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An Opinion on the Importance of Meditation
Vrusader
New
Hi Folks,
This post is more of an opinion than a question...
Recently, I came to realise that the core of Buddhist philosophy can be summarised as follows:
The Noble Eightfold Path can be interpreted to be the cultivation of three basic attributes: morality, wisdom and mindfulness. The cultivation of morality helps us to understand what is "good" and what is "bad". The cultivation of wisdom helps us to separate the "good" actions and consequences from the "bad" actions and consequences. The cultivation of mindfulness helps us remain mindful of our circumstances at all times so that we may use our wisdom to make moral choices in every moment of our lives.
I consider the true role of meditation is to help us cultivate this mindfulness, i.e. to sharpen our minds so that in the instant before we actually make our choices, we can pause and think before we choose which action to take in a particular a situation.
There are many different meditative practices available today. However, in my opinion, the meditation practice itself is more of a secondary concern. The true value of meditation comes from the benefit we get in achieving mindfulness in our daily lives so that we pause and think before we make our choices.
Thus, on this basis, if a person were to not practice meditation in the conventional sense of setting aside some time everyday to either focus on breathing or visualisation or some other meditative practice, but manage to still cultivate mindfulness in their daily lives, then for these people, meditation itself becomes irrelevant. Or another way of putting it, the meditation itself is practiced directly in the daily life rather than in a regular allocated time-slot for the conventional meditative practice.
Conventional meditation still has it's place as a means to achieve mindfulness. But it is not the only way to do it.
So what you do guys think? Do you agree or disagree? How important is meditation to you?
Regards,
V
This post is more of an opinion than a question...
Recently, I came to realise that the core of Buddhist philosophy can be summarised as follows:
Actions have consequences and so we should choose our actions wisely so that we can maximise the good consequences while minimising the bad consequences.
The Noble Eightfold Path can be interpreted to be the cultivation of three basic attributes: morality, wisdom and mindfulness. The cultivation of morality helps us to understand what is "good" and what is "bad". The cultivation of wisdom helps us to separate the "good" actions and consequences from the "bad" actions and consequences. The cultivation of mindfulness helps us remain mindful of our circumstances at all times so that we may use our wisdom to make moral choices in every moment of our lives.
I consider the true role of meditation is to help us cultivate this mindfulness, i.e. to sharpen our minds so that in the instant before we actually make our choices, we can pause and think before we choose which action to take in a particular a situation.
There are many different meditative practices available today. However, in my opinion, the meditation practice itself is more of a secondary concern. The true value of meditation comes from the benefit we get in achieving mindfulness in our daily lives so that we pause and think before we make our choices.
Thus, on this basis, if a person were to not practice meditation in the conventional sense of setting aside some time everyday to either focus on breathing or visualisation or some other meditative practice, but manage to still cultivate mindfulness in their daily lives, then for these people, meditation itself becomes irrelevant. Or another way of putting it, the meditation itself is practiced directly in the daily life rather than in a regular allocated time-slot for the conventional meditative practice.
Conventional meditation still has it's place as a means to achieve mindfulness. But it is not the only way to do it.
So what you do guys think? Do you agree or disagree? How important is meditation to you?
Regards,
V
0
Comments
Hello again, Fivebells.
It's nice to see a familar face from the old BuddhaChat forum.
I would argue some semantics and say that mindfulness that is one of the cores of Buddhist practice (the other two being morality and wisdom) and that meditation is one method of cultivating mindfulness.
I guess what I was really trying to say was that the true value of meditation comes from it's application to daily life as opposed to simply being a mental exercise we undertake for 30 or so minutes every day. That is, meditation as a mental exercise is a useful to help sharpen and train the mind to slow down, focus and become more aware. But it's true value comes from it's application into our daily lives in every decision we make.
This is analogous to a child attending school to learn and study skills in mathematics, science, arts, etc. The school is a useful vehicle to teach the child these skills. However, the true value of going to school is not in attending school itself, but rather to gain the necessary skills so that the child can use those skills in their careers and daily life.
Furthermore, as some people are able to succeed in life without going to school, I was suggesting that some people who do not meditate in the conventional sense (of setting aside a time every day to meditate) can still learn to be mindful by other means. Conventional meditation is a very useful and practical way to cultivate mindfulness - but it is not the only way.
