THE ART OF MEDITATION
Welcome to the wonderful world of the art of meditation, a practice that anyone, young or old, can enjoy and benefit from. Meditation is like a soothing balm for the mind and soul, helping you find calmness and clarity in the busy whirlwind of life. But why do people meditate, and what is it exactly?
Imagine your mind is like a busy playground, full of thoughts, worries, and emotions bouncing around like playful kids. Meditation is like a gentle game of catch, where you sit down, close your eyes, and learn to catch and release those thoughts, helping your mind feel peaceful and clear.
In this journey, we will explore the reasons why people meditate and uncover the secrets of this ancient practice.
Meditation is like a special tool that helps us understand our thoughts, see the world clearly, and not let our feelings control us. It makes us feel happier and freer. This book will show us easy ways to learn meditation and become better people step by step.
The Art of Meditation by Matthieu Ricard, 2011, 208 pages.
Summary and Book Review of “The Art of Meditation”:
In the fast-paced Western world, our busy lives leave little time to think about what truly makes us happy. Many of us believe that the busier we are, the happier we’ll be, but often, this modern lifestyle leaves us feeling deceived and frustrated.
Meditation techniques offer a way to transform our minds without requiring us to follow any specific religion. We all have minds, so we can all work with them. But why should we change ourselves? Some people argue that there’s a balance between positive and negative emotions, qualities, and flaws, and that accepting ourselves as we are is key. However, living with chronic dissatisfaction can prevent us from making even small improvements.
Imagine being asked to spend a day feeling jealous. You probably wouldn’t want to do that. But if you were offered a day filled with love for others, you’d likely say yes. Our minds are often troubled by sadness, anger, and hurtful words from others. Who wouldn’t want to control their emotions better to be free and in control of themselves?
We often believe that suffering is just part of being human and don’t realize that we can train our minds to cultivate positive emotions, clarity, inner peace, and love. Meditation is a wonderful way to achieve this, but it takes time, just like learning to walk, read, or become skilled in a profession.
We often put more effort into improving our external conditions, but ultimately, it’s our minds that interpret the world and determine our well-being or suffering. By changing how we view things, we can transform our lives, and meditation is the key to this change.
So, what is meditation? It’s a practice that helps us develop essential human qualities, like seeing things clearly and unlocking our untapped potential. The goal is to improve ourselves to make the world a better place.
In The Art of Meditation, the author highlights that fulfilling life isn’t just about seeking pleasure; it’s about transforming our understanding of life’s challenges. Meditation helps us combat negative emotions like hate, obsession, and anger while also giving us a deeper understanding of our minds and reality.
Furthermore, meditation has numerous health and well-being benefits. Now, let’s explore how to practice it.
Chapter 2: What should you meditate about?
The main focus of meditation is our busy and sometimes confused mind. Our goal with meditation is to make our mind clearer and more balanced.
Meditation isn’t about trying to completely empty your mind or overthinking about the past or future. It’s not just about relaxing, although it can help you feel more relaxed. Instead, meditation is like taking control of your mind, understanding the world in a new way, and becoming more free.
Being free means being in charge of your own actions, not just doing whatever you want. It’s about breaking free from the things that make you suffer and confuse your mind, like bad habits.
Meditation is not a way to escape from reality. It’s a way to see reality more clearly and understand why we suffer and feel confused.
Many people have practiced meditation for generations and have shared their methods. But just like learning anything new, you have to try these methods for yourself and see what works for you. It’s like taming a restless monkey in your mind, calming it down, and freeing yourself from its chains.
Chapter 3: How to Meditate
You can’t become a meditator just by reading about it; you have to practice it. However, it can be helpful to follow the advice of wise teachers from the past who have shared valuable insights about the goals and methods of meditation.
In a lengthy chapter in The Art of Meditation, Matthieu Ricard offers some initial tips for starting your meditation journey. He simplifies and removes much of the religious aspects, making it more accessible. Here are a few of his recommendations, along with some examples and quotes from meditation masters and Dalai-Lamas.
