Meditation

• what is the relevance of meditation to Buddhism

  - in Fire Sermon, Buddha emphasizes importance of meditation

  - 3rd of eightfold path

  - improves state of mind

  - tool to take us from Dukkha to Nirvana

  - Buddha: ploughing festival; enlightenment; learnt techniques of meditation in Shramana times
• what is meditation

  - literally means 'cultivation'/development, referring to the practice of training the mind

  - a tool that Buddhists use to practice and achieve clarity and is an essential tool in the journey to attain Nirvana; doesn't originate in Buddhism

  - Buddha discovered meditation when he was an ascetic and it was what he was doing when he attained Nirvana, therefore Buddhism arose from meditation

  - encourages us to reflect, to exercise and to rest the mind, giving us complete down time

  - most basic practice is calm meditation (reflection)

  - important for progress as we need to look at the past to move forward, identifying changes to be made and encouraging clarity and wisdom

  - can help us attain higher states of awareness/consciousness

  - takes you from a tangled mind to a clear state of mind
• what does Peter Harvey say that meditation is

  - most types done under guidance of a meditational teacher (e.g. Northern Buddhism has Lamal Guru); Buddha saw having such a teacher as the most powerful external factor in aiding in purification of the heart

  - meditation requires personal guidance as it's a subtle skill which can't be conveyed by written teaching; Buddhism is experiential

  - training the mind is a gradual process which requires patience, persistence and one needs to believe it's possible and worthwhile to change yourself, as it's a skill that requires practice

  - effort must be just right; must follow the middle way

  - usually a quiet calm environment (however in Zen Buddhism they encourage active meditation)

  - uses analogies of learning an instrument (patience, persistence and practice) and gardening (right conditions). can't force either
• what is the purpose of meditation for Buddhists


  - to purify and cultivate the mind into the Buddhist view point (ie cooling down negative elements like the 3 fires, false perspectives, negative emotions and things we're holding onto but also being kind and compassionate to ourselves)

  - to help the practitioner lead an ethical life

  - to transform the person from Dukkha to Nirvana

  - to get the mind fit, training and cultivating it into a state of awareness, intelligence, wisdom, willpower, confidence and morality
• what are some of the benefits of meditation

  - calmness; comes from reflection

  - focus

  - concentration

  - mindfulness and awareness

  - clarity (which only comes from reflection and calming the mind, placing aside initial emotion)

  - relaxation

  - facing issues/anxieties/depression (meditation is scientifically proven to aid mental health issues as it improves the mind by changing the pattern of the brain. brain has neuroplasticity meaning it's capable of change)

  - physically beneficial for circulatory and respiratory systems and the heart

  - putting out the fires and cultivating positive virtues

  - liberating the mind from false views
• what are the 5 negative qualities that Buddhists should seek to overcome through meditation

  these qualities along with the three fires hinder psychological progress; it takes effort to put them out as they're innate within all of us

  1. greed and craving: keeps you bound to the cycle of samsara and Dukkha as you're constantly dissatisfied, stopping you being in the present moment and fuelling the ego, e.g. wanting a new phone/house. counterpart = generosity

  2. anger: irrational, no clarity of mind and contributes to hatred, holding onto anger hurts/harms us e.g. physical violence, incorrect perceptions; meditation helps us control reactions, and may not eliminate angry feelings but allows us not to react on it and deal with it rationally. counterpart = patience and compassion

  3. ill will: incorrect attitude, selfish and leads to others unhappiness, not driven by 3 virtues and causes us to harbour ignorance, linking to anger, e.g. xenophobia, prejudice, bullying and fear (Shemima Begum). counterpart = compassion

  4. laziness: not putting in right effort/discipline (which Therevada emphasizes), e.g. lethargy, slovenliness. meditation promotes heightened awareness

  5. anxiety, doubt and hesitation: prevent you succeeding/acting, due to fear of failure, gets in the way of spiritual progress. meditation allows time to think about feelings and reason your anxiety; also everything is impermanent so these feelings will pass
• what is samatha meditation (aka tranquility meditation)


  - means 'calm abiding', promotes clarity of mind, calm, focus and concentration

  - promotes being at ease with the self and the external world

  - first step is cultivation of mindfulness (awareness of ourselves and our bodies) of which there are 4 foundations

