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The new science of meditation

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Re: The new science of meditation

#31

Post by gdubs »

thenerdhead wrote: post #18

> “My hope is that ultimately, this work will contribute to bringing advanced meditation out of the monastery,” Sacchet said, describing its “incredible promise for moving beyond addressing mental health issues, toward helping people thrive.” What exactly is considered "advanced meditation"? I've been meditating for years, but don't do it for hours each day or go on extended silent retreats. I've read many practices…

There's a lot of different practices, though in a lot of schools that have practiced meditation for centuries, "Mindfulness" style meditation – what's largely practiced in the west – is just one aspect. The Dalai Lama, for instance, discuss at length in his books deeper phases of meditation that focus on things like "emptiness" [1] or compassion, loving-kindness, etc. Someone who's more knowledgable can correct me if I'm wrong, but the 'mindfulness' type meditation is almost like a warmup for these other forms of meditation.

1: Emptiness meditation, best I can describe it, is sort of like meditating on how something like a "Chair" falls apart under scrutiny. We perceive it as a solid object, yet when you analyze its parts, it tends to 'fall apart', and what makes it a "Chair" becomes hard to pin down. You start to see it more as a coming together of many things, each of which also tends to fall apart under scrutiny. Worth pointing out that this 'emptiness' is not the same as nihilism.

Re: The new science of meditation

#32

Post by curo »

crazygringo wrote: post #27
mohave529 wrote: post #5

"Along a less-traveled route, meditation remains what it long was: a deeply transformative pursuit, a devoted metamorphosis of the mind toward increasingly enlightened states." This pretty much lines up with what meditation has done for me. However, the pursuit of "states" can be a trap in of itself. As my practice has gotten deeper, I've started to reframe meditation for myself as the process of unrelenting inquiry…

Could you give an example of beliefs/ideas you've let go of, or discovered can't be known to be true? I've been trying to understand the pros/cons of psychotherapy vs meditation, as both of them seem to involve letting go of false beliefs. But while there are a lot of examples of this in psychotherapy and the mechanisms are well-documented, it's hard to find first-person accounts regarding meditation that aren't just…

Ramana Maharshi says anything transient is false

CBT and other psychotherapies challenge X or Y as false

Re: The new science of meditation

#37

Post by asimovfan »

thenerdhead wrote: post #18

> “My hope is that ultimately, this work will contribute to bringing advanced meditation out of the monastery,” Sacchet said, describing its “incredible promise for moving beyond addressing mental health issues, toward helping people thrive.” What exactly is considered "advanced meditation"? I've been meditating for years, but don't do it for hours each day or go on extended silent retreats. I've read many practices…

http://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies

Re: The new science of meditation

#38

Post by flatline »

triyambakam wrote: post #8

In Hinduism, meditation is not just a calming practice, but an actual movement toward God. And in the tradition I follow, it is also not for beginners. Basic discipline — the following of the Yamas (restraints of non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, etc.) — is recommended first.

You find all kinds of approaches in the Eastern traditions. Buddha rejected the eternalism and theism of the Hindus, but most of his teachings were really quite similar. The yoga sutras emphasized asana prior to the practice of dhyana. Go further east and some of the chan/zen schools rejected all formal teaching methods such as ethical precepts and sutra studies in favor of meditation alone. This latter is where the modern mindfulness movement found its primary inspiration.

Re: The new science of meditation

#39

Post by waterheater »

triyambakam wrote: post #8

In Hinduism, meditation is not just a calming practice, but an actual movement toward God. And in the tradition I follow, it is also not for beginners. Basic discipline — the following of the Yamas (restraints of non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, etc.) — is recommended first.

Exactly. How many Westerners are trying to meditate without a conscious belief in a Higher Power, an Infinite Creator, God, or such? I wonder if there may be negative spiritual effects by employing meditation without seeking closeness with divinity.

Re: The new science of meditation

#40

Post by dlivingston »

oldstrangers wrote: post #10
mohave529 wrote: post #5

"Along a less-traveled route, meditation remains what it long was: a deeply transformative pursuit, a devoted metamorphosis of the mind toward increasingly enlightened states." This pretty much lines up with what meditation has done for me. However, the pursuit of "states" can be a trap in of itself. As my practice has gotten deeper, I've started to reframe meditation for myself as the process of unrelenting inquiry…

I've always sort of intuitively done this since I was a kid ( https://zchry.org/words/questioning-my-quantum-leap-an-ongoi... ). I have zero experience with meditation in the traditional sense but I'm really interested in going down that path next as I try to broaden my scope.

A bit tangential, but I absolutely love your blog design. Minimalistic, yet very aesthetic and unique.
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