Meditation Flashcards
What are other names for meditation?
Dhyana and Bhavana
Meaning cultivation
Why is meditation important within Buddhism?
Key Part of the Noble eightfold path
Samdhi = mental discipline
1/3 of the threefold trainings which is a key part of Buddhism
Why did the Buddha stress the importance of meditation?
How he reached enlightenment under the Bondhi tree
Only Hindu practice he retained
What do you meditate to achieve?
Mental discipline, wisdom to understand existence, sila to cultivate qualities of compassion and finally to see the ultimate truth of the universe and reach enlightenment
Example of a key Buddhist meditating?
Thich Nhat Hanh meditating to find a solution for 200 refugees trapped on a boat during the Vietnamese conflict
What is the broader aim of meditation?
Act of clearing one’s mind to achieve clarity through peace and relaxation
What type of meditation is Samantha Meditation?
Calm abiding to cultivate mindfulness
Ancient Hindu practice to focus completely on your present self through mental concentration
What types of Samatha meditation is there?
Anapanasati which focuses on breathing mindfully ‘I am breathing long’
Kasina which focuses on small coloured dots
Mandalas focusing on intricate diagrams which represents the universe (mostly used by Tibetan Buddhists)
=can lead to spheres of nothingness
What is the issue with Samatha meditation?
The Buddha was not completely satisfied that it was enough to fully escape samsara, he then developed vipassna meditation to be taught alongside
What is Vipassana meditation?
Insight meditation into the true reality of the world
How is Vipassana meditation done?
Through meditating on the Dharma to understand
Candle meditation to understand Anicca
Meditating on your own body to understand the five skandhas as perceptions
What is the goal of Vipassana meditation?
Meditating with the goal of deeper understanding
What is Metta Bhavana?
Cultivating loving sentiments to have a greater capacity of love for others
Where is Metta Bhavana most common and why?
Among Mahayana Buddhists who try and develop Bodhicitta which is selfless compassion for all beings
What is the aim of Metta Bhavana?
Develop four Brahmas Metta = loving kindness Karuna = antidote to cruelty through compassion Mudita = antidote to jealousy Uppeka = antidote to prejudice
How are the four Brahmas developed?
Happens in 5 stages
1) Love for oneself
2) Love for a friend
3) Love for someone you dislike
4) Love for someone you hate
5) Love that extends to the world
What are Mahayana beliefs about Meditation?
They practice both Samatha and Vipassna but they believe all humans have Buddhahood potential therefore they focus on connecting with current qualities rather than attaining new ones
Belief in Upaya means that there are lots of different types of meditation that can help different people reach enlightenment ie Burning House parable
Belief in Human Bodhisattvas means that meditation can be taught by spiritual leaders
What do Zen Buddhists believe about Enlightenment?
It’s called ‘Satori’
It occurs spontaneously without the need for studying texts or words
How do Zen Buddhists meditate ?
Sitting called ‘Zazen meditation’ and wait for glimpses of enlightenment which will they cause spontaneous enlightenment
They may practice actions similar to Samatha such as Anapanasati
What do Rinzai Zen Buddhists believe about meditation?
That enlightenment is also spontaneous like the shattering of ice that cannot be explained
How to Rinzai Zen Buddhists achieve enlightenment?
Shocking their students into thinking beyond language by Rinzai masters using their upaya
They may use violence
This is done however whilst students are meditating on Koans which are paradoxical riddles
What’s a paradoxical riddle?
What is the sound of one hand clapping
What do New Pureland Buddhists believe about meditation?
Meditation is not helpful as it adds to the delusion we can reach enlightenment
Reinforces the sense of self and arrogance of thinking how good you are for meditating
