Why do people who start meditating want to sit for extraordinarily long times? If one's mind becomes quiet for even one instant, it would extend itself naturally. Forcing oneself to sit for a long time is stupid.
If you are bored during meditation you are doing it wrong.
Ding Dong, you should perhaps define 'extraordinarily long times'. Is that an hour? 3 hours? 6 hours? 12 hours? 48 hours? I found the exercise of forcing myself to sit for a long time pretty satisfactory. It is sure an exercise of will power related to a worthwhile endeavor, and such exercise can only be good (barring the slight headache which can develop).
Mccoy since Master Ding has not responded as of yet... i would like to add something here. It is not to detract from what you are saying since i believe it is helpful. i know that we may have many shorter meditations then real long ones if our attention and focus continues to be difficult this coupled with the right practice that works for us. What i have noticed is this: When we meditate quite often and also for long periods it is not always during the meditation that we notice results. Somewhat like taking some drugs it may be hours or days till we see results. Yet all of a sudden we may feel this happiness or lightness come over us or have certain insights. They may not happen during meditation at all but rather at a different time. i can see that this is what is so interesting about the meditation process, It is not like a scientific procedure in which you conduct an experiment and expect certain results that confirm the test. The results could come at any time and manifest in various ways. Yet eventually we get a grasp on the changes and the insights that emerge in our life from the practice. This makes it much more interesting and much less boring.
