Meditation in Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhist meditation features a long history. Buddhism was a division of Hinduism and so meditation was practiced in Hinduism before it had been practiced in Buddhism. Buddhist thought is that there are three things one must accomplish before enlightenment. Virtue, Wisdom, and Meditation. Meditation is practiced in most of the eastern religions, and even yet in western religions. But I'll focus this article on Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism meditative practices.

Hinduism may be the oldest living religion that practiced meditation. In Hinduism meditating is thought to are suffering from out of man's need to find Brahman (God's) true nature. Hindu practitioners would sit and consider who God to be real, and by sitting all day such as this they began to own moments of clarity. mala These moments of clarity are what many practitioners even today want to achieve through meditation.

The difference in meditation in Buddhism and in Hinduism is that Buddhist practitioners didn't think that meditating was a means where to be closer with God, but it is instead a means for the practitioner to become closer with everything on earth. It is said that Buddha (Siddhartha) found enlightenment by meditating underneath a Bodhi tree.

Meditation in yoga

In yoga, meditation is practiced after breathing exercises, or pranayama. The initial philosophy of yoga was that is was important to meditate after practicing asanas, or the physical facet of yoga, because the body would anticipate to relax and loose enough that sitting on to the floor would be comfortable. Breathing first is an excellent practice, because slow breathing slows down your heartrate and calms your brain so that the body is able to transfer to a tranquil place.

Meditation in Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism was formed from the principles of yoga and of Buddhism, which arrived in Tibet from India beginning in the eighth century. Meditation in Tibetan Buddhism is focused on tantric principles, and another term for Tibetan Buddhism is Tantrayana Buddhism. One intent behind tantra is to help turn the beds base human desires such as greed and envy into something good, like love and compassion. There are numerous steps in tantric Buddhism, these include lamrim (things that needs to be reflected on and meditative activities), preliminary practices, contemplation, Dzogchen (an advanced step which is the final step on the Tantrayana Buddhist practitioner's path).

Ways to Meditate

In Tibetan Buddhism many forms of meditation are composed of thinking about certain things to be able to clear the mind and help to make the path to enlightenment open. Some topics to meditate on include being charitable to others, seeing yourself and those around you as equal, and developing compassion.

In yoga and Hinduism, meditation is the path and the goal. There are numerous different forms that yogic meditation can take. In yoga it often starts with pranayama, or breathing exercises. Additionally, there are forms of meditation where you consider a mantra, or prayer. There are means of meditating through kirtan, singing. There is also meditation on sound that can occur with music or in a kirtan session. And in both Hinduism and in Tibetan Buddhism there's meditation on a thing, like a Buddhist statue or perhaps a Buddhist thangka.

Hinky Imports provides instruments for your meditative practice, including Tibetan prayer beads, (that may be used while meditating on a mantra).

There are numerous different forms of meditation in both Hindusim (yoga) and Tibetan Buddhism. Whichever path one chooses, it is essential to first look for a spiritual guide. A spiritual guide can help you discover how to meditate and help guide your path in ways that we cannot do on our own.