A Practical Guide to Classic Buddhist
Meditation
Why Meditate?
The main purpose of mental practice is to transform the mind and develop its positive qualities,
and to reduce the negative propensities and activities that emerge from an untrained mind. Sitting
meditation is one form of mental training, but is by no means the only method to achieve this
transformation; however, sitting meditation offers a more grounded and less distracted approach,
comparable to a laboratory where external disruptions are somewhat reduced.
The Buddhist tradition, in particular, has developed an infinite set of methods and practices
directed at cultivating the mind. What follows is only a rough sketch of the main meditation
concepts, categories and techniques. Although there are countless methods and classifications
with a very wide range of exercises, there are two axioms on which Buddhist practices are based.
They are formulated in the Abhidharma literature as follows: 1) it is possible to eliminate suffering
and its causes and 2) any effective method to relieve suffering must involve changes in one’s
cognitive and emotional states, since the root causes of suffering are correctable defects in one’s
mental disposition.
A spiritual education and development means a transformation of attitude, and meditation is
considered such a procedure. In doing so we reduce counterproductive attitudes and adjust our
thoughts in a beneficial way. Of course, such transformation needs repeated practice and
familiarization, and neither talking about it, nor just wishful thinking, will be helpful and bring any
results. The Tibetan term for meditation,
gom
, literally means familiarization (the equivalent term in
Sanskrit,
bhavana
, means cultivation), and meditation is therefore understood to be the cultivation
of positive mental qualities through a process of familiarization.
In principle there are two kinds of meditation practices:
Śamatha
(Shamatha: Calm Abiding) and
Vipaśyanā
(Vipassana: Insight). With
Śamatha
practices the mind is made calm and stable, while
during
Vipaśyanā
practices the calmed mind is used to cultivate insights that will affect one’s view
and counter delusions.
Śamatha
can be translated as Calm Abiding or Meditative Quiescence.
Śamatha
is not just one
particular practice but many types of practices that work at refining our attention. Attention refining
practices are not unique to Buddhism, as they can be found in non-Buddhist traditions as well.
While it is, in fact, a practice that is essential to all traditions and systems that aim at improving
attention and fostering a stable mind, in the Buddhist context
Śamatha
is one of the foundations to
achieve ultimate awakening and is embedded in the larger context of ethical disciplines as well. In
order to attain a completely stable state of one’s mind, the
Śamatha
literature speaks of many
favorable conditions and circumstances that need to come together. Since the mind is in a
constant state of movement, bringing the mind to focus and at the same time being clear and lucid
can at times seem an impossible feat. Without proper preparation and without a supporting
context,
Śamatha
practices will not lead to their intended outcome of stable clarity. This is why one
first needs to eliminate unfavorable acts and circumstances that are caused by and sustain
detrimental imprints. Second, one must develop and engage in positive acts and create
circumstances that sustain favorable imprints. Third, one needs to engage in the actual practice by
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