Students are invited to join the Dizang-Qi Buddhism Club on Saturdays 1-5 p.m. The times are open and students can attend at anytime during the session.

Connor Bright, president of the club, said occasionally monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery in Atalanta, Ga., Skype into the club meetings to offer insight and wisdom to the students.

Students are free to participate in any of the practices, but if something makes them uncomfortable, they do not have to participate.

Bright offers tips to students who are new to meditation via an email he sent out at the beginning of the semester:

• Try to practice every day. As long as you put in a good effort, any amount of time will do. Meditation can be difficult for beginners, so take it easy on yourself. The more you let go, the easier it will be. 
• If you are becoming sleepy: try meditating with your eyes open, back straight and head up and note the tiredness. However, meditation is also a useful tool to help overcome insomnia.
• Focus on the temperature of the breath. Focus on breathing in and breathing out. Also notice the rising and falling of the stomach by repeating, “rising, falling.”
• Posture is important, but not always necessary. The various lotus positions work best and the hands overlapping each other also help add balance. People can also meditate in a chair as long as the back is kept straight. People can sometimes manage a strict meditation in any position.

Meditation carries over into every life activity, enriching it to the highest degree. The club called this attitude mindfulness. Meditation is focused, sustained mindfulness. Mindfulness is a non-judgmental awareness of what you are experiencing in the moment. This happens naturally over time.

To read the full story on using Buddhist meditation to cope with midterm week stress, click here