Buddhism Meditation

Buddhism Meditation and the Search for Life’s Meaning


Today's world, with all its excitements, its adventures, and its discoveries, is moving in a very fast pace. This can be very thrilling and fun-filled for the modern man, but this can also be exhausting to the soul. That is exactly the reason why many people try to find comfort and solitude amidst the changes taking place in their environment. And, it is also because of this that meditation is becoming popular among many.

Meditation can be defined in different ways, but this is really a broad concept that no measure of words can totally unveil its real sense. Meditation is best understood when experienced and felt rather than when explained. And although this cannot be measured by words, maybe you will be able to grasp it more easily in the light of its purpose.

Why do people meditate? The prevailing reason is the search for inner peace, the peace of the soul. Peace, in this world of changes and in this race of life, is becoming more and more elusive. In the search for things and possessions, many live a life of materialism, always looking forward into the future and seldom looking within them to monitor the state of their inner self. And once they have finally decided to venture within, they find the various pieces of themselves in disarray. This is when meditation is often resorted to. Others meditate to contemplate the things around them, to look into the realities of their life, and to find the meaning of the world to which they belong.

The popularity of meditation varies among races, cultures, and religions. It may also be seen differently according to various people. Buddhism, a popular religion and philosophy that originated in Asia, places a great emphasis on Buddhism meditation as a way of discovering life's meaning. To the Buddhists, meditation is associated with enlightenment.

Buddhists recognize the presence of sufferings in the world. But then, recognition is nothing without any intention to alleviate and free mankind from this plague. This is therefore the ultimate purpose of Buddhism meditation – to free man from pain and agony.

To be able to do this, one must know what causes pain and suffering. This is basically brought about by man's endless desires and expectations from the world, from the people around him, and from life itself. Expectation usually breeds despair, and this is what man must conquer. He must stop expecting from the world.

To meditate is to be enlightened, to see things in the light of reality. Life is not a bed of roses; it is an ever-changing sphere. To live life fully and to enjoy the freedom of living, one must control his cravings and desires. Only when this is achieved will man be able to know that life is not actually as complicated as he has come to believe.

Meditation, at its best, is a great tool to help you find inner peace, and to preserve it, no matter how frustrating the outside world can be. Given the right motivation and the right purpose, this activity is one that will keep you focused on the truth that you need to know about life to keep you living healthy and satisfied.

BONUS : Buddhist meditation is one of the most complex and varied forms of meditation on the earth. Practiced by millions of people, this form of meditation is varied by the school that teaches it. As each school has a different method of teaching, the specific forms of Buddhist meditation is often unique to that school. However, there are many principles of Buddhist meditation that is carried over between the various schools.

The general goal of Buddhist meditation is to pursue tranquility and insight to obtain Enlightenment and Nirvana. Typically, this is done through the Samatha meditations and the Vipassana meditations. Samatha is a reference towards tranquility, while Vipassana is a reference towards insight. Each of these types have different methods, and these different methods are all used to develop certain aspects of yourself.

In Buddhist meditation, the Samatha meditations are responsible for developing concentration, loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. Some schools will also develop more aspects of the self, but these five aspects almost always tend to be pursued.

In Buddhist meditation, the Vipassana mediation tends to develop inner peace and freedom, clarity of self, as well as aspects of wisdom and compassion. Due to the belief system of the Buddhist, some forms of Samatha overlap Vipassana, which is acceptable as achieving Enlightenment and Nirvana is through the combination of both Vipassan and Samatha.

If you do not believe in the Buddhist religion, you can still make use of the fundamental methods of meditation, although much of the spirituality and meaning behind the meditations is lost. Non-Buddhists tend to strive towards health and mental clarity, as well as other non-Buddhist goals. This changes the focus of the meditations, although still permits non-Buddhists to benefit from the form.

Buddhist meditation is a combination of thought and breathing techniques. These two basic techniques span across all of the schools. However, the number of steps used to master the techniques of meditation are extremely varied. For example, the Theravada tradition has a little over ninety ways to develop the mind and concentration. The Tibetan tradition, on the other hand, has thousands of visualization meditations.

Most teachers of Buddhist meditation will only teach from the school they were originally taught from. There are only a few teachers that will try to span the different schools and categorize the practices of these different schools.

Buddhist meditation is typically guided until the principles of meditation have been taught to the pupil.