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Thanks for this post. The first Zen temple I went to I noticed used a certain sized incense stick that went for 25 minutes. It was the head priests job to watch it. The comment about smell is nonsense, it lingers. A typically Japanese incense stick is about 25 minutes. Maybe 5 inches long.
Also if you sat enough to notice your body will start to go numb at a certain point. My legs go also at around 20-30 minutes so that’s easy lol
I actually used some incense yesterday to try. But I'm not sure how long this one goes, so I will have to time it.
It's a bit more tricky to use it in the bedroom though, the smell is nice, but I can feel it in my eyes if there is not enough ventilation. I also find it quite difficult to notice that the smell is gone. But maybe that's something you learn.
Noticing that your body goes numb is quite a good way to notice too. But I feel like this is also something that changes over time. Nowadays I could sit for 1 hour without any discomfort or slumping, so it becomes a less reliable tell.
Something else that I've seen are these water clocks (if that's how you call them) Basically a pot of water that slowly drips into a bowl. It will make a dripping sound until the water is empty. So you can choose how long to meditate by filling the pot with the appropriate amount.
Now to figure out how to make something like that myself.
You also have the classical sand clock, much easier to find and can also be a good looking decoration.
Do you mean like an hourglass? That would be difficult to notice if you are closing your eyes though. Or can you actually hear when the sand stops moving?
Yes! An hourglass.
And yes it will be difficult to notice closing your eyes, as far as I remember it makes a subtle noise but I guess it depends on the model. And if you get lost on thoughts you can easily miss it.
Not a perfect solution but well, it could be an opportunity to use that noise as a point focus, or just explore meditation with the eyes open.
You’re not supposed to fully close your eyes, only mostly. At least in Chan/Zen
The type i'm most used to is vipassana, which has the eyes closed. I've done with eyes slightly open before, but found it more difficult to pay attention to my breathing or sensations on the body that way
What incense are you using? Chinese and Tibetan should not be used in a closed room. Open a window or a door if that’s the case!
Yeah, it's agarbatti. It mentions not to use in badly ventilated areas. My bad.
What types of incense would be better suited for indoors?
I personally think Japanese incense typically can have a weaker scent that is fine for me indoors. Indian is super strong typically!
Not sure what specific type of incense it is, but got it from an indian friend.
Alright it's a bit far fetched but bear with me. Back in the olden days, people would use nails driven in a candle to measure a certain amount of time. As the candle melts, the nail would drop on a metal tray and make a sound.
So you'd need to get a candle of your choice, preferably a stick candle. Burn it for your ideal mediation time and measure by how much it melted away. Then get a nail, drive it into the candle, according to your measurement. Perhaps not too far in the candle, enough for the nail to stay put but shallow enough to drop easily when the wax gets liquid around it. Pop the candle on some metal tray, light it, take a deep breath and close your eyes. When you hear a clang then you're done. But keep going if you are enjoying it!
I've heard of this one. It's actually quite a good idea. I'll have to try it. Now to see if we have any stick candles at home.
This reminds me of the (I thought) funny picture of the graduated anal candle floating around the internet decades ago. I can’t find it now.
I sometimes work through meditation beads, one bead for each breath. Not my favourite way to meditate but it does put a limit on the session without technology.
Not sure I want to try that option :P
Meditation beads are interesting though. How long would it take you to go through the full beads?
One round of beads takes me 12 or 13 minutes. I count roughly 108 beads on these mala beads:
Apparently the number of beads varies by tradition (Christian/Islamic/Hindu/Buddhist) and some have up to 150 beads https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_beads
There are variations you can do too, like two breaths to a bead, or more simply just do a few “laps” of the beads. It’s easy to tell when you’ve finished a round thanks to the tassel.
Edit: I see Christian prayer beads with 200 beads on them for sale on EBay.
That's great, thanks for the suggestion!