawn

WALKING MEDITATION

to walking meditation, because they nd it easier

and more natural than sitting meditation. When
they sit they feel dull, or tense, or they are easily
distracted. Their mind doesnt calm down. If this is
the case with you, dont just persevere; do something
new and try a change of posture.
Do something different; 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 benets of it. In the Forest
Meditation Tradition in Northeast Thailand, there
is a great emphasis on walking meditation. Many
monks will walk for long hours as a way of
developing concentration --- sometimes as much
as ten or fteen hours a day!
The late Ajahn Singtong used to do so much
walking meditation that he would make a rut in the
walking path. The sandy path that he used for walking
meditation would actually become hollow because
he would walk so many hours a day --- sometimes
up to fteen or more hours a day! Another monk,

WALKING MEDITATION

Ajahn Kum Dtun walked meditation so much that

he wouldnt bother to go into his hut at night. When
he became really tired after walking meditation
all day and late into the night, he would lay down
right there on the meditation path and use his st
as a pillow. He would go to sleep with mindfulness,
having made a determination to get up the moment
he woke. As soon as he woke up, he would start
walking again. He basically lived on his walking
meditation path! Ajahn Kum Dtun was quick to attain
results in his practice.
In the West, there is not such an emphasis
on the practice of walking meditation. Thus I
would like to describe the process and recommend
it to you to complement your sitting practice. These
instructions will hopefully help you develop your
repertoire of meditative techniques --- in both
formal meditation and in your daily life. As so much
of life is taken up with the activity of walking, if
you know how to apply awareness to that, then even
simply walking about in your house can become a
meditation exercise.
The Five Benets of Walking Meditation
The Buddha spoke of ve benets of walking

WALKING MEDITATION

meditation (AN,III,29). In the order that he listed

them in this Sutta, they are as follows : it develops
endurance for walking long distances; it is good
for striving; it is healthy; it is good for the digestion
after a meal, and the concentration won from
walking meditation lasts a long time.
Developing Endurance for Walking Distances
The rst benet of walking meditation is that
it leads to endurance in walking distances. This was
particularly important at the time of the Buddha
when most people travelled by foot. The Buddha
himself would regularly go wandering from place to
place walking up to sixteen kilometres a day. So he
recommended that walking meditation be used as a
way of developing physical tness and endurance for
walking distances.
Forest monks, these days still go wandering;
its called tudong (dhutanga). They take their
bowls and robes and walk seeking out secluded
places to meditate. In preparation to go out wandering,
they progressively increase the amount of walking
meditation so as to develop their physical tness and
endurance. They increase the number of hours of
walking meditation a day to at least ve or six hours.

WALKING MEDITATION

If you are walking an average of four or ve kilometres

an hour and doing ve hours of walking meditation
a day, the number of kilometres builds up.
Good for Striving
Striving, especially to overcome drowsiness,
is the second benet. While practising sitting
meditation, meditators may nd that they tend to
slip into tranquil states, but if they are a bit too
tranquil, without awareness, then they may start
nodding or even snoring. Time goes quickly, but
they dont have any clarity or awareness even
though it feels peaceful. Without mindfulness and
awareness, meditation can turn into dullness because
it has been overcome by sloth and torpor. Developing
walking meditation can counteract this tendency.
As an example, Ajahn Chah used to recommend
that once a week we stay up all night. We would sit
and walk meditation throughout the night. One tends
to get very drowsy by one or two in the morning,
so Ajahn Chah would recommend doing walking
meditation backwards, as a way overcoming drowsiness.
You dont fall asleep walking backwards!
I remember once at Bodhinyana Monastery
in Western Australia going out early one morning,

