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Meditation Question
I understand the benefits of meditation on stress, wellbeing, etc.
But from a Buddhism angle, what should I be focusing my meditation on?
Even the question seems an oxymoron since meditation should quiet the mind. I hope that someone can make sense of my question.
I was a dedicated meditator many years ago, receiving instruction in techniques, and doing it several times a week. I was doing it without a specific spiritual context (ie. Buddhism) and instead it was connected with an avid tai chi chuan practice.
Pregnancy and raising twins interrupted my meditation practice and now I find myself 10 years out of practice. I'd like to resume, this time in a Buddhist context. But I'm not sure if that meditation differs at all from what I remember (hopefully it's like riding a bike ... you get wobbly but don't forget).
Is the goal of meditation in a Buddhist context to quiet the mind and connect with (insert your word for something greater here)? How does this benefit the practice of Buddhism? Just simply helping to maintain a mindfulness of the present rather than being lost in the past & future?
I am only just beginning to learn about Buddhism. The mindfulness and the right speech, right action parts really appeal to me and I've been trying to consciously incorporate these values into my life. I know I still have ALOT more to learn before I'm sure this path feels right or not. But I figure the only way to know if something fits is to try it on.
Thank you in advance for any and all advice.
But from a Buddhism angle, what should I be focusing my meditation on?
Even the question seems an oxymoron since meditation should quiet the mind. I hope that someone can make sense of my question.
I was a dedicated meditator many years ago, receiving instruction in techniques, and doing it several times a week. I was doing it without a specific spiritual context (ie. Buddhism) and instead it was connected with an avid tai chi chuan practice.
Pregnancy and raising twins interrupted my meditation practice and now I find myself 10 years out of practice. I'd like to resume, this time in a Buddhist context. But I'm not sure if that meditation differs at all from what I remember (hopefully it's like riding a bike ... you get wobbly but don't forget).
Is the goal of meditation in a Buddhist context to quiet the mind and connect with (insert your word for something greater here)? How does this benefit the practice of Buddhism? Just simply helping to maintain a mindfulness of the present rather than being lost in the past & future?
I am only just beginning to learn about Buddhism. The mindfulness and the right speech, right action parts really appeal to me and I've been trying to consciously incorporate these values into my life. I know I still have ALOT more to learn before I'm sure this path feels right or not. But I figure the only way to know if something fits is to try it on.
Thank you in advance for any and all advice.
0
Comments
What? O_o
You train your mind to be in the now. You train your mind not to judge. You train your mind to recognise your own delusions. Basically, you train your mind.
What's the point?
You re-route the process of reacting to stimuli. Normally, if your ego is threatened, the same part of the brain that's responsible for the fight or flight response is activated. You then quickly react by either getting sad or angry. When you are mindful, you can catch that moment and instead of going through the amygdala, your reaction is determined by the neocortex (the thinking brain).
Basically, you are more in control of your emotions.
Another benefit is improved immune system. Also, compassion meditation improves your well-being and makes you happier.
Don't forget clarity... you can think about things clearly without trying to fit everything into some dichotomy to decide how you feel about it.
The list goes on and on really. Just go to google scholar and search "mindfulness meditation" and heaps of research on the benefits of it will come up.
http://www.eubios.info/EJ141/ej141j.htm
The benefits are pretty much the same as those you get from Tai Chi, so if you would rather continue with Tai Chi, you can.
The misaprehension of the nature of reality causes stress also called suffering.
Meditation is used to directly perceive the nature of reality, to see the present moment as it is. Good moments, bad moments, ugly moments. See them just as they are.
Quieting the mind is performed as a means to that goal. If you are overwhelmed by the mind's antics so to speak you will not be able to turn your attention to the present moment for insight. Though there is nothing wrong with taking the mind's antics AS the present moment too. So you can have insight without calm, but calm is helpful.