Samatha and Vipassana meditation + visualisation Flashcards
1
Q
What is meditation?
A
- practice of calming and focusing the mind, and reflecting deeply on specific teachings to penetrate their true meaning in order to develop an insight into the nature of reality.
2
Q
What is samatha meditation?
A
- type of meditaion that involves calming the mind and developing deeper concentration
- buddhists may use variety of objects as a focus for concentration, such as certain character traits or emotions, the breathing process, an image, a candle flame or even a Buddha
- it is important in Theravada Buddhism as preperation for vipassana meditation
3
Q
Samatha meditaion explained
A
- when you choose something on which to focus the mind, something simple to start with
- the mind might wander off but you should gently bring it back to the subject again, and as the mind wanders afain you keep trying to refocus
- calming mind and developing deeper concentration
4
Q
What is mindfulness of breathing
A
- popular technique in samatha meditation
- requires meditator to become more aware of their breathing and to focus their attention on it
5
Q
practices of meditation
A
- meditation is the practice of mindfulness of the body and breath
- meditator focues on physical sensations whcih develops calm and stability
- when their mind wanders they simply return to their physical experience
6
Q
forms of meditaion in therevada, mahayana and tibtan buddhism
A
- Theravada Buddhists practice samatha meditation which devlops calm and positive emotions
- Also practice vipassana meditation which develops understanding and wisdom
- In Tibet buddhists study in a monastic community
- they may be given scriptures to learn by heart
- they then go tjrough two stages of meditation
- the analytical stage is where they have to think carefully about the details of the teaching given in the text
- other stage is a more conentrated stage where they aim to fully understand the teachings
7
Q
What is mindfulness of breathing
A
- breath used to become more mindful
- breath used as a focus for attention, as well as how the body responds to each breath
- the aim is to become aware of the details of breathing, and all the tiny movements it creates in the body
- when someone finds their mind wandering as they meditate, they simply bring their attention back to their breathing
- little by little they become more able concentrate and focus on their breath
- this leads them to feel more present and aware
8
Q
The use of kasinas
A
- instead of focusing on beathing, meditator could focus on other objects called kasinas
- there are 10 kasinas in total; they include element such as earth, water and fire, and colours such as blue, red and yellow
- For example, the meditator could focus on a bowl of water or a red circle placed in front of them
- as with breathing the object gives the meditator something to focus their attention on
9
Q
purpose of meditation
A
- has 2 aims: to develop a still, calm and focused mind; second is to develop greater awareness and understanding of the buddha’s teachings in order to gain deep insight into nature of reality
- this insight allows for deeper compassion and less suffering which then leads to enlightenment
10
Q
purpose of samatha meditation
A
- learning to focus on object develops calm and concentrated mind
- this is preperation for developing wisdom and understanding of nature of reality
- help feel happier and more alive
- prep for vipassana meditation
11
Q
vipassana meditaion explained
A
- means ‘insight meditaion’
- involves developing understanding of the nature of reality
- used to get to the heart of the true nature of reality - see things as they really are
- may consist of reflecting on three marks of existance
- everything explored objectively including personal things e.g they may relfect on attachment to their body, they may meditate on the more unattrractive aspects of the body to help develop detachment
- aim to give their full attention to whatever they are thinking, to consider it mindfully and try to understand its true nature
- and how they are characterised by 3 marks of existance
- this helps buddhists, develop greater wisdom and awareness about the world and ultimately achieve enlightenment
12
Q
similarities and differences between vipassana and samatha meditation
A
- SIMILARITY - both use the same technique of mindfulness: concentrating and focusing on specific things in a calm and detached manner
- DIFFERENCES:
- IN SAMATHA - meditator focues on one neutral, simple object or processes e.g blue triangle, candle flame
- WHILE IN VIPASSANA - may change their focus between a range of different objects, emotionsm experuences, etc uncluding things personal to them for example feelings of annoyance, own body or the sound of rain falling
- IN SAMATHA - the aim of focusing on the objectt is to develop concentration and calm eg meditator focuses on their breath to become calmer annd more aware
- IN VIPASSANA - aim of focusing on object is to understand its true nature, and how it is characterised by the three marks of existance e.g the meditator contemplates how their breath shows characteristics of the three marks of existance
13
Q
purpose of vipassana meditation
A
- helps to understand all things are charaxterised by 3 marks of existance
- develop greater wisdom and awareness about the world
- makes meditation essential part of eightfold path, with the goal of developing complete understanding and achieving enlightenment
14
Q
what is zazen meditation
A
- means seated meditation
- practiced in zen meditation - origins in japan
- leads to understanding of the nature of existance
- generally befubs wth sitting, relaxing and a period of mindfulness of breathing
- the meditator then sits with awareness of the present moment
- thoughts and experiences come and go, and meditator returns again and again to present moment
15
Q
what is walking meditation
A
- meditation is often practised sitting on the floor in a cross-legged posture
- but it is also possible to meditate while walking, as part of samatha or vipassana meditation
- this consists of walking slowly and combining the movement of the feet with the in and out of breath
