What is Meditation?

What is Meditation

Meditation is an integral part of a larger process of becoming healthy. It is both a diagnostic and therapeutic tool used in this endeavour. In the classical Buddhist context, the term meditation is used to translate the Sanskrit term bhävana and its Tibetan equivalent gom.

The Sanskrit term carries with it the connotation of cultivating particular consciousness or perception, while its Tibetan equivalent gom has the idea of developing a familiarity of that perception and emotions like such as compassion. Together they imply the idea of a process of repetitive cultivation of functional states of mind, and in this regard you could call it “mind training”.

In the west, we are very familiar with the notion of physical training to become physically fit, but not so when it comes to our inner world, the world of the mind. As mind play such a major role in our life, it makes sense to spend some time training to become mentally fit. This is what meditation does. Minds such as friendliness, citizenship, open-mindedness, humor, integrity, prudence and so on are the actual causes of happiness. The implication of cultivating functional states of mind, is the discordant minds such as stress, depression, anger and so forth, cannot manifest at the same time as the mind of love, compassion or wisdom. It is difficult to be cheerful, relaxed yet stressed all at the same time. Becoming aware of this fact, we can start to develop these minds bringing them more and more into our everyday experiences.

By doing so we are in fact developing the actual causes of peace and happiness. Whether it is with respect to a habit, a way of seeing yourself and the world around you, or a way of being. It can be said that meditation is about becoming familiar with functional states of mind and views of reality that are concordant with happiness producing experiences and states of mind.

Why Is Meditation Important?

Greek philosophers diagnosed the weakness of will to be the problem of why knowledge does not immediately translate into action. Smokers are a good example of this. They know fully well, that every cigarette is killing them, yet they continue to smoke. The Eastern wisdom traditions like Buddhism on the other hand, would argue that the problem is the failure to integrate such knowledge into the person’s being. It is meditation that serves as the link and the tool in the integration of intellectual knowledge and the desired changes in our behavior. Therefore in order to make meaningful changes in our physical actions, we need to change our perspective on life.

We Need to Meditate.

Three Levels of Understanding: It is said that there are three levels of understanding.
1. Intellectual knowledge
2. Knowledge that has been gained by thinking and contemplation
3. Knowledge that has arisen from meditation.

It is the third type of understanding that we are trying to cultivate. These three levels of understanding are a process of deepening stages of insight into the truth of a given subject. First one hears or reads, for example, unhappiness comes from the mind and that we have the capacity to change this situation. At first the understanding remains somewhat superficial and tied closely to understanding the meaning of the words. We then reflect deeply upon the meaning of those words using analysis as well as relating their meaning to our own existence. Eventually a deep sense of conviction will arise of the truth and this is the second level of understanding.Taking the knowledge from reflection - the second level - and applying it in meditation we gain the third level of understanding. We alternate between analysis and absorption meditation to refine our understanding. Finally this level of understanding will pierce the psyche so that it is totally integrated into our very being, such that it is incorporated into the habit of our mind. This third level of understanding arises as a result of prolonged internalization of the insights gained through meditation. This level of understanding is characterized as being “experiential,” “spontaneous,” and “effortless”. A good analogy here is the process of acquiring a skill, such as swimming or riding a bicycle where the key factor is actual practice.

Different Types of Meditation

There is the classic mindfulness meditation, wherein the individual learns to pay deep attention to the minute processes within the flow of his or her breath or mental processes, while remaining undistracted by sensory or discursive thought. Then there is the meditation in the form of taking something as an object, such as when the person takes the fundamental truth that we as all beings want to find happiness and do not want to experience suffering, and that in this regard all beings are equal – thus developing equanimity towards all beings. Then there is the meditation in the form of cultivation of positive mental qualities, such as compassion and loving-kindness or friendliness. Here compassion and loving kindness are not so much as the objects of meditation; rather we are seeking to cultivate these qualities within our heart. There is also the practice of meditation as visualization. Here we use visualization as a tool to overcome deeply ingrained psychological assumptions about ourselves and our capacity for change.

Given the various types of meditation you can see that it requires such different terms as “cultivation,” “visualization,” “aspiration,” “reflection,” “meditation” and so on in different contexts. However broadly speaking, the practice of meditation can be broken into two generic categories: absorptive meditation and analytic meditation. Absorptive meditation is a type of meditation whereby the meditator focuses single-pointedly on a given object or emotion so that one becomes completely absorbed into this experience. Analytic meditation on the other hand is a refined process of analysis and critical thinking whereby we take an object and investigate its nature, function and impact on our continuum.

Understanding this diversity of meditation practices and their associated states is crucial if we are to avoid the temptation of viewing meditation as constituting some kind of homogeneous mental state, characterized primarily by absence of thought. This way meditation acts as a therapeutic process whereby we learn to let go of even the most deep-seated tendency to view ourselves and the world around us, as being inherently and concretely a certain way. I would argue that meditation plays a major role in teaching us how to see ourselves and the world, in a new, “enlightened” way.

Benefits of Meditation

Through meditation you will gain insights into who you really are, and what makes you do certain actions. Most people have a narrow and naïve view of themselves. They assume that what appears to them exists the way it appears. Through having greater access into the psychological aspects that motivate your actions you will have greater understanding of what constitutes actions that produce a constructive result. Thereby making your life a series of positive results.

• Greater Orderliness of Brain Functioning
• Broader Comprehension and Improved Ability to Focus
• Increased Creativity
• Deeper Level of Relaxation
• Improved Perception and Memory
• Development of Intelligence
• Lower Blood Pressure
• Increased Self-Actualization
• Increased Relaxation and Decreased Stress
• Improved Health and More Positive Health Habits

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