Meditation
Thinking quietly as a spiritual or religious exercise. Connection of the mind and soul with the Divine using breathing and other techniques. In Buddhism, using one of a set of techniques or exercises for calming the mind, developing positive emotions and understanding the way things are. is one of the most important types of worship in Buddhism. There are various types of meditation. These include:
- A state of concentrated calmness; meditation focused on one object or idea., which is calm concentration
- ‘Insight meditation’, in which Buddhists aim to understand the nature of reality., which means insight
- A type of Buddhist meditation that means 'loving kindness.' , which is loving kindness
Meditation has a clear purpose. This is to develop a calm and focused mind and to have a better understanding of the teachings of the The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, after his enlightenment. It is a title which means the enlightened or awakened one. so that Buddhists can reach The realisation of the truth about life. In Buddhism it releases a person from the cycle of rebirth..
The importance of samatha meditation
Samatha meditation is mainly used in Meaning ‘teachings of the elders'. It is primarily focused on the Arhat path to enlightenment. This branch of Buddhism can be found in Sri Lanka and South East Asia.. Buddhists who perform this type of meditation try to focus the mind by concentrating on their breathing. They aim to concentrate at a deeper level.
Samatha meditation is about calmness and it relies on the mindfulness of breathing. This means breathing thoughtfully. The focus is on the body, and the person who is meditating concentrates fully on breathing in and out.
The Buddha taught that it can be helpful to use Visual objects used in meditation. as focuses to aid meditation. For example, a person may place a coloured disk in front of them and concentrate their thoughts and attention on it. Buddhists aim to reach enlightenment, and to do this they must be able to focus and concentrate. This form of meditation is a helpful way of learning to do that.
The importance of other forms of meditations
Another form of meditation is called vipassana meditation. This type of meditation helps Buddhists to seek the truth about reality and to develop wisdom, so that they can reach enlightenment. Buddhists aim to gain insight into true reality by reflecting on the teachings of the Buddha during this kind of meditation.
Vipassana meditation has a different focus from samatha meditation. In vipassana meditation, Buddhists focus on the In Buddhism these are impermanence (anicca), dissatisfaction or suffering (dukkha), and non-self (anatta). They are characteristics shared by all humans.. By doing this, they hope to develop wisdom and work towards reaching enlightenment.
Some Buddhists, such as Zen Buddhists, practise a seated form of meditation known as Seated meditation.. They sit and relax for long periods to focus on their breathing. They become aware of the moment they are in before re-focusing and meditating further.
Metta bhavana meditation is another type of meditation. It means loving kindness. In this kind of meditation, Buddhists try to develop calm and inner peace. They also focus on developing good qualities within themselves, such as kindness towards others. This is done first by focusing the loving kindness on themselves so that they can love themselves no matter what faults they have. This then means they can focus loving kindness on others, as they accept others no matter what their faults are. This enables Buddhists to show genuine loving kindness.
The role of visualisation
Some Buddhists visualise an object in their mind, which means they imagine seeing it in front of them. This is another way of focusing the mind during meditation. Through focusing on the detail of the object in their mind, Buddhists can gain depth of concentration and focus. Visualisation is not the same as using kasinas, as visualisation does not use a real object. Instead, Buddhists imagine the detail of the object in their mind.
Some Buddhists focus on a Refers to one god or goddess.In Buddhism, a deity refers to an enlightened Buddha, bodhisattva or deva (divine being). when they meditate. Buddhists do not believe in a god, in the sense of a supreme and almighty being who created the world. Therefore, in Buddhism, a deity is someone who has been enlightened, such as the Buddha. Some Buddhists therefore meditate using a picture of the Buddha or a Someone who has attained enlightenment but will not rest until the end of suffering of all sentient beings. To become a Bodhisattva is the goal of many Mahayana Buddhists.. They focus on the qualities of the deity in the picture, rather than what the deity looks like. This helps Buddhists to understand what they want to be like and may also help them reach enlightenment. One of the major schools of Buddhism, it includes Tibetan and Zen Buddhism. Buddhists even visualise themselves as the Buddha to try to gain more spiritual development and reach enlightenment.