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Creating Bridges: Spirituality & Philosophy:
Spirituality in Daily Life:
Meditation
Part 2 of 3
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by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron |
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What are the benefits of meditation?
By building up good habits of the mind in meditation, our behavior in daily life gradually changes. Our anger decreases, we are better able to make decisions, and we become less dissatisfied and restless. These results of meditation can be experienced now. But we should always try to have a broader and more encompassing motivation to meditate than just our own present happiness. If we generate the motivation to meditate in order to make preparation for future lives, to attain liberation from the cycle of constantly recurring problems, or to reach the state of full enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, then naturally our minds will also be peaceful now. In addition, we'll be able to attain those high and noble goals.
Having a regular meditation practice -- even if it's only for a short time each day -- is extremely beneficial. Some people think, "My day is so busy with career, family, and social obligations that I cannot meditate. I'll leave it until I'm older and my life is less busy. Daily meditation is the job of monks and nuns." This is incorrect! If meditation is helpful to us, we should make time for it every day. Even if we don't want to meditate, having some "quiet time" for ourselves each day is important. We need time to sit peacefully and reflect upon what we do and why, to read a Dharma book, or to do some chanting. To be happy, we must learn to like our own company and to be content alone. Setting aside some quiet time, preferably in the morning before the start of the day's activities, is necessary, especially in modern societies where people are so busy.
We always have time to nourish our bodies. We seldom skip meals because we see they are important. Likewise, we should reserve time to nourish our mind and heart, because they too are important for our sense of well-being. After all, it is our mind, not our body, that continues on to future lives, carrying with it the karmic imprints of our actions. Dharma practice is not done for the Buddha's benefit, but for our own. The Dharma describes how to create the causes for happiness, and since we all want happiness, we should practice the Dharma as much as we can.
Back to list
Some Buddhist traditions use visualization and mantra recitation during meditation while others discourage these. Why?
The Buddha taught a variety of techniques because different people have different inclinations. Each technique may approach a similar goal but from a different vantage point. For example, when doing breathing meditation, emphasis is placed on developing concentration on the breath itself. In this case, visualizing something would distract us from the object of meditation, which is the breath.
However, another meditation technique uses the visualized image of the Buddha as its object of meditation. A purification meditation could involve, for example, visualization of the Buddha with light radiating from the Buddha into us and all the beings who we imagine seated around us. This meditation takes the natural tendency of our mind to imagine things and transforms it into the path to enlightenment. Instead of imagining a holiday with our boyfriend or girlfriend, which just incites our attachment, we imagine the serene figure of the Buddha, which inspires a balanced and peaceful state of mind.
Similarly, reciting mantras takes the natural tendency of our mind to chatter and transforms it into the path. Rather than continuing our internal dialogue about what we like and what we don't, we use that inner voice to recite mantras. Mantra recitation helps us to develop concentration and can have a purifying effect on the mind.
The FAQs in this section are extracted from Ven Thubten Chodron's Buddhism for Beginners, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca NY
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Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron,
Buddhist Nun, Teacher, Author
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Thubten Chodron (Cherry Greene) graduated with a B.A. in History from UCLA in 1971. After traveling extensively in Europe, North Africa and Asia, she taught in the Los Angeles City School District did post-graduate work in Education at USC.
In l975, she attended a meditation course given by Ven. Lama Yeshe and Ven. Zopa Rinpoche, and subsequently went to their monastery in Nepal to explore Buddhism. In l977, she was ordained as a Buddhist nun.
Chodron studied and practiced Buddhism of the Tibetan tradition under the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan masters for many years in India and Nepal.
She was the spiritual program director at Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Italy for nearly two years and studied three years at Dorje Pamo Monastery in France. For two years she was resident teacher at Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore, and for ten years she was resident teacher and spiritual advisor at Dharma Friendship Foundation in Seattle.
She currently is co-founder of Sravasti Abbey at Liberation Park in USA. Ven. Chodron has taught Buddhist philosophy, psychology and meditation worldwide.
Her books include:
Open Heart, Clear Mind; Buddhism for Beginners; Working with Anger; Taming the Monkey Mind, and Blossoms of the Dharma: Living as a Buddhist Nun.
Active in interfaith dialogue, she also does prison work. Ven. Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha's teachings in daily life and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners.
www.thubtenchodron.
org
www.sravastiabbey.
org
www.dharmafriendship.
org
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