A good general way to begin meditation as a lay Buddhist is to decide and commit to doing it. With practice, the meditation sessions can become longer, but to reduce frustration and maintain the desire to continue practicing, it is recommended to try several short meditation sessions and gradually increase; just as one would with an exercise routine. Read the rest of this entry »
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Some people may question as to why they should learn Buddhist meditation techniques. The fact is though that meditation, like many art forms, can only be perfected with the help of reliable, time-tested techniques.
Think about it. You wouldn’t undertake any serious exercise regime without first learning the movements and repetitions associated with exercise, or even learn a dance without first studying its associated moves. Otherwise you’d look like something of an uncoordinated fool, flailing around on the dance or exercise floor with no apparent structure, aim or purpose.
In order to attain the many desired effects of meditation of the Buddha, which include increased inner peace, enhanced patience and concentration, more pleasure and relaxation, and-ultimately-a new source of enlightenment, you first must master a predetermined set of meditative goals and techniques. Read the rest of this entry »
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The first Tibetan Buddhist Centre in the West
Located in a peaceful valley on the banks of the river Esk in Scotland, Kagyu Samye Ling was the first Tibetan Buddhist Centre to have been established in the West. It is a centre for wisdom and learning within the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and is open to people of all faiths and none. You are welcome to come for day visits, short stays or to participate in our meditation retreats and courses available throughout the year. Read the rest of this entry »
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Meditation
Meditation is a mental and physical course of action that a person uses to separate themselves from their thoughts and feelings in order to become fully aware.
It plays a part in virtually all religions although some don’t use the word ‘meditation’ to describe their particular meditative or contemplative practice.
Meditation does not always have a religious element. It is a natural part of the human experience and is increasingly used as a therapy for promoting good health and boosting the immune system.
Anyone who has looked at a sunset or a beautiful painting and felt calm and inner joy, while their mind becomes clear and their perception sharpens, has had a taste of the realm of meditation.
Successful meditation means simply being – not judging, not thinking, just being aware, at peace and living each moment as it unfolds.
In Buddhism the person meditating is not trying to get into a hypnotic state or contact angels or any other supernatural entity.
Meditation involves the body and the mind. For Buddhists this is particularly important as they want to avoid what they call ‘duality’ and so their way of meditating must involve the body and the mind as a single entity.
In the most general definition, meditation is a way of taking control of the mind so that it becomes peaceful and focused, and the meditator becomes more aware.
The purpose of meditation is to stop the mind rushing about in an aimless (or even a purposeful) stream of thoughts. People often say that the aim of meditation is to still the mind.
There are a number of methods of meditating – methods which have been used for a long time and have been shown to work. People can meditate on their own or in groups.
Meditating in a group – perhaps at a retreat called a sesshin or in a meditation room or zendo – has the benefit of reminding a person that they are both part of a larger Buddhist community, and part of the larger community of beings of every species. Read the rest of this entry »
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Since I’ve traveled to (and at times lived in) Thailand every year since 1998, I’m occasionally asked to recommend a Buddhist meditation retreat for long-term travelers. I can easily recommend some specific starting points for practicing meditation in Thailand (and if you keep reading, you’ll find a few recommendations below), but over time I’ve found that it’s more instructive to just tell people this: Find your own damn Buddhist meditation retreat!
In saying this, I’m not being grumpy and standoffish — it really is good travel advice. Far too often, Western Buddhists (and prospective Buddhists) travel to Asia like it’s one big spiritual shopping mall, flitting from monastery to monastery without ever wandering out to truly experience the host country. And while I can appreciate these people’s enthusiasm, this is a very limited and superficial way to explore the Buddhist faith.
By pointing this out, I don’t mean to disparage the Thai monasteries that help instruct Western seekers. Rather, my point is that you shouldn’t pick-and-choose your spiritual quest like it was something that can be ordered from a catalogue. Religion may be divinely inspired, but it also comes into being within a socio-cultural context. Unless you allow yourself to wander away from the wats and see how normal Thais practice their Buddhism, you’ll only be “accessorizing” your own Western socio-cultural notions with convenient, smooth-edged Buddhist ones. Read the rest of this entry »
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The mental exercise known as meditation is found in all religious systems. Prayer is a form of discursive meditation, and in Hinduism the reciting of slokas and mantras is employed to tranquilize the mind to a state of receptivity. In most of these systems the goal is identified with the particular psychic results that ensue, sometimes very quickly; and the visions that come in the semi-trance state, or the sounds that are heard, are considered to be the end-result of the exercise. This is not the case in the forms of meditation practiced in Buddhism.
There is still comparatively little known about the mind, its functions and its powers, and it is difficult for most people to distinguish between self-hypnosis, the development of mediumistic states, and the real process of mental clarification and direct perception which is the object of Buddhist mental concentration. The fact that mystics of every religion have induced on themselves states wherein they see visions and hear voices that are in accordance with their own religious beliefs indicates that their meditation has resulted only in bringing to the surface of the mind and objectifying the concepts already embedded in the deepest strata of their subconscious minds. The Christian sees and converses with the saints of whom he already knows; the Hindu visualizes the gods of the Hindu pantheon, and so on. When Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the Bengali mystic, began to turn his thoughts towards Christianity, he saw visions of Jesus in his meditations, in place of his former eidetic images of the Hindu Avatars. Read the rest of this entry »
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