Meditation

As a lead-in to the article on meditation by HH Dalai Lama, Thupten Jimpa,scholar and chief translator for HH Dalai Lama asks the question ‘what is meditation?’ and urges scientists who are studying Buddhist meditation to give respect to the voice of the tradition itself. He argues that, at least in the case of Buddhism, without taking seriously the tradition’s own self-understanding of the role of meditation, this encounter between Buddhist meditation will not have the significant mutual enrichment it could potentially otherwise have.

Meditation - a beginning

by HH dalai Lama

“In this following account, we shall explore the techniques for changing our minds from our habitual ways to more virtuous ones. There are two methods of meditating that are to be used in our practice. One, analytical meditation, is the means by which we familiarise ourselves with new ideas and mental attitudes. The other, settled meditation, focuses the mind on on a chosen object.
Although we all naturally aspire to be happy and wish to overcome our misery, we continue to experience pain and suffering. Why is this? Buddhism teaches that we actually conspire in the causes and conditions that create our unhappiness, and we are often reluctant to engage in activities that could lead to more long-lasting happiness. How can this be? In our normal way of life, we let ourselves be controlled by powerful thoughts and emotions, which in turn give rise to negative states of mind. It is by this vicious circle that we perpetuate not only our unhappiness but also that of others. We must deliberately take a stand to reverse these tendencies and replace them with new habits. Like a freshly grafted branch on an old tree that will eventually absorb the life of that tree and create as new one, we must nurture new inclinations by deliberately cultivating virtuous practices. This is the true meaning and object of the practice of meditation...”

The article continues to discuss familiarity with a chosen object of meditation,analytical meditation, and settled meditation. It is reproduced courtesy of the book THE ESSENTIAL DALAI LAMA by Rajiv Mehrotra published by Hodder Headlines.

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