10

WALKING MEDITATION

around ve oclock, to do some walking meditation. I

saw one of the laymen, who was staying for the Rains
Retreat in the monastery putting forth great effort
to overcome drowsiness. He was actually walking
meditation up and down the top of the six-foot
high wall in front of the monastery --- very mindfully
walking up and down on top of the wall! I was a
little concerned that he might fall and hurt himself.
However, he was actually putting great effort into
being mindful of each step and was in the process of
overcoming drowsiness by developing a heightened
sense of alertness, effort and zeal.
Good for Health
The Buddha said that walking meditation leads
to good health. This is the third benet. We are all
aware that walking is considered a very good form
of exercise. We even hear of power walking these
days. Well, we are talking about power meditation,
developing walking meditation as both a physical and
mental exercise. This way walking can be used both
as a good form of exercise, and as a way to cultivate
the mind. But to get both benets, we have to bring
awareness to the process of walking, instead of just
walking and letting the mind wander off thinking of

WALKING MEDITATION

11

other things.
Good for Digestion
The fourth benet of walking meditation is
that it is good for the digestion. This is particularly
important for monks who eat one meal a day. After a
meal, the blood goes to the stomach and away from
the brain. Thus one can feel drowsy. Forest Monks
stress that after meal one should do a few hours of
walking meditation, because walking up and down
helps the digestion. For lay meditators too if you have
had a heavy meal, instead of going to bed, go out
and do an hour of walking meditation. It will help
with physical well-being and be a chance to cultivate
the mind.
Good for Sustaining Concentration
The fth important benet of walking
meditation is that the concentration that arises
out of walking meditation sustains itself for a long
time. The walking posture is actually quite a coarse
meditative posture compared to sitting. While sitting,
its easy to maintain ones posture. We have our eyes
closed so there are no visual sense stimuli, and were
not engaged in any bodily movement. So sitting, in

12

WALKING MEDITATION

comparison to walking, is a more rened posture

in terms of the activities involved. The same is true
for standing and lying down, because there is no
movement taking place.
While we are walking there is a lot of sensory
input. We are looking where we are going; thus there
is visual input, and also there is sensory input from
the movement of the body. Therefore if we can
concentrate the mind while walking and receiving
all these sensory stimuli, then when we change from
that posture to a more rened one, concentration
becomes easier to maintain. That is, when we sit down
the strength of mind and power of that concentration
carries over easily to this more rened posture.
Whereas if one has developed concentration
only in the sitting posture, when one gets up from
that position and begins coarse bodily movements
like walking, its harder to maintain that state of
concentration. This is because one is moving from
the rened to the coarse. So walking meditation can
help to develop strength and clarity of mind, and a
concentration that can carry over into other less
active meditation postures.

WALKING MEDITATION

13

2. Preparation for Walking Meditation

Finding a Suitable Place
The place where the Lord Buddha did walking
meditation at Bodhgaya after his Enlightenment still
exists to this day. His walking path was seventeen
steps long. These days the Forest Monks tend to make
their walking meditation paths much longer. They
can be up to thirty steps long. The beginner may
nd thirty paces a bit too long for them because their
mindfulness is not yet developed. By the time they
get to the end of the path, the mind may have been
around the world and back. Remember, walking is
a stimulating posture, and initially the mind tends to
wander a lot. It is usually better for beginners to start
off on a shorter path; fteen paces would be a good
length.
If you are going to walk meditation outside,
nd a secluded place where you wont be distracted
or disturbed. It is good to nd a walking path that
is slightly enclosed. It can be distraction to walk
in an open area where there is a view, as you may
nd that the mind is drawn out to the scenery. An
enclosed area is especially suitable for speculative
personalities who like to think a lot; it helps to calm

14

WALKING MEDITATION

their minds down (Vsm,III,103). If the path is closed

in, it tends to bring the mind inwards, into ones self
and towards peace.
Preparing the Body and Mind
Once you have chosen a suitable path,
stand at one end. Stand erect. Put the right hand
over the left in front of you. Dont walk with your
hands behind your back. I remember a Meditation
Master who visited the monastery, commenting
when he saw one of the guests walking up and
down with his hands behind his back: Hes not
walking meditation; hes going for a stroll. He
made that remark because there was not enough
clear determination to focus the mind on walking
meditation, by placing the hands in front --- to
differentiate that from just walking.
The practice rstly is to develop samadhi, and
that takes focussed effort. The Pali word samadhi

means focussing the mind, developing the mind to

one-pointedness by gradual degrees of mindfulness
and concentration. To focus the mind, one has to
be diligent and determined. This rstly requires a
degree of physical as well as mental composure. One
begins composing oneself by clasping the hands in

WALKING MEDITATION

15

front. Composing the body helps to compose the

mind. Having thus composed the body, one should
then stand still and bring awareness and attention
to the body. Then raise ones hands together in
ajali, a gesture of respect, and with ones eyes
shut reect for a few minutes on the qualities of the
Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha (Buddhanussati,

Dhammanussati and Sanghanussati).

