Meditation is one of the most misunderstood and perhaps misused processes in the spiritual tradition. It is therefore, essential to understand the true essence of meditation and its importance in today’s world.
My analysis is based on the theory and practice of meditation as handed down in one of the most evered traditions, the Tibetan Mahayana tradition, which in turn derives directly from the great Indian parampara of Nalanda University.
Let us first focus on some basics. Despite desiring happiness, we keep creating the causes for its opposite–suffering. Why do we do this? Primarily because our minds are under the control of delusions or kleshas, which are ignorance, desirous attachment, anger, envy and pride. Such deluded states of mind literally forces us to engage in harmful activities such as killing, stealing, lying, harsh speech and so forth. Although, spiritual teachings help us in reflecting on our actions and subduing these activities to some extent, only meditation has the power to uproot these factors completely.
In the Indian traditions, including Buddhism, we follow a process to develop three wisdoms: the wisdom arising from listening, from reflection, and finally from meditation. While, listening and reflection are necessary preliminaries, it is meditation that is essential for sustained and authentic mental development.
If your mind is full of anger towards another person, instead of responding in an angry manner you may inculcate the following meditative process:
- To think that the object of anger is another human being who is also seeking happiness like you are would provide a different perspective.
- To think that the other person also has many sufferings, being under the power of their own delusions, could be a factor, wherein, you might want to help the other person rather than responding in an angry manner.
- To think that anger harms you and others in the present and, due to the building up of negative patterns of behaviour keeps on harming you and the others in the future.
- To think that you can meditate on loving kindness, wish for others to be happy, based on affection and warmth.
So, why and how does meditation help us? Meditation is defined as habituating the mind to what is wholesome by repeatedly taking virtuous factors as objects.
However, even before we engage in a meditation which is based on analysis, we need to calm our mind to some extent through stabilisation meditation. This is done through bringing calm, clear and gentle attention to, for example, the breath. Once the mind is calm, one can proceed with the main meditation.
For many people, it may be a good idea to approach meditation as a way of making friends with oneself.
A lot of people have low self-esteem and feel defeated or burdened by life. It is crucial to understand that we all have a core of basic goodness,basic clarity, and mental purity that can never be taken away from us.
Meditation, for which we sit in a dignified way with an upright posture, is a way of reconnecting with our basic goodness, or compassionate and warm heart, what may also be called our Buddha Nature.
In the meditation posture, our heart is naturally open and exposed to others. This is like proclaiming that we are not going to hide from others and pursue mainly self-centred objectives. One can think, “I am going to be a kind and courageous spiritual warrior whose heart is open to helping this suffering world.” We are willing to be sensitive and allow the world and people, as one teacher has said, to "tickle our raw and beautiful hearts.” When we sit in this way, we remain still, relaxed and yet very attentive and vigilant.
What are the other aims of meditation? From the perspective of great vehicle or Mahayana Buddhism, the main aim is to become a Buddha, a fully awakened person. Such a person has the capacity to benefit others, as he or she has been able to perfect the three qualities of profound wisdom, understanding the truth of how things actually exist, great universal compassion that works to clear awayt the pain of others, and the powerful methods to benefit others.
Some believe that the aim of meditation is to ensure one’s personal liberation. However, this is not considered to be of great worthiness. Meditation is definitely not just about emptying the mind and having no thoughts whatsoever. Although, that may calm us for a while, will that tackle the underlying cause of dissatisfaction and sorrow–the kleshas? I don’t think so.
The main purpose of meditation is always to be of benefit to others, to share, and act from the basic warmth and goodness that we discover in ourselves. Meditation helps in getting in touch with the inexhaustible reservoir of love, compassion and wisdom that is our natural inner heritage, which we have temporarily forgotten.
About the author: Kabir Saxena, who is popularly known by his Buddhist name Ven Sumati Sasana, is a meditation practitioner with the Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre in New Delhi
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