The Art Of Buddhist Meditation
Article by Sandra M Markcrow
The objective of Buddhist Meditation is to remove from our minds our desires and cravings. To seek the truth, not just from an intellectual point of view but to pursue a holistic concept of life and death. To remove the veil of delusion and ignorance thus allowing us to truly see the nature of all things. The experience of having incredible visions, seeing spectacular light shows or feeling ecstasy during the meditation is considered common by Buddhist meditators. It is not the object of the meditation and should not be considered as being the outcome of a successful meditation session.
Buddhist's incorporate meditative states in all aspects of their lives. One can meditate by observing how his or her body moves during the day or observe how our mood changes from one moment to the next. Buddhist meditation is the act of mindfulness, paying attention to our subtle natures, being an observer. Looking at ourselves from one moment to the next from an objective point of view without being critical. By practicing daily mindfulness, we come to understand the true nature of ourselves.
Practicing mindfulness, one comes to realize that often our states of being are not due to internal bodily functions but are affected by external influences. The external factors should be considered as existing as a stand alone phenomena of their own, separate to our true identity. By practicing mindfulness of our bodies and mind, we begin to break down the illusion of ourselves and come to understand the true nature of the self. By paying attention, we begin to break the cycle of desire and craving also.
Man is judged by his actions. Our selfishness and egotistic natures play a major role in how we are identified by others and how we interact with our environments. By practicing mindful meditation, observing our actions with others and our environments, we begin to breakdown the vicious cycle of selfishness and egotism. Buddhist Meditation is being attentive in all our daily interactions.
Our min! ds are o ften scattered. We move from one thought to the next, often very quickly. By practicing mindfulness, observing your nature increases your ability to concentrate and stay attentive to the given situation you may be facing. With practice, you become a master of your own mind rather than a mind that seems to often work independently of ourselves. The untrained mind could be considered as being a wild animal, just waiting for you to tame it.
Learning to stay detached from any given situation is liberating for the mind. You no longer have expectations of outcomes. You feel the same about life and death, success and failure, praise or blame. There is no fear associated with any of these aspects of life. The feeling about each is neutral. Mindfulness teaches that everything has cause and effect. In Buddhism, it is called Karma and through meditation we can be observers of this cycle. Much is learnt by observing our thought patterns and positive change is possible.
Buddhist meditation in conclusion is the art of observing your mind and body and hence coming to understand the true nature of the self and the true nature of life. Practicing this discipline you will become a master of your own mind and with much practice, release yourself from the cycle of karma. You do not need to sit quietly to practice Buddhist meditation. It is the act of observing your actions, moods and reactions as you participate in your daily life. It is meditation in motion.
About the Author
I have been meditating for 20 years and have learnt many techniques for achieving the greatest success in your meditation journey.If you would like to learn more about Meditation techniques, aids to meditation and share in my knowledge and experience. Please visit my blog at http://astralflyer-zenmeditation.blogspot.com/
ॐ 大日如来。 Vairocana Buddha 。毗卢遮那佛咒。Buddhist Mantra ॐ
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