You can contemplate having taken refuge
in the Buddha --- on the Wise One, on He who
Knows and Sees, the Awakened One, the Fully
Enlightened One. Reect in your heart on the
qualities of the Buddha for a few minutes. Then
recall the Dhamma --- the Truth that you are striving
to realize and cultivate on the walking meditation
path. Finally, bring to mind the Sangha --- especially
those fully Enlightened ones who have realized the
truth by cultivating meditation. Then bring the
hands down in front of you and make a mental
determination on how long you are going to walk
meditation, be it half an hour, one hour, or more.
However long you determine to walk for, stick to it.
In this manner you are nurturing the mind at that
initial stage of the meditation with zest, inspiration
and condence.

16

WALKING MEDITATION

Its important to remember to keep the eyes

cast down about a meter and a half in front. Dont
be looking around distracted by this or that. Keep
awareness on the feeling at the soles of the feet, and
in this way, you develop more rened attention, and
clear knowing of walking while walking.
3. Basics of Walking Meditation and Choosing
an Object
The Buddha taught forty different meditation
objects (Vsm,III,104) many of which can be used on
the walking path. However some are more suitable
than others. Ill discuss a number of these meditation
objects here beginning with those most commonly
used.
Awareness of the Walking Posture
In this method, while walking place all your
attention at the soles of the feet, on the sensations and
feelings as they arise and pass away. (This is assuming
that you are walking bare footed, as most monks do.
Although light soled shoes can be worn if necessary.)
As you begin walking, the feeling will change. As the
foot is lifted and comes down again into contact with

WALKING MEDITATION

17

the path, a few feeling arises. Be aware of that sensation,

as it is felt through 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 feeling 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.
With this method, we place mindfulness on the
feeling of walking itself, on each step taken, on the
vedana (pleasant, unpleasant or neutral sensations).
We are aware of whatever type of vedana arises
at the soles of the feet. When we stand, there is a
sensation, a feeling, of the contact with the ground.
This contact can produce pain, heat or other
sensations. We place our mindful attention on those
feelings, knowing them fully. When raising the foot to
take a step, the feeling changes as soon as the foot loses
contact with the ground. When we place that foot
down, again a new feeling arises as the foot comes
into contact with the ground. As we walk, feelings are
constantly changing and arising anew. We mindfully
note this arising and passing away of feeling as the
soles of the feet lift off or touch onto the ground. In

18

WALKING MEDITATION

this way we are keeping our full attention just on the

sensations that arise through walking.
Have you ever really noticed before the
feelings in the feet as you walk? They happen
every time we walk, but we tend not to notice these
subtle things in life. When we walk, our minds
tend to be somewhere else. Walking meditation is
a way of simplifying what were doing when were
doing it. Were bringing the mind to the here and
now, being one with walking when walking. We are
simplifying everything, quieting the mind by just
knowing feeling as its arising and passing away.
How fast should you walk? Ajahn Chah
recommended walking naturally, not too slow or
too fast. If you walk fast, you might nd it very
difcult to concentrate on the sensation of feeling
arising and passing away. You may need to slow down
a bit. On the other hand some people may need
actually to speed up. It depends on the person. You
have to nd your own pace, whatever works for you.
You can begin slowly at rst then gradually come to
your normal walking pace.
If your mindfulness is weak (meaning your
mind wanders a lot), then walk very slowly until you
can stay in the present moment of each step. Start

