What is Meditation?
Meditation, a very important part in many eastern religions, has been practiced for over 5,000 years. From Hinduism and Buddhism to Judaism and even Christianity, many use meditation to search for God within themselves, and to also find the meaning of life.
Hinduism is considerably the oldest religion, and therefore one of the oldest religions to use meditation. Hinduism focuses only Yoga, which is one of its six School’s of Philosophy. Yoga in terms of meditation is a path towards the spiritual experience and insight and understanding into human existence. To obtain this, one has to clear the mind, and once the mind is still, inner clarity reveals the true nature of one’s self.
Meditation is one of the central practices in Buddhism. Buddha himself is said to have achieved enlightenment through meditation. Buddhism distinguishes meditation into two classes; both are essential for achieving enlightenment. The first class, Shamatha, consists of practices aimed at developing focus single pointedly. The second, Vipassana, consists of practices aimed at developing insight and wisdom by seeing the true natural reality.
Posted on 29th September 2007
Under: Meditation | 5 Comments »
