Meditation Gear
Of course you don't actually need any supplies to meditate, but traditionally many Buddhists have things that accompany their meditation routines, from altars and incense to cushions and bells. Here are some supplies you might want to consider:
A meditation cushion (zafu)
A cushion to put your meditation cushion upon (zabuton)
Incense
Timer, bell, or Tibetan singing bowl
Altar
Altar cloth
Candles
Flowers
Devotional objects such as a statue of the Buddha
Prayer beads
Buddhists call their meditation cushions zafus. Zen practitioners traditionally have round zafus and Tibetan practitioners usually have square zafus. The zafu can be placed on a zabuton, which is a large, flat, square cushion that protects the knees from the floor.
Traditionally, incense is burned for the duration of the meditation. Incense can be used as a timer for meditation sessions. Once the incense is burned, the time is up. This could be one of the original uses for incense. Incense also covered unpleasant body odors that may have arisen during meditation sessions, and helped keep flies out of the zendo. An altar is used for several reasons. First, repetition, habit, and ceremony play a large part in meditation practice. The altar is a visual reminder of the importance of practice. It is an indicator of your commitment to practice. And an altar sets the stage for energizing the senses: gazing at the Buddha, smelling the incense, bowing or doing prostrations all combine to form a context for the practice itself.
If possible, it is a good idea to have the altar in a room or part of a room you will not use for any other purpose. If this is not possible, the altar can be in a corner of a room that can be accessed for practice. If you choose to have an altar, make it your own. You might find altars configured in the following way. A Buddha statue is placed in the center of the altar to focus attention on the two Jewels of the Buddha and the dharma. Implements (such as bells or a vajra) are placed to the side of the Buddha. The incense and incense holder are placed in the center of the altar. You can put incense in an incense holder or fill a small bowl with rice to hold the incense stick. Flowers can be placed on the altar to symbolize the nature of impermanence. A candle can also be placed to one side. The candle symbolizes the light of truth brightening the darkness of delusion.
A timer or Tibetan singing bowl would stay by your zafu and zabuton and would be struck to begin and end the meditation sessions. You can follow the sound of the bell with your mind and start your meditation.
Tibetan singing bowls traditionally come with a striker and a silk-covered cushion to rest the bowl on. They come in a variety of sizes from quite small to large. You can use a Tibetan singing bowl to mark time, as an alarm, a timer, or to hold your incense sticks.
Prayer beads and devotional objects can be placed on the altar, and prayer beads would be held during Tibetan-style meditation. Prayer beads traditionally came from the wood of the Bodhi Tree. A typical strand of prayer beads would have 108 beads on a strand. Similar to a rosary, these prayer beads are used in the practice of japa, repeating a mantra such as Om mani padme hum, using the beads to keep track of the number of repetitions. Different schools of Buddhism use different meditation items.