WALKING MEDITATION

19

by establishing mindfulness at the beginning of the

path. When you arrive in the middle of the path,
then mentally ask yourself, Where is my mind? Is it
on the feeling at the soles of the feet? Am I knowing
the contact here and now, at this present moment?
If the mind has wandered off, then bring it back
to the sensations at the feet again and continue
walking.
When you get to the end of the path, turn
slowly around and re-establish your mindfulness.
Where is the mind? Does it know the feeling at the
soles of the feet? Or has it wandered off ? The mind
tends to wander elsewhere chasing thoughts of:
anxiety, fear, happiness, sorrow, worries, doubts,
pleasures, frustrations and all the other myriad
thoughts that can possibly arise. If mindfulness of
the meditation object is not present, re-establish it
rst, and then start walking back. Re-establish the
mind on the simple act of walking, and then begin
to walk back to the other end of the path. When you
get to the middle of the path, you should note, I am
now at the middle of the path and check again to
see if the mind is with the object. Then, once you
arrive at the end of the path mentally note, Where is
the mind? In this way, you walk back and forth

20

WALKING MEDITATION

mindfully aware of the feelings arising and passing

away. 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.
As we sustain mindfulness on the sensations
and feelings at the soles of the feet, we will
notice that the mind gets less distracted. The
mind is less inclined to go out to things that are
happening around us. We become calmer. The mind
will become tranquil as it settles down. Once the mind
becomes calm and tranquil, then youll nd that the
walking posture becomes too coarse an activity for
this quality of mind. You will just want to be still. So
stop and stand to allow the mind to experience this
calm and tranquillity. This is known as passaddhi, it is
one of the factors of Enlightenment.
If while walking the mind becomes very
refined, you might find that its actually
impossible to continue. Walking involves the mental
volition to move, and your mind may be too
focused on the meditation object for that. So stop
on the walking meditation path and continue the
practice in a standing position. Meditation is about
the work of the mind, not about any particular

WALKING MEDITATION

21

posture. The physical posture is just a convenient

means to enhance the work of the mind.
Concentration and tranquillity work together
with mindfulness. Combined with the factors
of energy, investigation of Dhamma, joy, and
equanimity, these are the Seven Factors of
Enlightenment. When in meditation the mind is
tranquil, then because of that tranquillity there will
arise a sense of joy, rapture, and bliss. The Buddha
said that the bliss of peace is the highest happiness
(MN,1,454), and a concentrated mind experiences
that peace. 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 or even
walking to the bathroom --- we can use this activity
of walking as meditation. 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.
From Sitting Meditation to the Walking Path
If while doing sitting meditation the mind

22

WALKING MEDITATION

becomes tranquil with a certain meditation object,

then 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 rst. If the mind
is not yet calm and you begin walking meditation
focusing attention on the breath, it will be difcult, 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.
There are many meditation objects that
can transfer well from the sitting to the walking
posture, for example the Four Divine Abidings :
Loving-kindness, Compassion, Appreciative Joy and
Equanimity. As you pace back and forth develop
the expansive thoughts based on loving-kindness,
May all beings be happy, may all beings be at peace,
may all beings be free from all suffering. One can
use the walking posture as a complement to sitting,
developing meditation on the same object but in a
different posture.
Choosing a Mantra
If while walking meditation you nd that
youre getting drowsy, then activate the mind,

WALKING MEDITATION

23

rather than calm it, using a mantra so that it

becomes more focused and awake. Use a mantra
like Buddho, repeating the word quietly to yourself
over and over again. If the mind still wanders, then
start saying Buddho very quickly, and walk up and
down very fast. As you walk, recite Buddho, Buddho,
Buddho. In this way, your mind can become focussed
very quickly.
When Tan Ajahn Mun, the famous forest
meditation teacher, was among the hill tribes in
North Thailand, they didnt know anything about
meditation or meditation monks. However the
hill tribe people are very inquisitive. When they saw
him walking up and down on his path, they followed
him in a line. When he got to the end of the path and
turn around, the whole village was standing there!
They had noticed him walking back and forth
with his eyes cast down and had assumed he was
searching for something. They enquired, What
are you looking for Venerable Sir? Can we help
you to nd it? He skilfully replied, Im looking
for Buddho, the Buddha in the heart. You can help
me to nd it by walking up and down on your
own paths looking for the Buddha. And with this
simple and beautiful instruction many of those

