Medatation
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Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness.
Buddhist meditation encompasses a variety of meditation techniques that develop mindfulness, concentration, tranquility and insight. Core meditation techniques are preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through the millennia of teacher-student transmissions.
The most popular types of Buddhist Meditation follows the classification of Western Buddhist order Meditation teacher Kamalashila. Kamalashila represents `Five basic methods` as a `Traditional set of meditations, each one an antidote to one of the five principal obstructions to Enlightenment`. These are:
1. Mindfulness of Breathing (Anapanasati)
2. Metta Bhavana (including all four Brahma-Viharas)
3. Contemplation of Impermanence
4. Six Element Practice (earth, water, fire, air, space, consciousness)
5. Contemplation of Conditionality
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Walking Meditation- Kamalashila's guide states that various methods of meditation are effectively divided into Vipassana meditation (insight meditation) as well as Samatha meditation (tranquillity meditation). In this case, the two Samatha meditations identified by Kamalashila include metta bhavana (development of loving kindness) and also anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing). The contemplation on impermanence, contemplation on conditionality as well as the six element practice are included in Vipassana meditations. These Samatha meditations usually serve as the precedence and preparation for Vipassana meditations.
Samatha Meditation - Samatha means calm. Samatha meditation is an effective but gentle way of training the mind to develop inner strength and freedom from turmoil, leading on to clarity and understanding. This path from calm to insight was followed by the Buddha himself, and is a central tradition of Buddhist meditation. There are many kinds of Samatha meditation techniques: this one is based on attention to the breath, a subject which is said to be suitable for all types of people.
By regular daily practice the chattering, unruly mind gradually becomes calmer and develops clarity. The way our mind works becomes less confusing to us and we begin to understand the habits of mind that hold us back from happiness and freedom. We become kinder to ourselves and those around us. Meditation is a practical matter: increased awareness brings an ability to make the most of ourselves in our daily lives.
Some of the Benefits you may obtain from the practice of meditation are:
- Marked stress reduction
- Higher self-esteem
- Improved concentration
- Increased productivity
- Clarity of mind -resulting in less knee jerk actions and more responses.
- More positive thinking
- Better relationships
- A sense of youthful happiness - reclaiming of the wonderment of life ( childlikeness ). Fun.
- Openness to life - reclaiming some of the wonderment of living life as you stay in the present moment.
- Reduced dependency on alcohol or other drugs or desire to stop altogether and to see what is real and genuine- experiencing the value of a clear mind.
- At the deeper levels of meditation the blood sometimes cleans itself and you can heal the body more easily.
- A significant lessening of Depression as we discover how mind really works...how depression occurs and how to get uncaught by it.
- Become kinder to yourself.
- Become kinder to others.
- Developing an inner strength.
- Reduction in mental chatter, busy mind, monkey mind! Better focus.
- Marked improvement with sleeping and the advantages of good sleep.
- Easy and happier rising in the morning. Not foggy minded anymore.
- An ease of dealing with previously difficult situations. a new formula, new perspective for approaching things.
- Achievement of your goals becomes easier and more natural and enjoyable again.
Meditation Center in Leh. The Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre.
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