Buddhist Meditation
Meditation is the main essence of Buddhist religion. The Gautam Buddha himself was said to have achieved
enlightenment while meditating under a Bodhi tree. Most forms of Buddhism distinguish between shamatha and
vipassana meditation, both of which can be used for enlightenment as per tradition. The former consists of learning to
focus the attention single-pointedly; the latter involves seeing the true nature of reality. It is also said buddha mainly
buddha mainly got enlightment from 2nd technique, vippassana and he was not interested in any religion.
Theravada Buddhism emphasizes vipassana meditation directed towards anapana, metta bhavana, or 38 other
traditional topics.
In Japanese Mahayana schools, Tendai (Tien-tai), concentration is cultivated through highly structured ritual. Especially
in the Chinese Chan Buddhism school (which branched out into the Japanese Zen, and Korean
Seon schools), ts'o ch'an meditation and koan meditation practices are extremely important, allowing a practitioner to
directly experience the true nature of reality (each of the names of these schools derives from the sanskrit dhyana, and
translates into "meditation" in their respective languages).
Tibetan Buddhism emphasizes tantra for its senior practitioners; for this reason its alternate name of Vajrayana
Buddhism. However, visitors to Tibetan monasteries are often surprised to discover that many monks go through their
day without "meditating" in a recognizable form, but are more likely to chant or participate in group liturgy.
Meditation is the main essence of Buddhist religion. The Gautam Buddha himself was said to have achieved
enlightenment while meditating under a Bodhi tree. Most forms of Buddhism distinguish between shamatha and
vipassana meditation, both of which can be used for enlightenment as per tradition. The former consists of learning to
focus the attention single-pointedly; the latter involves seeing the true nature of reality. It is also said buddha mainly
buddha mainly got enlightment from 2nd technique, vippassana and he was not interested in any religion.
Theravada Buddhism emphasizes vipassana meditation directed towards anapana, metta bhavana, or 38 other
traditional topics.
In Japanese Mahayana schools, Tendai (Tien-tai), concentration is cultivated through highly structured ritual. Especially
in the Chinese Chan Buddhism school (which branched out into the Japanese Zen, and Korean
Seon schools), ts'o ch'an meditation and koan meditation practices are extremely important, allowing a practitioner to
directly experience the true nature of reality (each of the names of these schools derives from the sanskrit dhyana, and
translates into "meditation" in their respective languages).
Tibetan Buddhism emphasizes tantra for its senior practitioners; for this reason its alternate name of Vajrayana
Buddhism. However, visitors to Tibetan monasteries are often surprised to discover that many monks go through their
day without "meditating" in a recognizable form, but are more likely to chant or participate in group liturgy.
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