  - can lead to higher states of consciousness which occur in 4 stages (jhanas) but not Nirvana

  - basic type of meditation

  - breathing meditation/ object meditation (immersing yourself in one thing, e.g. Buddha statue, flower, candle)
• what are the 4 foundations of mindfulness

  1. Body: the physical organism - focus on impermanence in Buddhism and what it is to be a human; recognising that we're physiological, biological processes helps us cool the ego and see that we're essentially all the same, promoting unity. Buddhists used to meditate at cemeteries on decomposing bodies as it helps us remove divisions

  2. Feelings: identifying why they arise - this can provide balance and regulate how we feel

  3. mind

  4. mental states - focusing on what affects our state of mind; promotes connection

  
  

  aim of this is to meditate and concentrate on one of these for a short period of time and become totally aware of it; makes a person aware of the 5 skhandas and the components that make up what we call the person
• what is the samatha practice of breathing meditation

  - concentration solely on the process of breathing, letting all other thoughts pass by

  - concentrating on breath going in and out and the diaphragm moving

  - helps us get to a state where unhelpful and invasive thoughts pass by and we don't hold onto them, as this isn't useful
• what is the purpose of loving kindness meditation/the four Brahma Viharas

  - helps us develop the capacity to love others and reconnect with the love inside us; to have confidence in ourselves so we're better able to love others

  - the process takes us outside of ourselves and emphasises community

  - helps us recognise that our issues are shared and universal

  - helps us to put things in perspective
• what are the 4 stages of loving kindness meditation

  Metta: Loving Kindness - genuine wish for everyone to be happy and loved; begins with reminding yourself that you're lovable and remembering the feeling of this love and then extending it to those you like, those you're neutral towards and those who you dislike, as well as all of the beings in the universe. antidote to aggression

  
  

  Karuna: Compassion - genuine wish for all beings to be free of suffering and the commitment to help where you can. focuses on individuals/groups with specific suffering, e.g. homosexuals in Uganda, Ukraine (could accept refugees into your home) and acting by giving to charity. antidote to cruelty

  
  

  Mudita: Sympathetic Joy - sincere rejoicing for the happiness of others, counteracting envy and jealousy

  
  

  Upekkha: Equanimity - loving of all beings equally, counteracting prejudice and discrimination, encouraging even mindedness throughout ups and downs of life
• what positive qualities does loving kindness meditation develop

  - compassion

  - generosity

  - wisdom

  - loss of ego

  - recognition of the unity of all things
• what are the 4 levels of dhyana/jhyana that one can achieve through samatha meditation

  dyana = advanced level of consciousness that makes the mind more open to the recognition of Nirvana

  1. State of detachment; practitioner is able to achieve a higher degree of clarity and concentration and not be disturbed by surrounding distractions

  2. Quieting the endless chatter of the mind; internal conversations and thoughts still, zoning in and being fully immersed

  3. A rare and spiritual joy is attained; practitioner experiences a feeling of elation that comes from learning in a spiritual sense

  4. Totally peaceful and undisturbed state, clear calm consciousness; meditating undisturbed with total concentration and peace - sometimes referred to as samadhi
• what is vipassana meditation

  - known as 'insight' meditation, focuses on gaining insight into the Dharma by testing it against our experience of life

  - requires a philosophical and analytical approach to insights into the nature of reality so we can gain a deeper understanding

  - usually samatha is practised first as a basis to provide mindfulness and focus for analysis of a topic

  - requires reflection and contemplation on the self and the psychological journey from Dukkha to Nirvana

  - main topics that one may focus on in Vipassana mediation are: 4 Noble truths, Annata, Anicca and Wisdom, but one can also focus on any difficult life situations and positive states

  - helps us train our minds to see the impermanence, suffering, and non-inherent existence of each object of meditation, e.g. impermanence is joyful but also sad

  - the aim is that understanding of the Dharma doesn't remain theoretical but becomes personal and related to experience

  - main focus for Therevada Buddhists
• explain the 3 meditation aspects of the eightfold path

  right effort - willingness to bring about positive states of mind and to apply the teachings of wisdom and ethics