Getting Started with Meditation:
- Find a Qualified Guide: Learning to meditate requires proper guidance. Ideally, this guide should be an authentic spiritual master. If that’s not possible, a trustworthy instructor or reliable texts can be helpful.
- Choose the Right Environment: Creating the right atmosphere is crucial, especially when you’re just beginning. You need a quiet place without distractions where you won’t be interrupted. This sets the stage for a successful meditation practice.
- Maintain the Correct Physical Posture: Your physical posture affects your mental state during meditation. A posture known as Vajrasana in seven points is recommended:
Remember, meditation is something you learn by doing, not just by reading. So, take these practical steps to start your meditation journey and discover its benefits for yourself.
To prepare for meditation, you can sit in a special way:
- Legs in the Lotus Position: Cross your legs like a pretzel. If that feels tricky, try the “half-lotus” by placing your right leg under the left thigh and your left leg under the right thigh.
- Hand Placement: Rest your hands in your lap, with your right hand on top of your left, and gently touch the tips of your thumbs together.
- Shoulders and Spine: Keep your shoulders slightly up and forward, and make your spine super straight, like a stack of gold coins.
- Chin and Tongue: Tilt your chin slightly inward towards your throat, and let the tip of your tongue touch the roof of your mouth.
- Eyes: Look straight ahead or a bit down along your nose. You can keep your eyes wide open or half-closed.
Now, to be a good meditator, remember to:
- Stay Enthusiastic: Be excited and motivated to meditate regularly. Find out why it’s great and understand both the ups and downs so you can keep going, even when it gets tough.
- Practice Regularly: It’s better to meditate for a short time, like 15 or 20 minutes every day, rather than trying really long sessions once in a while.
- Find the Right Balance: When meditating, don’t be too tense, like a tight guitar string, or too relaxed, like a loose one. Aim for the perfect balance to create the right “note” in your meditation.
So, with these steps, you can turn your mind towards meditation and start your journey to inner peace and clarity.
Four subjects for reflection should capture our attention and reinforce our determination to meditate:
- The value of human life
Human life is incredibly precious because it offers us unique opportunities for inner growth and self-realization. These opportunities often remain hidden within us, like a hidden treasure, obscured by our lack of knowledge and emotional turbulence. Just like the story of the field of diamonds, we have immense potential waiting to be discovered.
- The Impermanence of Everything
This is one of the best chapter in The Art of Meditation. The writer emphasizes that our human life is short but invaluable. Reflecting on its fleeting nature reminds us that every moment is precious, even the seemingly ordinary ones. Time slips through our fingers like gold. Contemplate the flow of seasons, months, days, and the inevitability of death. Ask yourself, “How can I make the most of the time I have left? What truly matters in my life? Is it too early to dedicate myself to meditation and personal growth?”
- Behaviors to adopt and to avoid
Instead of relying on fixed beliefs or established norms to distinguish between right and wrong, we should carefully observe the mechanisms of happiness and suffering in our own lives. Understand that our desires can lead to suffering and that all humans share the same longing for happiness. Reflect on the consequences of your thoughts, words, and actions—how some promote suffering (like hate, greed, jealousy, and arrogance) while others bring deep satisfaction through benevolence and wisdom.
- The inherent dissatisfaction of the ordinary world
Often, our lives are far from satisfying, and we use distractions in our modern world to temporarily forget this dissatisfaction. We may even hide it behind busy activities, sensory experiences, or the pursuit of wealth, power, and fame. However, these distractions cannot mask the reality of suffering for long. It’s better to confront this reality, understand the root causes of unhappiness, and cultivate true happiness through meditation and inner transformation.
