Meditation- An Overview

Meditation is a very important part in Buddhist practice and cultivation. Hopefully the general information provided here from various sources will be beneficial to those who are new to meditation or have not yet found a teacher. This is an overview of some different facets of meditation practice.

Firstly, it is important to ask the question "Why do we meditate?" In the west over the last number of years, meditation has become a somewhat trendy activity for people to relax, unwind, deal with stress and various other reasons. This is not to say that no benefit is gained from this, but it is important to realize the many other reasons why meditation is an intregal part of Buddhist practice and to set one's motivation accordingly.

Here are some exerpts...

The essence of the buddhadharma, the teachings of the Buddha, is practice. And when we say practice, we mean the practice of meditation, which can consist of either the meditation known as tranquillity or that known as insight. But in either case, it must be implemented in actual practice. The reason we practice meditation is to attain happiness. And this means states of happiness in both the short term and the long term. With regard to short-term happiness, when we speak of happiness, we usually mean either or both of two things, one of which is physical pleasure and the other of which is mental pleasure. But if you look at either of these pleasant experiences, the root of either one has to be a mind that is at peace, a mind that is free of suffering. Because as long as your mind is unhappy and without any kind of tranquillity or peace, then no matter how much physical pleasure you experience, it will not take the form of happiness per se. On the other hand, even if you lack the utmost ideal physical circumstances of wealth and so on, if your mind is at peace, you will be happy anyway.
We practice meditation, therefore, in part in order to obtain the short-term benefit of a state of mental happiness and peace. Now, the reason why meditation helps with this is that, normally, we have a great deal of thought, or many different kinds of thoughts running through our minds. And some of these thoughts are pleasant, even delightful. Some of them however, are unpleasant, agitating, and worrisome. Now, if you examine the thoughts that are present in your mind from time to time, you will see that the pleasant thoughts are comparatively few, and the unpleasant thoughts are many - which means that as long as your mind is ruled or controlled by the thoughts that pass through it, you will be quite unhappy. In order to gain control over this process, therefore, we begin with the meditation practice of tranquillity, which produces a basic state of contentment and peace within the mind of the practitioner.

In fact, the short-term benefits of meditation are more than merely peace of mind, because our physical health as well depends, to a great extent, upon our state of mind. And therefore, if you cultivate this state of mental contentment and peace, then you will tend not to become ill, and you will as well tend to heal easily if and when you do become ill. The reason for this is that one of the primary conditions which brings about states of illness is mental agitation, which produces a corresponding agitation or disturbance of the channels and the energies within your body. These generate new sicknesses, ones you have not yet experienced, and also prevent the healing of old sicknesses. This agitation of the channels and winds or energies also obstructs the benefit which could be derived from medical treatment. If you practice meditation, then as your mind settles down, the channels and energies moving through the channels return to their rightful functioning, as a result of which you tend not to become ill and you are able to heal any illnesses you already have. And we can see an illustration of this also in the life of Jetsun Milarepa, who engaged in the utmost austerities with regard to where he lived, the clothes he wore, the food he ate, and so on, throughout the early part of his life. And yet this did not harm his health, because he managed to have a very long life, was extremely vigorous and youthful to the end of his life, which indicates the fact that through the proper practice of meditation, the mental peace and contentment that is generated calms down or corrects the functioning of the channels and energies, allowing for the healing of sickness and the prevention of sickness.
The ultimate or long-term benefit of the practice of meditation is becoming free of all suffering, which means no longer having to experience the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death. Now, this attainment of freedom is called, in the common language of all the Buddhist traditions, buddhahood, and in the particular terminology of the vajrayana, the supreme attainment, or supreme siddhi. In any case, the root or basic cause of this attainment is the practice of meditation. The reason for this is, again, that generally we have a lot of thoughts running through our minds, some of which are beneficial - thoughts of love, compassion, rejoicing in the happiness of others, and so on - and many of which are negative - thoughts of attachment, aversion, jealousy, competitiveness, and so on. Now, there are comparatively few of the former type of thought and comparatively many of the latter type of thought, because we have such strong habits that have been accumulating within us over a period of time without beginning. And it's only by removing these habits of negativity that we can free ourselves from suffering.

Another...

