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

Back to the top of Techniques of meditation
Back to home page Eastern philosophy and meditation