Question: How much effort should be bring to our meditation practice? Zen teachers sometimes speak of “effortless effort” and to “just sit” when meditating. How hard should we be trying when meditating?
Bhante G: When it comes to meditation, your effort should not be haphazard or blind. It’s a committed effort. Before you even start, you should consider: “Is this the right moment for me to practice?” Suppose it’s a busy time; the TV is blaring somewhere, people are running around. No matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to do the practice. So you have to understand the situation, you have to be mindful of when to sit.
But once you’ve chosen the place and time to practice, by all means, apply every ounce of effort to overcome laziness, drowsiness, restlessness, worry and so on. These are very common, ordinary obstacles. In Buddhism, we call them “hindrances,”
[pdf]http://www.dhammikaweb.com/pdfs/Question_affort_Bhante_gunaratana.pdf[/pdf]
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