24

WALKING MEDITATION

villagers began meditating, and Tan Ajahn Mun said

they obtained wonderful results.
Contemplation of the Way Things Are
Investigation of Dhamma (dhammavicaya) is one
of the Factors of Enlightenment, and is a type of
contemplation about the teachings and the laws of
nature which can be employed while walking up
and down the meditation path. This doesnt mean
that one just thinks or speculates over any old thing.
Rather, it is constant reection and contemplation of
the Truth (Dhamma).
Investigating Impermanence
For example, one can contemplate Impermanence
by observing the process of change, and seeing how
all things are subject to change. One develops a clear
perception of the arising and passing away of all
experience. Life is a continual process of arising
and passing away, and all conditioned experience is
subject to this law of nature. By contemplation of
this Truth, one sees the characteristics of existence.
One sees that all things are subject to change. All
things are not satisfactory. All things are not self. One
can investigate these fundamental characteristics of

WALKING MEDITATION

25

nature on the walking meditation path.

Recollecting Generosity and Virtue
The Buddha continually stressed the importance
of generosity (It,26) and virtue (SN,V,354). While on
the walking path, one can reect on ones virtue or
on acts of generosity. Walk up and down and ask
yourself, Today, what acts of goodness have I
done?
A meditation teacher I stayed with often used
to comment that one reason meditators cannot
get peaceful is because they havent done enough
goodness during the day. Goodness is a cushion
for tranquillity, a base for peace. If weve done
acts of kindness during the day --- having said a
kind word, done a good deed, been generous or
compassionate --- then the mind will experience
joy and rapture. Those acts of goodness, and the
happiness that comes from them will become the
conditional factors for concentration and peace.
The power of goodness and generosity leads to
happiness, and it is that wholesome happiness
which forms the foundation for concentration and
wisdom.
The recollection of ones good deeds is a

26

WALKING MEDITATION

very appropriate meditation subject when the

mind is restless, agitated, angry, or frustrated. If
the mind lacks peace, then recollect your past kind
actions. This is not for the purpose of building
up ones ego, but a recognition of the power of
goodness and wholesomeness. Acts of kindness,
virtue and generosity bring joy into the mind, and
joy is a Factor of Enlightenment (SN,V,68).
Recollecting acts of generosity. Reecting
on the benets of giving. Recalling ones virtue.
Contemplating the purity of harmlessness, the
purity of honesty, the purity of propriety in sexual
relations, the purity of truthfulness, the purity of
non-confusion of mind by avoiding intoxicants.
All of these recollections can serve as meditation
objects on the walking path.
Recollecting the Nature of the Body
We can also meditate on death and dying or
on the non-beautiful nature of the body, on the
asubha contemplations --- corpses in various stages
of decay. We can visualize taking this body apart, just
as a medical student would dissect a body. We peel
off the skin and see whats underneath, --- the
layers of the esh, the sinews, the bones, the organs.

WALKING MEDITATION

27

We can mentally remove each one of the organs from

the body so it can be investigated and understood.
Whats the body made of ? What are its component
parts? Is this me? Is it permanent? Is it worthy of
being called a self ?
The body is just an aspect of nature, like a tree
or a cloud --- no different. The fundamental problem
is the attachment to the body; where the mind clings
to the view that this body is my body, delights in my
body, delights in other peoples bodies. This is me.
This is self. I own this.
We can challenge this attachment to the body
through contemplation and investigation. We take up
the object of the bones of this body. We visualize a
bone as we are walking meditation, seeing it bleach,
break up and return to the earth element. Bone is
calcium and is absorbed into the body through the
consumption of vegetable and animal matter; it
comes from earth. Chemicals come together to form
bone, and eventually that bone will return to earth.
Calcium just is calcium; there is no quality
of it being my calcium or someone elses. Earth
just goes back to earth, each element returns to its
natural form. This is not me; this is not worthy of
being called a self. We meditate on and break down