By pondering these thoughts, we can reinforce our commitment to meditation and the pursuit of a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
Here are some additional meditation topics discussed by Matthieu Ricard:
- Meditation on complete consciousness
Our thoughts often run on autopilot, making us unaware of the present moment. Complete consciousness means being fully aware of everything happening within and around us—the sights, sounds, and sensations. The past is gone, the future hasn’t arrived, and the present is both elusive and unchanging. Cultivating complete consciousness means living lucidly in our current experiences.
- Inner peace
To understand the true nature of the mind, we must clear away the veils created by automatic thinking. Two key teachings from Buddhist schools help with this:
- Calm-Abiding or Shamata: This is a state of mind that is peaceful, clear, and perfectly focused. It prepares the mind by making it a precise and efficient tool.
- Insight or Vipashyana: This involves gaining insight into the nature of the mind and phenomena through careful analysis and contemplation of inner experiences. It frees the mind from the burden of mental afflictions and the veil of ignorance.
Our minds are often restless and busy with internal chatter, creating a background noise we’re barely aware of. Shamata aims to calm this mental turbulence by focusing on something readily available and constant, like our breath. This practice involves turning our attention to the breath, keeping our focus on it, and being fully aware of its nature.
- Progressing towards inner calm
As you practice, your mind may initially seem even busier than before, but that’s because you’re becoming aware of the abundance of thoughts. Calming the mind involves several stages:
- The Waterfall: Thoughts flow continuously, one after the other.
- The Torrent: The mind alternates between periods of rest and activity.
- The Wide River: The mind responds to disturbances but remains calm otherwise.
- The Rippled Lake: The mind is gently agitated on the surface but remains calm and alert underneath.
- The Peaceful Ocean: The mind becomes unshakeable and effortless, no longer struggling with stray thoughts.
Progressing through these stages takes time, but you will eventually notice improvements in your inner calm and focus.
- Insight or Vipashyana
We often impose our limited view of reality onto the world, leading to distortions that cause frustration and suffering. How many times have we seen someone or something as either entirely good or utterly bad? We strongly cling to the concepts of “me” and “mine,” believing them to be unquestionably true.
Now, let’s imagine a different perspective, one where we see the world as a constantly changing and interconnected flow of events. In this view, the rigid notions of “me” and “mine” become more fluid and lose their overpowering hold on us.
To cultivate this understanding, we need a clear, focused, and steady mind. While shamata can momentarily calm turbulent emotions, it doesn’t eliminate them. That’s why it’s crucial to use insight (Vipashyana) to grasp the fundamental nature of consciousness, how emotions arise and flow, and how our thoughts strengthen our sense of self.
Vipashyana can be approached from various angles:
- Gaining a more accurate understanding of reality.
- Finding relief from the turmoil caused by emotional disturbances.
- Uncovering the significance of our ego and its impact on our well-being.
- Grasping the core essence of the mind.
To better handle emotional disturbances, we can mentally detach ourselves from the emotions affecting us. Often, we become completely identified with our emotions. However, our minds have the ability to observe these emotions as if they were external events happening before our eyes.
The part of our mind that is aware of anger, for instance, is simply aware; it is not angry itself. This realization allows us to step back and recognize that the emotion has no inherent substance. We can give it enough space to dissipate naturally, avoiding two harmful extremes:
Suppressing the emotion, which confines it to a corner of our mind like a time bomb, or letting it explode, to the detriment of those around us and our inner peace.
Book Review of The Art of Meditation:
This book is impressive. It’s clear, concise, and written in a way that’s easy to understand for Western readers. It serves as a good introduction to meditation and offers practical guidance for beginners.
It’s interesting to note that many concepts from Buddhism and meditation are also found in personal development books. These include being proactive in shaping your life, the mind’s ability to respond to external challenges, and the idea of continuous self-improvement.
Meditation appears to be a compelling path for self-improvement. However, the book’s challenge lies in its concise and precise writing, making it difficult to summarize comprehensively. It covers numerous meditation techniques and concepts.
In conclusion, this book is to anyone interested in delving deep into the nature of the mind. For many, it could be the gateway to exploring a new realm of understanding.
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