What is the purpose of Buddhist meditation?

Some people consider the buddhist meditation as a moment of rest and relaxation to relieve the stress of everyday life. Others view meditation as a spiritual practice in its own right, as in the case of Buddhists.

For what purpose do Buddhists meditate?

General Buddhist Meditation

Meditation is neither synonymous with performance nor perfection. It consists of seek the truth as Siddhartha Guatama did before entering into his Buddhahood, that is, before attaining enlightenment. It is a psychological activity designed to help a person discover his nature. In a word, meditation is an act that is done in full consciousness and in all lucidity. Through this practice, the meditator can learn more about his purpose, which is more authentic in itself. In other words, his ego disappears to make way for an understanding and a apprehension of reality and life.

Moreover, the discovery of the essence of life is also done through meditation. This includes the joy of life, love and energy. To achieve the goal set before meditating, it is imperative to think about “liberation”. Indeed, we are looking for the truths that concern us but we are not looking for perfection as indicated above.

Historical dates of meditation

Generally speaking, the art of meditation dates back to about 4000 years. But if we look at history, the written evidence indicates that this approach goes back to 500 BC Moreover, during an excavation session carried out by archaeologists in Indian caves, they discovered frescoes of people in a position of meditation. But in the contemporary world, the genesis of meditation depends above all on each religion. As in the case of Hinduism, meditation was taken from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra in 2nd century BC.

According to the Buddhist current, meditation began in India around 25 centuries BC. The history of this practice converges with that of Siddharta Guatama known as the historical Buddha. When he decided to leave his father’s palace where he lived with his family, parents, wife and child, he entered a monastery and became a monk. Then he began to wonder about samsara, the infernal cycle of birth and death. This quest for liberation leads him to meditate for forty days during which he achieves enlightenment. It is thanks to this enlightenment that he was able to help sentient beings free themselves from suffering. We can then say that meditation is at the origin of the Buddhist doctrine.

Buddhist meditation, therapy and spiritual approach

On the one hand, meditation is used as therapy to treat patients suffering from stress or psychological disorders. The purpose of this psychoanalysis is to help the suffering person to regain his normal state of mind and to purify him mentally and physically. This session is practiced by a true master, who travels to several health facilities such as clinics and hospitals to take care of patients and treat them as appropriate. This is done with the apprehension and approval of the attending physician. According to the scientists, the experimentation of this practice revealed that it is a remedy which contributes to the state of health of the patient, physical or mental. Meditation also helps heal the aftermath of trauma and injury.

On the other hand, the ultimate goal of meditation is to awaken and purify the mind. During a session, the meditator is in search of wisdom and liberation in order to achieve happiness and to better communicate with those around him, to work on his dark side and to optimize his well-being. It is then a sure way to get to know and understand yourself, your environment and life in general. From this point of view, meditation is an art because it has the power to change a person’s outlook and transform their life from a physical, psychological and mental point of view. Through this practice, she regain confidence in it and obtains the answers to its questions, in particular the truth.

The most common types of meditation

Meditation is a practice accessible to all and does not depend on age, health or intellectual level. But, to do meditation well, self-study is not a better idea. It is imperative to be taught by a teacher called spiritual guide. His role is to guide, advise, instruct and correct his apprentice.

Three types of meditation can be distinguished:

– active meditation : This is the easiest form of meditation to practice. It can be done while dancing or even while walking. The ideal time to do this is at the end of the day;

– mindfulness meditation : this is its most common and well-known form. This is the meditation done by the historical Buddha when he was searching for truth and liberation from samsara. The practice is to get in touch with yourself through the subconscious;

– transcendental meditation : this form of meditation consists of reciting a mantra for about twenty minutes to free oneself from negative thoughts.

Buddhist meditation, why do we do it?

Also called vipassana meditation, Buddhist meditation is different from ordinary meditations, such as the example of meditation in which the meditator focuses his mind on objects such as the candle flame and the picture, and on the recitations and songs. It’s here oldest form meditation and a process in which the mind rests.

During the session, the meditator uses their concentration to better connect with their mind, consciousness and body. This technique is based on the Satipatthana Sutta. The ultimate goal of Buddhist meditation is to have a complete transformation in life and especially to free oneself from self-control, that is, from one’s own desires, bad habits, negative thoughts and others.