What does it mean 'to meditate on' something

Bushido

Whenever I meditate, I do it by performing a specific breathing pattern that works for me to bring on a deep state of mental and physical relaxation. I use it as a way to rid myself of stress or to auto suggest, when I'm in a highly suggestable state, to do something well, such as giving a speech before a group.

So what does it mean to meditate ON something? Do you perform the breathing ritual to get relaxed and then THINK about a subject? If so, do you narrow your subject matter? How do you think about it?

I know how to get relaxed, using my breathing to achieve deep relaxation, but I'm unclear about that phrase.

Thanks

Jason

Well, you may get many answers to this one, I know we already have a thread about meditation. Simply put, you can meditate on anything I suppose. For instance the Buddha gave us the breath to meditate on. We relax, sit in our posture, and focus on one spot where the breath touches. The tip of the nose is where most people feel the breath pass in and out, but even the rising and falling of our abdomens can be focused on. We keep our attention right there. With every in and out breath, or every rise and fall. We pay attention to only that. No sights, sounds, thoughts, just the object of meditation. This will eventually become "concentration". Everything will fall away from your awareness except the object you focus on and your awareness itself. There may come a point where the object falls away (you may not feel the breath anymore) and all that is left is awaeness. You can also meditate on subjects after you have reached this state of concentration. This state alows you to focus on a subject with no distractions or perceptions. You just see the subject clearly and observe it. Some buddhist are taught to meditate on the 32 parts of the body. You start with the first, the hair of the head, and think about it, how it feels-how it looks-smells-it's characteristics-etc. and work your way through all 32. When you finish you reverse the order and do it all over again until you feel the time to stop. This way you see it as it is, with no perceptions or prejudices. This is how we gain wisdom of a subject and can really "know" it for what it is. I hope my explaination has helped a little.

Here is another post on the newbuddhist forum about the meditation on the breath:
http://www.newbuddhist.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152

Brian

Welcome to the site, Bushido

Simonthepilgrim

Part of the problem here is a linguistic one.

As Buddhists, we use the word "meditation" to cover all sorts and schools of meditative practice. Christians, for example, make a distinction between meditation and contemplation.

In Tantra, meditation often focuses on extremely complex guided visualisations which lead the meditator to states of consciousness and awareness other than the 'ordinary'. Because of their very complexity, the first years of practising them needs a 'leader' or teacher.

The meditation of focused awareness is only a start. It is the essential training that enables the meditator to go further, just as pumping iron may assist the sporting person to practise their sport.

Of course, it may be argued that the practice is circular in that it brings us back to focused awareness, but the gymnast, swinging on the bar, appears to be effortless only because they have worked hard for many years!

The legends say that the Buddha practised for life after life, for hundreds of incarnations, before achieving Metta. If we want to start here and now, this may be our very first time - lots of time left!

Ideally, I have needed a teacher but I have also found that there are a lot of resources available (cassettes, CDs and the Net). Here is one such, where there are guided meditations in the Buddhist tradition:
http://www.wildmind.org/

Meditation may, as a side-effect, produce feelings of joy, peace, etc., but these are simply epiphenomena. They are not the primary function unless we imagine that we do it solely for our own physical/mental pleasure.

Bushido

Thanks so much for the answers. And thanks for the welcome, Brian. I have a better grasp of it now.