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Meditation is a popular form of mental exercise which is being practiced in several religious systems. Prayer is nothing, but a kind of discursive meditation and Buddhist meditation is one of the popular forms. Meditation is generally a physical and mental course where a person practices it to separate oneself from the thoughts and overall feelings and make one completely aware.
Meditation does not necessarily have to have some religious element and it is a natural means of promoting well-being and good health. It also boosts the immunity in the human body. Successful meditation is about being a simple being and not thinking and judging. Meditation is meant to bring peace to your mind and help you lead a good life. A lot of diseases and illnesses are caused by stress. Meditation helps you eliminate that stress to help you lead a disease-free life.
What is Buddhist meditation all about?
When it specifically comes to Buddhist meditation, a person does not meditate to reach a hypnotic state and there is no intention of contacting the angels or any such supernatural entity. As per Buddhist ideologies, meditation majorly involves the body as well as the mind. For all people who believe in Buddhism, they need to avoid what they call ‘duality’ and thus they practice meditation in order to involve the mind and the body to make it a single entity.
As per general definition, meditation is the process of taking optimum control of your mind so that you can be focused and peaceful. The entire purpose of Buddhist meditation is to prevent the mind from rushing in different directions aimlessly and remain focused on the major priorities in life.
Also Read: Importance of Yoga for everyday life
There are several effective and proven methods of meditation and those are being practiced since ages. These have given very good results to people who have been practicing meditation techniques regularly.
Meditating in a group is a retreat that is referred to as ‘sesshin’ by the Buddhist community. While during a regular day, Buddhist monks devote a few hours to meditation, during a ‘sesshin’ they devote themselves almost exclusively to the practice of meditation. The special meditation room is termed as ‘zendo’. This specifically reminds a person about being a significant entity of the bigger Buddhist community.
Buddhist Meditation Methods
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Receptive Meditation
There are several methods of classical meditation which all about the right techniques of breathing are and are referred to as receptive meditation. All you need to do is to sit back calmly and concentrate on the right breathing techniques. A person using this methodology is meant to forget all his worries and thoughts during this meditation technique and only concentrate on breathing.
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Concentrative Meditation
If you try to focus your entire attention on any particular object, you gradually tend to concentrate more and become calmer. Any object like a candle flame or any static object can be chosen to focus on. As per tantric Buddhism, meditators usually visualize complex Buddha images & then recite the sacred mantras or sounds.
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Generative Meditation
In this practice of meditation, the meditators adopt the process of developing an attitude of love and kindness by using the imagination, memory & awareness of different bodily sensations.
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Reflective Meditation
Reflective meditation is a major form of Buddhist meditation which majorly involves the repeated turning of the person’s attention to a particular theme and then is receptive to all the experiences that follow. This kind of meditation involves interconnectedness, impermanence, and faith in enhancing the practices of meditating on the various qualities of Buddha.
Practicing Buddhist meditation regularly can be increasingly beneficial as it retains the well-being of the body and the mind. But the techniques need to be correct in order to fetch the best and desirable results. You may learn these techniques from a good meditation class, practice them regularly and benefit from them immensely in the long run.