  
  

  right mindfulness - continual awareness of the external world as well as the arising of feelings (4 foundations of mindfulness). awareness of why certain feelings arise and the root of them, and how to help them pass. seek to extinguish the causes through awareness of them

  
  

  right concentration - concentration needed for meditation and all other aspects of the path
• what meditational practices to Therevada Buddhists use


  Therevada Buddhists are the school of the elders

  - samatha/vipassana

  - chanting

  - reciting scripture and vinyana rules
• how did the Theravadin writer Buddhaghosa categorise recommended practices for different types of people

  - extrovert person, inclined to greed and too attached to the material world should meditate on the 10 different types of decomposing corpses or analyse what the human body is really made up of under the skin

  - cheerful person, inclined to faith should concentrate on the happy and faith inspiring aspects of Buddhism, e.g. the Buddha's good qualities and the Sangha. should think about morality and generosity to inspire positive action

  - negative person, inclined to hatred should practice loving-kindness mediation and try to relax by concentrating on discs of pure colour (blue, yellow, red or white)

  - 2 confused types, ruled by either delusion/too much discursive thinking should gather themselves through mindful breathing and concentration on one object

  - intelligent person can advance best by meditating on the truths of death, peace and analysing the body into 4 elements
• what are the 2 types of meditation in Mahayana Buddhism

  Tibetan and Zen

  common themes include:

  - meditation on emptiness on the sameness and unity of all things

  - inner Buddha nature

  - skill in means

  - master-pupil relationship
• explain meditation in Zen Buddhism

  - zen literally means meditation; zen teaching is described as a direct transmission of awaked consciousness outside of tradition and scripture; not founded on words; directly pointing to the human heart; seeing into ones own nature and realising Buddhahood

  - practitioners aim to do everything in a heightened state of awareness and mindfulness, and meditation is given more importance than scriptures, as intellectual study seen as a hindrance

  - seen as a living religion, as emphasis is placed on mind-to-mind transmission of Dharma from master to disciple

  - extreme form of Buddhism; everything is a source of meditation, 'the empty mind', 'state of no thought', all meditation is religious experience

  - when a person is fully present in the moment, they express the unity of all things, the oneness of everything and this is known as Satori (a flash of the intuitive grasp of the true nature of reality and awakening of the senses)

  - experience sought in zen is that of perfect wisdom, the realization of the empty nature of all things or the realisation of the non-dual nature of all things
• explain meditation on emptiness

  - all things exist relatively therefore nothing has its own being (svabhava), meaning nothing exists independently of anything else and all things are dependent on something else for its existence

  - meditating on this helps loss of ego and promotes compassion and equinamity to all beings
• what are some practices in zen Buddhism


  - all actions are a focus of meditation, e.g. cooking/cleaning/sweeping, raking the zen garden, art, archery, martial arts, tea ceremonies, Koan (Rinzai, the violent way focus on sudden awakening, e.g. shouting) and Zazen (Soto, the clam way focus on gradual realization of the truth, e.g. intensive daily meditation)

  - being fully immersed in everything you do = Satori
• what are some meditation methods used in Tibetan Buddhism

  Mantras - meaning mind protection, sacred speech, small repetitive chants that help focus meditation which are not just for the practitioner but all sentient beings, practising deeper tones in chanting, use of Malas (prayer beads) helps keep count of mantra repetitions

  
  

  Mandala - good for visualisation, sacred art/space which represents the mind from confusion to clarity. every part of the mandala is symbolic and monks can make the mandala from sand (construction and destruction of the mandala is a common practice and after destruction the mandala is sent out into the world as a blessing). process of sand mandala aims to generate compassion

  
  

  meditation on inner Buddha nature - all beings have the potential to become enlightened and meditation focuses on becoming illuminated in the positive aspects of the Buddha nature and ignorance. meditation awakens inner Buddha nature (skill in means)
• explain meditation in Pure Land Buddhism

  - focused on devotion to Amida Buddha

  - aim is to recognise emptiness and inner Buddha nature through losing the self in Amida, helping to recognise the non duality of ultimate reality

  - meditate by: chanting/reciting the name of Amida (nembutsu), meditating on the Sukhvati sutras and paying respects to the statues of Amida