Meditation
Meditation is to try to get past the "thinking" mind, and into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness.
Meditation is used in Buddhism , Christianity (sometimes), Hinduism ( where Yoga is important ) and other religions.
Buddhist Meditation
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In Buddhism, three things are very important: being a good person, making the mind stronger, and understanding why people are in pain (Dukkha).[1] Meditation is the main way that Buddhists make their minds stronger.
Buddhist meditation is not just used for spiritual reasons. In general, Buddhist meditation can help anyone calm their body and mind. Research shows that Buddhist meditation lowers stress, anxiety and depression.[2]
For Buddhists, meditation is used to calm the mind so that the mind can better see the cause of pain. Buddhists believe that this type of seeing can end pain.[3]
Most types of Buddhist meditation focus on something. The most popular things to focus on include the breath, love, other emotions, and religious images and sounds.[4]
Most Buddhists find that a teacher and support and encouragement from other members of the Buddhist community are important elements of meditation practice. The Buddhist community is also known as the Sangha.
Christian meditation
Christians sometimes meditate by thinking about small parts of the Bible, or by saying the words of a prayer to themselves over and over.
Notes
- ↑ In Buddhism, these three things together are called the "threefold training." In the words of 2,000-year-old Buddhist books, these three things are called sīla, citta (or samādhi) and paññā. See, for example, Thanissaro (1998a) and Thanissaro (1998b).
- ↑ Kabat-Zinn (1990); and, Linehan (1993), p. 1.
- ↑ See, for instance, Thanissaro (1998c).
- ↑ See, for example, Kamalashila (2003).
References
- Kabat-Zinn, Jon (1990). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. NY: Dell Publishing. ISBN 0-385-30312-2.
- Kamalashila (1996, 2003). Meditation: The Buddhist Art of Tranquility and Insight. Birmingham: Windhorse Publications. ISBN 1-899579-05-2. Retrieved 2007-11-10 from Kamalashila's personal web page at http://kamalashila.co.uk/Meditation_Web/index.htm.
- Linehan, Marsha M. (1993). Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder. NY: Guilford Press. ISBN 0-89862-034-1.
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998a). Sikkha Sutta: Trainings (1) (AN 3.88). Retrieved 2007-11-10 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.088.than.html.
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998b). Sikkha Sutta: Trainings (2) (AN 3.89). Retrieved 2007-11-10 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.089.than.html.
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998c). Kimsuka Sutta: The Riddle Tree (SN 35.204). Retrieved 2007-11-10 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.204.than.html.