Regards,
V
Yes, but we all have known that since we were little and got a swat on the bum for stealing a cookie.
I also wouldn't quite say that's the core of the Buddha's teachings. It's certainly an important aspect, but the core is summarized in the Four Noble Truths. The N8FP goes way beyond understanding that actions have consequences.
There are different kinds of meditation. Mindfulness [Meditation] can be practiced any time, anywhere. Although you still have to make the conscious effort to do it. If we start by doing formal forms of meditation and practice each day, then being mindful in everyday life becomes more natural. Because for sure, mindfulness isn't meant to just come to a halt when our meditation timer goes off.
Even Anapanasati is not simply mindfulness... it's a misconception that it means just being mindful of the breath. It is experiencing things as they really are (also look into Vipassana), and when we understand and experience anatta, nonduality, impermanence, etc. and understand the true nature of our mind and thoughts and suffering... it really changes our entire way of thinking and understanding and slowly it becomes second nature. It's easy to intellectually comprehend that our idea of "self" is false and we're impermanent, that everything's interconnected, that we should do this and that... many people will even sloppily try to apply this knowledge to their everyday life. It's a nice start, but until we remove all the crap that's accumulated in ours minds, all of the deluded ways of thinking, we're never going to really change.
Edit -
Of course. But the more you practice, the more it naturally continues into your daily life. If you're only looking to develop mindfulness, then yeah, you can practice that while doing absolutely anything...
I think this is more of a matter of interpretation. I agree that the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path goes beyond understanding that actions have consequences.
What I meant was that that summary captures what people should do and how they should behave without bringing in any Buddhist-specific references. To me, the Four Noble truths set the motivation for why we should be moral people and so why we should maximise the good consequences while minimising the bad consequences. The Noble Eightfold Path is an elobration on what constitute good choices and actions and what are not.
Of course, I realise that the summary I gave was very simplistic - especially if you consider that the Buddha spent years elobrating on the very details of these concepts!
If you are looking for basic moral guidelines and the ability "to sharpen our minds so that in the instant before we actually make our choices, we can pause and think before we choose which action to take in a particular a situation," then Dr. Phil probably has a book for that.
Yes, those things will reduce suffering for yourself and others to an extent. Yet if you're a good person and follow these moral guidelines flawlessly, you will still experience dukkha. Buddhism is about understanding the nature of suffering and the cessation of suffering.
You said:
But again, this is not the sole purpose of meditation. It is a part of it. Mindfulness is like a preparatory step that precedes the true practice of meditation.
What you describe is only a small part of Buddhism.
The first part of the N8FP is "Wisdom" and the very first thing is "Right View." The ability to see things as they truly are, something we develop through meditation, is key to the N8FP.
Through meditation we examine the true nature of our mind and, by extension, the true nature of everything else. How can we see the true nature of our mind if we don't take the time to uncover it and contemplate it?
There is no "Buddhism." The Buddha simply taught what he knew and understood, and never called it "Buddhism." What the Buddha taught was universal and there's no need to put a label on it if you find that doing so is restrictive.
That could happen in principle, but it seems extremely unlikely.
Yes, all of life becomes part of meditation. Sitting meditation is still essential for the vast majority of people, though. As practice progresses, there tends to be more sitting, not less.
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He does go on to say that the point is application to everyday life, but note that he's saying sitting meditation is as essential to the practice as scales are to a musician.
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I realise that there is no "Buddhism" - but it is a convenient term to use every now and then. If we were to talk about the teachings of the Buddha to a non-Buddhist and use words like the "Four Noble Truths" and the "Noble Eightfold Path", then in their minds, they would quickly label it "Buddhism". I guess you could consider it Buddhism the philosophy rather than Buddhism the religion.
And I don't find it restrictive. But I often have philosophical talks with non-Buddhists (mostly Christian) who do not really appreciate me saying things like "the Buddha taught this" or the "the Buddha taught that"... Rather than having our conversations degenerate into a "Christianity vs Buddhism" debate, I have learnt to try and have our philosophical debates on more neutral grounds and so don't make much Buddhist references.
This was an excellent quote! Thank you for sharing this.
Regards,
V
Advantages of Vipassana Meditation