Techniques of meditation explained and some essential advice
The importance of practicing various techniques of meditation is illustrated by the
following tale of ancient Greece:
"A sophist approached one of the wise men of ancient Greece and thought to puzzle him
with the most perplexing questions. But the sage of Miletus was equal to the test for he
replied to them all, without the least hesitation yet with the utmost exactitude.
1. What is the oldest of all things?
God, because he has always existed.
2. What is the most beautiful of all things?
The Universe, because it is the work of God.
3. What is the greatest of all things?
Space, because it contains all that has been created.
4. What is the most constant of all things?
Hope, because it still remains with Man after he has lost everything else.
5. What is the best of all things?
Virtue, because without it there is nothing good.
6. What is the quickest of all things?
Thought, because in less than a minute it can fly to the end of the Universe.
7. What is the strongest of all things?
Necessity, which makes man face all the dangers of life.
8. What is the easiest of all things?
To give advice.
But when it came to the ninth question our sage pronounced a paradox. He gave
an answer, which I am certain his worldly-wise querent never understood, and
which to most people will give only the most superficial meaning.
The question was:
What is the most difficult of all things?
And the Miletan sage replied
To know thyself.
This was the bidding to ignorant man from the ancient sages; this shall be the
bidding yet.
: - Sourced from
The Secret Path
by Paul Brunton.
To know yourself is what we are attempting to do through the various techniques of meditation. Yet what is it about ourselves that we attempt to
know? Is it an attempt to know about our ego, our personality? If so then we
practice meditation every time we visit a psychoanalyst.
To my mind through the various techniques of meditation we learn
to be free of our ego and our fretful personality – with all its hopes, fears, lusts,
desires and so on. Only by dropping the fretful part of ourselves does our true
nature stand revealed. It is that which is not our body, nor our emotions, nor our
mind but which is a silent witness to all that happens to us – both internally and
externally.
I have an important piece of advice to all aspirants who wish to practice any of
the techniques of meditation. It is this. Your mind will wander about
as you are attempting to meditate. Accept this when it happens and welcome the
thought or feeling into your consciousness – no matter how disturbing the thought
or feeling might be. Hold the thought in your awareness without any felling of
liking or repulsion. And the thought will – of itself – get released and you will be
free to continue with you meditation practice. This tip is of the utmost
importance; since if you try to control the mind, it means that you are still in the
grip of the ego with all its likes and dislikes. You will only get frustrated, see no
progress and will be tempted to give up your meditation practice. While
meditating we attempt to go beyond the mind and experience the Ultimate, to
experience our oneness with the Universe. This can only be done by dropping the
ego while meditating, by an act of choiceless awareness, when we are engaged in
the practice.
In fact I would recommend that you get into the habit of welcoming all your
thoughts and feelings, whether you are meditating or not. This simple method will
do wonders for your well being.
The benefits of practicing various techniques of meditation are many and I would invite you to visit the Home
page of this site where they are explained in more detail.
On this web page I will attempt to guide you to certain techniques of meditation that I have found interesting. It is not meant to be an exhaustive guide.
1. Vipassana meditation – This technique of meditation is based upon the Buddha's original
teaching. The method was used by the Buddha to attain enlightenment and
was preserved in its pristine form by monks in Burma. In the modern day, the
technique is being made popular by S.N Goenka who has set up many centers
in India and other countries to teach this method to all. Further information
can be found at this webpage on
Vipassana meditation - the teaching of the Buddha
2. Paul Brunton has written many classic books on the spiritually of the east.
Two books, which are of use to the aspiring meditator are
The Secret Path
and
Quest of the Overself
. This is one of the techniques of meditation which requires only half an hour of meditation practice per day and is completely safe – even for a novice and without supervision. Paul Brunton learned this technique from Ramana Maharishi, who is one of the most venerated saints of India. Further information about Ramana Maharishi may be found at this website
www.ramana-maharishi.org
3. Zazen meditation is practiced by the Zen Buddhists in Japan and China. It is a
technique of meditation without any method. One simply sits and observes the
mind. Osho Rajneesh describes this technique in his
12-volume exposition on the Dhammapada
. He say that if one simply sits as described above, for many hours every day, then over a period of a few months, the mind quietens down and you obtain a glimpse of what is beyond the mind – of No Mind.
4. Transcendental meditation was made popular by Maharishi Mahesh yogi. It has many benefits. More details are on this web page on
Transcendental Meditation
5. Japa is one of the techniques of meditation in the Hindu tradition. It has been praised by many mystics
as a way of experiencing the Ultimate. More details are on this web page on
Japa meditation
6. Here is some information on
Taoist meditation techniques
7. Some information on
Meditation for pain management
8. Some information on
Relaxation techniques meditation
9. Some more important information on
How to meditate
Please also refer these pages on Meditation benefits stress Essential Meditation methods The goal of mindfulness exercises The challenges you will face in practicing and learning meditation
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