Question
I read and article in time a while back about how monks meditate while focusing on certain emotions. If I was to try this style of meditation, what things should I focus on or block out? I ultimately want to learn to open my chakras and all that. Thx!
I read and article in time a while back about how monks meditate while focusing on certain emotions. If I was to try this style of meditation, what things should I focus on or block out? I ultimately want to learn to open my chakras and all that. Thx!
Answer
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. Non-Buddhists use these techniques for the pursuit of physical and mental health as well as for non-Buddhist spiritual aims.[1] Buddhists pursue meditation to achieve Enlightenment and Nirvana. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā and jhāna (Pāli; Skt.: dhyāna). Given the large number and diversity of traditional Buddhist meditation practices, this article primarily identifies authoritative contextual frameworks – both contemporary and canonical – for the variety of practices. For those seeking school-specific meditation instruction, it might be most expedient to simply review articles listed in the "See also" section below. Types of Buddhist meditation ====================== There are many types and forms of meditation used in the various schools of Buddhism. For example, in the Theravada tradition alone, there are over fifty methods for developing mindfulness and forty for developing concentration, while the Tibetan tradition has thousands of visualization meditations. Most classical and contemporary Buddhist meditation guides are school specific. Only a few teachers attempt to synthesize, crystallize and categorize practices from multiple Buddhist traditions. Kamalashila's "Five Basic Methods" =========================== Western Buddhist Order meditation teacher Kamalashila identifies "Five Basic Methods" as "a traditional set of meditations, each one an antidote to one of the five principal obstructions to Enlightenment. Kamalashila's Five Basic Methods are: (1) Mindfulness of Breathing (2) Metta Bhavana (including all four Brahma-viharas) (3) Contemplation of Impermanence, including: •contemplation of a decomposing corpse •reflection on death (see, for example, Upajjhatthana Sutta) •reflection on the Tibetan Book of the Dead's "Root Verses" •contemplations of mental states and external objects (4) Six Element Practice (earth, water, fire, air, space, "consciousness") (5) Contemplation of Conditionality In addition, he discusses three other meditations as "among the most important" not identified above: •Visualization, including: •visualizations of Bodhisattvas (see, for instance, Tara) •kasina meditations •recollection of the Buddha •visualization of the Six-Element Stupa •Just Sitting (see Shikantaza) •Walking Meditation
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. Non-Buddhists use these techniques for the pursuit of physical and mental health as well as for non-Buddhist spiritual aims.[1] Buddhists pursue meditation to achieve Enlightenment and Nirvana. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā and jhāna (Pāli; Skt.: dhyāna). Given the large number and diversity of traditional Buddhist meditation practices, this article primarily identifies authoritative contextual frameworks – both contemporary and canonical – for the variety of practices. For those seeking school-specific meditation instruction, it might be most expedient to simply review articles listed in the "See also" section below. Types of Buddhist meditation ====================== There are many types and forms of meditation used in the various schools of Buddhism. For example, in the Theravada tradition alone, there are over fifty methods for developing mindfulness and forty for developing concentration, while the Tibetan tradition has thousands of visualization meditations. Most classical and contemporary Buddhist meditation guides are school specific. Only a few teachers attempt to synthesize, crystallize and categorize practices from multiple Buddhist traditions. Kamalashila's "Five Basic Methods" =========================== Western Buddhist Order meditation teacher Kamalashila identifies "Five Basic Methods" as "a traditional set of meditations, each one an antidote to one of the five principal obstructions to Enlightenment. Kamalashila's Five Basic Methods are: (1) Mindfulness of Breathing (2) Metta Bhavana (including all four Brahma-viharas) (3) Contemplation of Impermanence, including: •contemplation of a decomposing corpse •reflection on death (see, for example, Upajjhatthana Sutta) •reflection on the Tibetan Book of the Dead's "Root Verses" •contemplations of mental states and external objects (4) Six Element Practice (earth, water, fire, air, space, "consciousness") (5) Contemplation of Conditionality In addition, he discusses three other meditations as "among the most important" not identified above: •Visualization, including: •visualizations of Bodhisattvas (see, for instance, Tara) •kasina meditations •recollection of the Buddha •visualization of the Six-Element Stupa •Just Sitting (see Shikantaza) •Walking Meditation
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