To begin with we must find the reason why we're doing shamatha meditation. Basically, we're doing it so that we can gain a certain control over ourselves.

首先我们应找出为何要修习奢摩他的理由，基本上，修止是为了获得某种程度的自我控制力。

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You used to require twelve hours of sleep, and now, after a while of mind training and shamatha, six hours may be enough, or even three hours, maybe you don't need to sleep at all anymore.

可能你本来需要睡十二个小时，但是在修了止观之后，也许睡六小时乃至三小时就足够了。极而言之，不睡觉也是可以的。

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Similarly, the University of California and the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies are soon expecting to show the benefits that shamatha meditation, a Buddhist practice, might have on people who are participating in three-month long meditation retreats at the Shambhala Mountain Center in Colorado.

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