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  Meditation Means Awareness.An ordinary person may consider meditation as a worship or prayer. But it is not so. Meditation means awareness. Whatever you do with awareness is meditation. "Watching your breath" is meditation; listening to the birds is meditation. As long as these activities are free from any other distraction to the mind, it is effective meditation.Meditation is not a technique but a way of life. Meditation means 'a cessation of the thought process' . It describes a state of consciousness, when the mind is free of scattered thoughts and various patterns . The observer (one who is doing meditation) realizes that all the activity of the mind is reduced to one.With regular practice of a balanced series of techniques, the energy of the body and mind can be liberated and the quality of consciousness can be expanded. This is not a subjective claim but is now being investigated by the scientists and being shown by an empirical fact.Active meditation relates to activities of everyday life such as walking, working, eating etc.This in fact is the aim of Yoga, to experience a meditative state in everyday life which has the effect of increasing performance manifold as the work is done with more efficiency and energy.To achieve active meditation, passive meditation is required which involves taking time out to be seated and perform Meditation Techniques or practices. This is called passive as it involves withdrawing ourselves in calm, sitting postures to achieve a meditative state that can help us in our active life.The aim of all passive meditation techniques is to still the mind from wavering and distracting thoughts and gradually make it one pointed.Passive Meditation Techniques though of many kinds, essentially have the same modus operandi:

Contents 1 Types Of Meditation 1.1 Zen Meditation 1.2 Burmese Position 1.3 Half Lotus Position 1.4 Full Lotus Position 1.5 Seiza Position 1.6 Chair Position 1.7 Procedures of Zen Meditation 1.8 Mantra Meditation 2 Advantages Of Meditation 3 See Also

[edit] Types Of Meditation

• Zen Meditation
• Buddhist Meditation
• Mantra Meditation
• Music Meditation
• Kundalini Meditation
• Japa Meditation
• Electronic Meditation
• Khanda Manda Yoga

[edit] Zen Meditation

Zen Meditation or Zazen is a concept of seated meditation. Zen Meditation is performed when seated and this is a discipline performed to calm the body and Mind and experience insight into the nature of existence. The Zen Buddhists are known as `Meditation. Buddhists` and basically the Zazen is the study of self. Originally Zen referred to a sitting practice alone, but now it is widely used to meditate in any posture.

Zen Meditation has a long history of practice. It is thought that during his enlightenment, Buddha was in a seated meditation. The meditation practice has continued for two thousand five hundred years from generation to generation. The most important aspect of Zen Meditation is its spread from India to China, to Japan, to other parts of Asia and then finally to the West. Zen Meditation is very easy to describe and practice but needs an orderly manner to perform. The great master Dogen said about Zazen "To study the Buddha Way is to study the self, to study the self is to forget the self, and to forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things."

The common practice in meditation is to see the body,breath and mind separately, but in Zen meditation they come together as one reality. The first important thing is to pay attention to the position of the body. The body has a way of communicating outwardly to the world and inwardly to oneself. Our mind and breath depends a lot on our position of the body. Since the evolution of Buddhism, the most effective posture practiced in Zazen is the Pyramid structure of seated Buddha. During Zen Meditation seating on a floor is recommended because it is a very Stable way. A `Zafu` or a small pillow is used to lift the back just a little, so that the knees can touch the ground. With the bottom on the Pillow and two knees touching the ground, the body takes a tripod Shape that gives three hundred and sixty degree stability.

There are different seating postures for Zen Meditation, which are as follows-

[edit] Burmese Position

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  Burmese Postion
  There are several different leg positions that are possible while seated in this posture. This is the first and simplest position, in which legs are crossed and both feet rest flat on the floor. The knees should also rest on the floor, though sometimes it needs a bit of exercise to be able to drop the legs that far. After a while the muscles loosen up and knees begins to drop. To do this perfectly one should sit on the front third of zafu, shifting the forward a little bit. The spine is kept straight by imagining the top of head pushing upward to the ceiling and stretching the body that way. The muscles are soft and relax. With the back up in the zafu, the stomach pushes outward a little and there will be a slight curve on the lower region of the back. In this way it takes very little effort to keep the body upright.

