MEDITATION IN BUDDHISM

Importance of meditation in Buddhism

Importance of meditation in Buddhism

Introduction

Meditation constitutes the vital link in the path toward Awakening to the Supreme Truth and Liberation from the suffering of the cycle of rebirths. There is no shortage of traditional taxonomies and terminology related to meditation. Meditation is an extremely complex process, and more than one function is responsible for its success. A certain dose of abstraction and schematization, therefore, is unavoidable. It is worth remembering that all types of meditative techniques imply a minimum degree of unbroken concentration. This, together with the basic premise that the effort is directly or indirectly conducive to Awakening, is what defines Buddhist meditation in general. The way concentration is employed as well as the function upon which it fixes itself differs from one category to another (Carrington, 1987).

Types of meditation

Emotion-Centered Meditation

Traditionally labeled tranquility or absorption, this method consists of a series of four stages in which emotionally disturbing factors are systematically eliminated. The goal is a state of complete equanimity and nonattachment. According to the Visuddhimagga, the classical meditation treatise of the Theravada school, meditative absorption can be best achieved by using a device called kasina ("totality").

Consciousness-Centered Meditation

The first aims at a reduction of the consciousness level or a complete elimination of mental activities. The second represents a gradual obliteration of all perceptual and conceptualizing processes while still guarding a minimum, basic form of awareness.

Reflection-Centebhured Meditation

The reflection-centered approach, probably the most widely practiced Buddhist meditation today, does not aim at altered states of consciousness or elimination of ideation. In contemporary sources, the approach is also referred to as "awareness meditation" or "mindfulness." Its cultivation is typically described as conducive to a full understanding of the three essential characteristics of all conditioned phenomena: impermanence, suffering, and no (n)-Self. The latter implies that one's physical and mental constituents do not represent the eternal Self or belong to oneself forever (or: to an eternal Self).

Visualization-Centered Meditation

The visualization techniques appear to be an outgrowth of devotional and inspirational exercises such as the recollection of the Buddha.

Physiology-Centered Meditation

These techniques aim to control and manipulate the esoteric physiology of the body. Typically, they center upon the winds of vital energy, mainly represented by respiration, that allegedly run, through a complex system of channels or nerves and plexuses. Recent decades have witnessed a growing interest in meditation not only in the West but also in those sections of the Asian societies ...