Why discipline the mind? Thoughts arise from other thoughts in an endless stream. These thoughts are the source of all emotions, words and actions, both positive and negative. Thus, training the mind is one step toward managing one's thoughts and behavior constructively. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, teaching on meditation in September 2005, said "Never lose sight of the primary objective of dharma -- taming one's own mind -- discipline over one's mind."

Getting started and practicing regularly are the most critical aspects of successful meditation. Reading about meditation won't get you there any more than reading about body building will strengthen your muscles. Short regular sessions are better than long sessions at random intervals. You are creating a new habit.

Calm abiding, or shamatha, is the first step. Sit comfortably with your spine straight, and rest your hands on your legs or in your lap. Once you begin, your mind will rebel at being restrained by making you itch, ache, squirm, or do anything besides make it sit still. Try to sit still anyway.

Focus on your breath and let go of thoughts. As soon as you recognize a thought and release it, another one will pop up. The beginning of calm-abiding is sometimes called the waterfall stage, so named for the deluge of thoughts experienced here. Disruptive thoughts often occur on the outbreath, so if you count breaths as you exhale, (from one to ten and then repeat) the counting allows less room for thoughts to arise. As you gain experience and mental stability, counting will no longer be needed (generally when you reach ten cycles of ten, or a hundred breaths).

A quiet place is best in the beginning, but with experience, you will find meditative techniques to be helpful in more stressful surroundings, such as the dentist's office, a busy store check-out line, or difficult rush-hour traffic.

In meditation, you are not seeking a blanked out trance-like state, but clarity and sharpness. Think of seeing a coral reef and brightly colored fish through a great depth of crystal-clear, perfectly still water. Everyday mind is cluttered with the mud and turbulence of thoughts and emotions so that its depths cannot be seen.

You are making progress when the disruptive thoughts are no longer random and chaotic, but follow a single idea thread. Continue to release these little stories and daydreams just as you did the random thoughts in the earlier stage.

Some people like to use a relaxing audio recording of nature sounds or soothing music; others find that visual focus on an object such as a candle or flower or sacred image is helpful. The important thing is to make sure an object does not create a mental distraction. Some meditators close their eyes, but many Buddhists are taught to leave the eyes open and soften the gaze, symbolic of not withdrawing from the everyday world through one's practice.

Two difficulties commonly encountered by meditators are sinking and rising. Sinking means that you doze off to sleep or into a blank stupor. Rising means that your mind is so excitable that you cannot get it settled and calmed. If sinking is a problem for you, lift your visual focus to eye-level or above, open a window for fresh air, tense your muscles, or splash cold water on your face. To overcome the excitable mind, lower your focus of gaze to the floor in front of you, warm yourself slightly with a blanket or sweater; decrease the number of caffeinated beverages in your life, or schedule your meditation later in the day.

The first stage of meditation is the most important. Without it, you will reach none of the others. With it alone, you can observe a thought and decide what to do with it, instead of simply reacting and letting it control you by generating destructive emotions and behavior.