There are three areas of difficulties that most meditators experience when first doing the practice: incessant thinking, disinclination or inability to handle pain, and sleepiness. In addition to the explanation to the difficulties facing meditators, here are some commonly asked questions – often on practical issues - by new students, and my responses to them. I hope they can help to clarify and elaborate on the practice as a standardised set of instructions is usually given to beginners, which needs then to be explained further to the individual meditator as they practice.