Meditation

Question 1

What are other names for meditation?

Answer 1

Dhyana and Bhavana

Meaning cultivation

Question 2

Why is meditation important within Buddhism?

Answer 2

Key Part of the Noble eightfold path
Samdhi = mental discipline
1/3 of the threefold trainings which is a key part of Buddhism

Question 3

Why did the Buddha stress the importance of meditation?

Answer 3

How he reached enlightenment under the Bondhi tree

Only Hindu practice he retained

Question 4

What do you meditate to achieve?

Answer 4

Mental discipline, wisdom to understand existence, sila to cultivate qualities of compassion and finally to see the ultimate truth of the universe and reach enlightenment

Question 5

Example of a key Buddhist meditating?

Answer 5

Thich Nhat Hanh meditating to find a solution for 200 refugees trapped on a boat during the Vietnamese conflict

Question 6

What is the broader aim of meditation?

Answer 6

Act of clearing one’s mind to achieve clarity through peace and relaxation

Question 7

What type of meditation is Samantha Meditation?

Answer 7

Calm abiding to cultivate mindfulness

Ancient Hindu practice to focus completely on your present self through mental concentration

Question 8

What types of Samatha meditation is there?

Answer 8

Anapanasati which focuses on breathing mindfully ‘I am breathing long’
Kasina which focuses on small coloured dots
Mandalas focusing on intricate diagrams which represents the universe (mostly used by Tibetan Buddhists)
=can lead to spheres of nothingness

Question 9

What is the issue with Samatha meditation?

Answer 9

The Buddha was not completely satisfied that it was enough to fully escape samsara, he then developed vipassna meditation to be taught alongside

Question 10

What is Vipassana meditation?

Answer 10

Insight meditation into the true reality of the world

Question 11

How is Vipassana meditation done?

Answer 11

Through meditating on the Dharma to understand
Candle meditation to understand Anicca
Meditating on your own body to understand the five skandhas as perceptions

Question 12

What is the goal of Vipassana meditation?

Answer 12

Meditating with the goal of deeper understanding

Question 13

What is Metta Bhavana?

Answer 13

Cultivating loving sentiments to have a greater capacity of love for others

Question 14

Where is Metta Bhavana most common and why?

Answer 14

Among Mahayana Buddhists who try and develop Bodhicitta which is selfless compassion for all beings

Question 15

What is the aim of Metta Bhavana?

Answer 15

Develop four Brahmas 
Metta = loving kindness 
Karuna = antidote to cruelty through compassion 
Mudita = antidote to jealousy 
Uppeka = antidote to prejudice

Question 16

How are the four Brahmas developed?

Answer 16

Happens in 5 stages

1) Love for oneself
2) Love for a friend
3) Love for someone you dislike
4) Love for someone you hate
5) Love that extends to the world

Question 17

What are Mahayana beliefs about Meditation?

Answer 17

They practice both Samatha and Vipassna but they believe all humans have Buddhahood potential therefore they focus on connecting with current qualities rather than attaining new ones
Belief in Upaya means that there are lots of different types of meditation that can help different people reach enlightenment ie Burning House parable
Belief in Human Bodhisattvas means that meditation can be taught by spiritual leaders

Question 18

What do Zen Buddhists believe about Enlightenment?

Answer 18

It’s called ‘Satori’

It occurs spontaneously without the need for studying texts or words

Question 19

How do Zen Buddhists meditate ?

Answer 19

Sitting called ‘Zazen meditation’ and wait for glimpses of enlightenment which will they cause spontaneous enlightenment
They may practice actions similar to Samatha such as Anapanasati

Question 20

What do Rinzai Zen Buddhists believe about meditation?

Answer 20

That enlightenment is also spontaneous like the shattering of ice that cannot be explained

Question 21

How to Rinzai Zen Buddhists achieve enlightenment?

Answer 21

Shocking their students into thinking beyond language by Rinzai masters using their upaya
They may use violence
This is done however whilst students are meditating on Koans which are paradoxical riddles

Question 22

What’s a paradoxical riddle?

Answer 22

What is the sound of one hand clapping

Question 23

What do New Pureland Buddhists believe about meditation?

Answer 23

Meditation is not helpful as it adds to the delusion we can reach enlightenment
Reinforces the sense of self and arrogance of thinking how good you are for meditating