The Need for Meditation
When we do a physical action, this action can have either a positive or a negative result. When we say something, it can be either good or bad. So with words and actions we can see tangible results, but with thoughts there is no concrete action expressed. The mind, however, determines all of our physical and verbal actions because whatever we do, there is thought behind it. When that thought is positive, the actions that follow are good; when that thought is negative, the actions that follow are negative. The starting point of changing what we do is to change the way we think.
When we try to change a mental disposition, we must modify our habits. We can do this though meditation, that is, using our mind in a more concentrated, controlled way. What is troubling the mind can be removed with meditation so our mind can exist in its purity. If our mind is distracted, we can change it into an undistracted mind through meditation. We can change bad habits into good habits through meditation. Then when we manage to change our mental habits, we can change our physical actions and verbal behavior. Once we have changed these, we can reach the ultimate goal of our practice, Buddhahood.

Another...

IN THE TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA, the phenomenal world depends on mind: the material and the nonmaterial are all mind and therefore reflect our attitude or state of mind. In the phenomenal world, the experience of suffering does not come from dharmas or phenomena; they do not cling to us or make us confused. It is through expectation and doubt, attachment and aversion that our minds create samsara; it is not concepts or values, but the way we react to them. For example, we say that the situation in which we live makes our lives difficult, as if this difficulty were imposed by the world around us. We may say that New York is a difficult place to live with its tall buildings and many cars, but these are not what make it samsaric. We are simply looking for something to blame. If we think the problems are outside us and we have to get rid of them, we are stuck in samsara. This very clinging to an inside and an outside is what creates samsara .

In order to free ourselves of these habitual patterns, we must first tame our mind and develop mental stability. This is why meditation is so important. Meditation is "getting used to" or "building a good habit." As we are now, we experience defilements and negative patterns which did not arise all at once. From beginningless time we have been building, reinforcing and storing these habits in the alaya consciousness. They can be broken through, however, by getting used to positive habits in the practice of meditation. This will allow us to experience the nature of our mind, our Buddhanature, which has always been pure.

One more...

Generally we wasted our lives, distracted from our true selves, in endless activity; meditation, on the other hand, is the way to bring us back to ourselves, where we can really experience and taste our full being, beyond all habitual patterns. Our lives are lived in intense and anxious struggle, in a swirl of speed and aggression, in competing, grasping, possessing, and achieving, forever burdening ourselves with extraneous activities and preoccupations. Meditation is the exact opposite. To meditate is a complete break with how we “normally” operate, for it is a state free of all cares and concerns, in which there is no competition, no desire to possess or grasp at anything, no intense and anxious struggle, and no hunger to achieve: and ambitionless state where there is neither acceptance nor rejection, neither hope nor fear, a state in which we slowly begin to release all those emotions and concepts that have imprisoned us into the space of natural simplicity.


Much, much more can be said of the reasons for the importance of meditation in Buddhist practice and cultivation. If one truly wants to end suffering then they will need to look inwards to realize that much of it is created in their own mind by delusions, afflictive emotions, ignorance, attachment, dualistic thinking, clinging to a non-inherant existent self and so forth. "As karma is produced by the mind, the mind can also deminish karma."

Here are a few more comments on meditation...

Meditation is putting into practice. Its like learning to cook. You may have learned from a great chef what to cook, how to prepare it , have a good description of what cooking is. But as you have never cooked in actuality, you may be starving to death anyway. What you have learned from the chef has not been of benefit to you, because you are not practicing it. You have to cook to enjoy the meal, and that is the practice.

To experience the qualities, the wisdom and knowledge, that grow within ourselves, to enjoy them, we have to actually meditate, we have to actually practice. Now, many people think that meditation is only for beginners. They think that once you are in the advanced level you may not need the meditation. Meditation is necessary for both beginners and advanced beings. It is an essential part of the spiritual quest.

Again, meditation teaches you how to relax and how to develop peacefulness in your mind. With this peacefulness also comes a happy and joyful frame of mind. Because you now have this inner peace and joyfulness, you are able to deal with others without any frustration, without any aggression, and always keeping your happy state of mind. When others experience you without any aggression, with a happy state of mind, they automatically like your atmosphere, they like your presence. You become liked by all beings.