28

WALKING MEDITATION

a bone to its elements and return them back to the

earth. We re-establish it again and break it down
again, and we carry on this process continuously
until clear insight arises.
If you are meditating on the body and you
havent yet completely broken down the object of
meditation into the four elements (earth, air, re and
water) and then re-constituted it, the work of the
meditation is not yet nished. The mental exercise
is not yet complete; the work is not done. Keep at
it. Continue walking. Walk up and down and
investigate until you are able to establish the
perception in the mind of seeing the asubha in
the subha --- to see the non-beautiful, the nondelightful, and the non-attractive in what is
assumed to be beautiful, delightful and attractive.
We break this body down and return it back to its
natural elements, in order to see it as it really is.
The training of the mind to investigate
nature leads to wisdom. By repeating these exercises
of breaking the body down into its four elements
--- earth, air, re and water --- the mind sees and
understands that this is not me, not mine, not self.
It sees that the four elements that constitute this
body are just aspects of nature. It is the mind that

WALKING MEDITATION

29

attaches to the view that the body is self. So we

challenge that attachment; We dont accept it
blindly, because it is that attachment which causes
all our suffering.
Other Contemplations
Another meditation object the Buddha
recommended was to reect on peace, and the
nature of peace (Vsm, 197). Yet another is to consider
the qualities of Enlightenment. Alternatively one
can walk up and down reecting on the qualities
of the Buddha, the qualities of the Dhamma, or the
qualities of the Sangha. Or one can recollect heavenly
beings, Devas, and the qualities needed to become
a heavenly being (Vsm,III,105).
Wise Use of Contemplation
There are so many meditation objects in the
Buddhist repertoire of meditation. Your meditation
object should be chosen carefully. Select a meditation
object that stimulates the mind when the mind needs
stimulating, or pacies the mind when the mind
needs calming. But a few words of caution are needed
when using these contemplations on the walking path
so the mind doesnt go into speculative thought and

30

WALKING MEDITATION

drift off. This is very easy to do. We have to be very

mindful and to note at the beginning of the path,
the middle and the end of the path; Am I really
with my meditation object or am I thinking about
something else? If you are walking up and down
on a meditation path for four hours, but there is only
mindful awareness for one minute during that four
hours, you have only meditated for one minute.
Remember its not how much meditation we do,
its the quality of that meditation that counts. If while
you are walking the mind is wandering off elsewhere,
then youre not meditating. Youre not meditating in
the sense that the Buddha used the word meditation,
as bhavana or mental development (AN,III,125-127).
Its the quality of mind rather than the quantity of
meditation that one does which is most important.
4. Conclusion
Throughout the history of Buddhism, many
monks and nuns have attained insight, wisdom and
Enlightenment while on the walking meditation
path, through the investigation of the Truth. In the
Forest Monastic Tradition, every aspect of our life is
treated as an opportunity for meditation. Meditation

WALKING MEDITATION

31

is not just for when seated on our meditation cushions.

All the processes of life are opportunities for us to
investigate reality. We strive to know things as they
are, that things arise and pass away --- to understand
reality as it actually is.
In this discussion of walking meditation, I
hope to have given you something that will extend
your repertoire of meditation techniques. Walking
meditation is something that you can use in your
daily life when you are active, as well as when you
are doing formal meditation. Walking meditation
can be another mode for developing the mind.
Walking meditation gives work for the mind to do.
If you have problems with drowsiness, dont just sit
there nodding; get up and put the mind to work.
This is kammatthana --- the fundamental work of the
mind.
In the Forest Tradition whenever a meditation
teacher goes to a monastery, among the rst
places he heads to are the monks meditation paths,
to see how many footprints are on them. And if
those meditation paths are well worn, then that is
considered a sign of a good monastery.
May your walking path be well worn.

Wat Pah Nanachat

Bahn Bung Wai, Warin Chamrap,
Ubon Rachathani 34310,
THAILAND