Buddhist Meditation

Remember those Chinese martial art movies that feature monks with their heads shaved off? Well, those folks practice Buddhism which is a spiritual movement designed to make the person find the true nature of life. At the heart of this is meditation which is the means of making this possible.

But to understand Buddhist Meditation, you have to know the Buddhism itself is centered on the Four Noble Truths. First, we have to realize that there is suffering in the world which happens because of our ignorance and our desires. When we do understand ourselves, we can finally find a way to end this suffering. Those who find the answer have reached a state of Nirvana.

This then leads us to the core of Buddhist meditation which is the practice of the eight fold path. These virtues namely are the right action, right concentration, right effort, right livelihood, right mindfulness, right speech, right thought, and right view.

The proceedings of Buddhist Meditation are based on two things. The first is called “Samatha” which means tranquillity and the second is called “Vipassana” which means mindfulness.

Let’s talk about this a little further. “Samatha” meditation involves a lot of breathing which is designed to develop concentration, detachment, equanimity and happiness. There are 40 samatha meditations and each teaches the mind to focus on a single object to produce various states of tranquillity.

Vipassana meditation on the other hand develops self understanding by being able to comprehend the things that are going inside one’s head. By practising this regularly, you will soon develop wisdom which makes you free from all suffering.

But do you have to be a follower of Buddhism in order to practice this kind of meditation? The answer is no even if this technique is based on the doctrines of this religion and revolves around concentration and mind control.

For those who would like to get into Buddhist meditation, the first thing you have to do is find a quiet place where you can do this without being disturbed. Next, get a nice soft pillow or cushion to sit on if the floor is not that comfortable for you.

Now, let your hands rest on your lap with the palms facing upward. It’s hard to stay in this position for 5 minutes or more so don’t be afraid to make a few slight adjustments. The important thing is that you are comfortable the way you are.

Then it is time to close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. Anybody can do this but there are 4 proper ways of doing it. You can inhale and exhale long, inhale and exhale short, inhale short and exhale long or inhale long and exhale short.

It will take some time before you get the hang of things. Don’t forget to relax all your muscles so your mind and body is able to act as one.

Buddhist meditation is just one of the many techniques around that can help relieve you from stress, make you think better to have a better outlook in life and do all sorts of things that will improve your overall physical health.

If you appreciate what Buddhist Meditation can do, you can already invest in cushions, prayer beads, incense and a few other accessories. It is optional so don’t think that just because they are not around that your experience is not a fruitful one.

Different Forms Of Meditation

There are no special tricks to meditating; no special posture or breathing rhythm is required. Once you have gotten the knack of it you can meditate anywhere during any activity. Some readers have succeeded in reaching this altered state of conscious while reading about my sand meditation, perhaps you too may realize this transformational state of consciousness as you read on…

Sometimes meditation opens a door into the mysteries of creation. If we allow ourselves to pass through this door there is no telling what we may encounter on the other side. Do not become discouraged if you have tried to meditate in the past and not gotten any remarkable results. Meditation is a mystical process and it may take awhile to learn how to quiet your mind and open yourself to all the present moment has to offer you.

My meditation began while sitting on a beach. My hands were sandy. I rubbed my thumb and forefinger together feeling the grains of sand between them slipping away until only a single grain of sand remained. I could feel the shape of the grain of sand distinctly as I rolled it back and forth between my thumb and forefinger.

The longer I rolled the grain of sand about the more defined my awareness of the grain of sand became. The more detailed my experience of the grain of sand became the larger it appeared to be.
While I could clearly feel the tiny grain of sand trapped between my thumb and finger roll about across the grooves and ridges of my fingerprints the grain of sand appeared to be growing larger and larger as I contemplated it.

The grain of sand continued to grow, encompassing the beach and then the world. Before long the grain of sand had grown to an infinite size and it now encompassed all of creation; yet I still held the tiny grain of sand between my thumb and forefinger, rolling it about across the grooves and ridges of my fingerprints.

The tiny grain of sand was intimately connected to every part of creation and all of creation existed within it, even as it existed within my grasp. I communed with the grain of sand, aware of its infinite connectedness to everything else; through the medium of the grain of sand I became aware of my own infinite connectedness with all of creation.

The sand spoke to me of eternity. It told me tales about creation and the infinite nature of our existence in creation. From the grain of sand I learned that every tiniest part of creation is a living being experiencing creation and sharing in the process whereby creation makes everything manifest.

My meditation with a grain of sand always produced a feeling of intense bliss. It was an eternal meditation that transcended the time and place where it began to continue throughout all of creation. From time to time I would return to this meditation, engrossed by the wisdom and experience of a single tiny grain of sand.

Buddhist Meditation

Buddhist Meditation Offers the Ultimate in Tranquility

Meditation has been around for many years and is practiced by many people and many religions, with Buddhism being the major religion for meditation. Buddhist meditation is an essential part of their lives as a goal towards the realization of Nibbana. Nibbana is considered as the ultimate goal in Buddhism. It’s not a physical thing that one can see or feel. To reach the realization of Nibbana, one has reached the end of craving and suffering. Nibbana is considered the ultimate bliss and total liberation for all suffering-a total rebirth of the mind and soul.

Living the good life and being the best person they can be in not enough. Although being a good person and doing good things will make the person happy and fulfilled, it will not bring the total enlightenment they require. It is only through Buddhist meditation that they can reach the realization of Nibbana, which is the goal of every Buddhist. The Buddhist learns in explicit details the techniques of Buddhist meditation through the Buddhist scriptures. Although it’s important to understand the concept of meditation, it’s more vital that the individual learn the actual practice. Two different methods of Buddhist meditation are used in the religion. These two methods are ’samatha’ and ‘vipassana’.

Samatha means calm or tranquility, which is what the individual is striving to achieve. The beginning stages of samatha have to do with concentration of the mind as one-pointedness. Many different subjects that can be used such as water, light from a candle among many others. A very popular and widely used technique is anapanasati, which is mindfulness of breathing. The body and mind both gain their calmness from concentrating on the breath. Samatha is more than just concentration; however, they need to get rid of the five vices of anxiety, sensual desire, ill will, sloth and doubt. When this goal is reached through this form of Buddhist meditation, great happiness is gained but they still cannot reach Nibbana. This is where vipassana is necessary.

Vipassana is an entirely different approach of Buddhist meditation than samatha. This method rather than concentrating on other things is based on seeing things as they are without any aversions or attractions. Each thing that we do we need to acknowledge. If you are dusting the wall, you need to take note in your mind that you are dusting the wall. This first stage of vipassana is called bare awareness. Bare awareness goes with an insight of our inner lives. This method of Buddhist meditation is used with breathing meditation and can take one to the realization of Nibbana. Many use a combination of vipassana and samatha.