Meditation

By Roger Colins

___________________________________________________________ meditate Pronunciation: /mɛdɪteɪt/ verb 1. focus one’s mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation: 'I set aside time every day to write and meditate' 'it was here that the monk spent much of the day reading and meditating on Scripture' 2. (meditate on/upon) think deeply about (something): 'he went off to meditate on the new idea' (courtesy of the Oxford English dictionary) Addressing any definition, I always consult the Oxford English dictionary for my research simply because it is the most familiar to me and of course because I think it's the best. That does not mean that it is beyond mistakes.  Some years ago a mistake was found in the definition of syphon. It described a syphon being liquid drawn via the force of atmospheric pressure but missed the added influence of gravity to administrate the rest of the process. Here we can see that the first definition for meditate claims meditation is either for religious or spiritual practices, or a relaxation method. I find holes in both. Meditation can be used for spiritual purposes and can be be used as a relaxation method but does not fully adhere to either in such a manner and certainly has nothing to do with religion.  The Buddha was first of all, a Hindu and safe to say he was a reliable authority on the subject. Buddhists would argue that my use of the past tense is somewhat callous as the Buddha is still alive and well in his N-th incarnation as the Dalai Lama.  Hindus and Buddhists have been using meditation for anything between 2500 years upwards to 5000.  This does not mean that meditation is a religious or spiritual act. Quite the contrary, this suggests that the two religions, are a meditative act. There is no doubt that meditation has strong roots in religious practice but so far as Buddhism is concerned, the man himself would disagree his teachings had anything to do with religion. They are far more philosophically based. 'My body is my temple and my religion, kindness.' - The Dalai Lama Religion or Spiritual Spirituality would be more accurate if one were to look at it from this point but from another, it is just as inaccurate as religion. Any devout following of a man's teachings, devoid of any personal reflection is a religion, or a faith. Christians follow Christ, Judaism Moses, Islam Mohammed and so on. Spirituality has become a coined term for a more introspective practice and can easily separate itself from anything faithful.  Prolonged concentration of the mind can achieve a great many things.  Balance, perspective and peace are the traditional goals for meditation and these would be the something close to the values of spirituality. Traditional, however can also translate into 'the status quo'. Something to be ruthlessly dissected.  Should meditation be concentration of the mind and spirituality, the peace of mind, one can say that the former is used to achieve the latter, and, that both are indeed the one and the same. Here we move onto the second definition; To think deeply about. Meditation can be used to quiet the mind but also to invigorate it. This is clearly has more in common with religion than spirituality.  Anything can use the adjective, religious, if it is repeated unerringly. noun a pursuit or interest followed with great devotion: 'consumerism is the new religion' adjective treated or regarded with a devotion and scrupulousness appropriate to worship: 'I have a religious aversion to reading manuals' Practicality  But let's try and avert religion from now on and concentrate on meditation.  There are near limitless methods to practice the skill therefore it may be useful to begin with what meditation aims to resolve. These should include said antonyms of the dictionary's definition;  To focus, to silence and to think turn into: out of focus, noise and ignorance. Thought and ignorance are difficult subjects to apply to meditation as different methods use both, and ignorance is a sticky subject all by itself. As both are clearly apparent we can strike a compromise.  Mindfulness Now this has a real ring to it when we summon up what meditation is all about. It is not about digging into things to discover the hidden secret nor leaving it completely in the open and praying that our answers will unveil themselves. It is a middle way and the teachings of wise men can be heard echoing.  Another word for mindfulness can be awareness as neither approach nor retract from whichever subject matter meditation is attempting to resolve. There is a symbiotic existence between our mind's perspective of what is going on without direct influence of subject and object, object and subject. Humans are said to be self-aware. That we can relate ourselves to the world around us and put ourselves firmly in it.  Awareness would be the relationship between our existence and the world around us, removing the 'where we fit in it' or 'where it fits in us'. Such an implication goes very far indeed.  By the simple detraction of self from awareness gives rise to the true understanding of, self. A paradox!  Remember awareness. Meditation focusses the mind to increase awareness and allow thoughts to think for themselves. Theory being, that the mind is much better at thinking than our conscious state could ever be.  So, meditation is nothing more than a tool employed to get rid of our screwed up conscious ideology, morals and ego so the mind can get to work.  Whatever method works best for any one individual in order to meditate and gain even the slightest progress does not matter for the purpose is the very same.  Simplicity  I can therefore concede that the definition of what it is to meditate is a difficult one but that the goal is simple. Breathing is a common denominator in all schools of meditation. I did not encroach upon the dictionary's definition of relaxation either.  The Lotus flower. Common object for meditative concentration The body's posture is outlined in every quarter and practice, though heavily encouraged, any guru, monk or yogi will agree that even the slightest attempt at meditation will have a profound positive effect upon the overall well-being of the human condition.

definition philosophy religion spirituality practicality mindfulness simplicity