[edit] Half Lotus Position

This is another position where the left foot is placed up onto the right thigh and the right leg is tucked under. This position is slightly asymmetrical and sometimes the upper body needs a support in order to keep it absolutely straight.

[edit] Full Lotus Position

This is the most stable of all the positions where both legs are placed on the opposite thigh. The position is perfectly symmetrical and very solid. Sitting cross-legged on the floor gives stability and efficiency to the body. There is no mystic significance to the different sitting postures. The most important thing to Zazen is what one does with the mind.

[edit] Seiza Position

In this position one can sit without a pillow, in a kneeling position, with the back resting on the upturned feet, which form an anatomical cushion. One can also use the pillows to keep the weight off the ankles. A third way to sit in Seiza is to use the Seiza bench. It keeps all the weight off the feet and helps to keep the spine straight.

[edit] Chair Position

It is also fine to sit in a chair with the feet-resting flat on the floor. One can again use the cushion or zafu, sitting on forward third of it. Alternatively the zafu can be placed at the back. It is very important to keep the spine straight with the lower part of the back curved. All the important aspects when seated on the floor are also useful while sitting on a chair.

[edit] Procedures of Zen Meditation

The back should be kept straight in Zen Meditation to allow the diaphragm to move freely. The breathing should be very very deep. The abdomen should rise and fall in the same way as an infant`s belly does. In general the breathing become restricted and incomplete with maturity. One tends to make shallow breaths in the upper part of the chest. In the modern days people also wear belts and tight clothing, which refrain one from taking deep and complete breath. So it is important to wear loose outfit while doing Zazen. The clothing should not gather below the knees as it inhibits circulation while seating cross-legged. When the body is in right posture it automatically allows the diaphragm to move freely so that the breathing is deep, easy and natural.

Once the body is positioned properly, the few other things should be kept in notice like mouth should be kept close. Unless there is any kind of nasal blockage one should breath through nose. The tongue is pressed lightly against the upper palate, which cause to reduce the need to salivate and swallow. The eyes are kept lowered, with the gaze fixed on the ground about two or three feet in front of the seating position. The eyes will be mostly covered by the eyelids, which eliminate the necessity to blink repeatedly. The chin is slightly tucked in. Although the whole process looks very disciplined, there should be no tension and all the muscles should be relaxed. The body should be kept straight with the nose centered in line with the naval and the upper torso leaning neither forward nor backward.

The hands should be kept folded in cosmic mudra. The thumbs should touch lightly forming an oval, which can rest on the upturned soles of the feet while seated in a full lotus posture. If one is seated in Burmese posture, the hands can rest on thighs. The cosmic mudra tends to turn the attention inward.

The mind should be focused inward. To do this, there are several ways like mind should concentrate at a point of visual image called Mandalas. There are also Mantra or vocal images. In Zazen there are different types of mudras used in eastern religion. The whole attention is focused on the breath as breath is the central spirit and vital force of the body and it is in union with mind. When the mind is at rest, the breath is deep, easy and effortless.

It is important to centre the attention in the Hara, which is a place within the body, located two inches below the navel. Hara is the physical and spiritual centre of the body and in Zazen this serve as centre of attentiveness.

After body and mind is settled in rest, one should start begin rocking the body back and fourth very slowly, in decreasing arcs until the centre of gravity is attained. The attention should be fixed in hara and the breath should be imagined coming down to hara through the viscera and returning back. This should be made as the part of whole cycle of breathing.

The working in Zen Meditation begins with the counting of breath. Each inhalation and exhalation is counted beginning with one up to ten. When ten is reached the counting starts again. This helps to ward off other thoughts from mind. This kind of concentration is called as Joriki. Joriki is the centre of martial and visual arts in Zen and is the source of energy of all the activities in our lives.

The Zen Meditation when practiced for a while sharpens the awareness. When counting up to ten is practiced properly, its time to begin counting every cycle of the breath. Inhalation and exhalation together should be counted as one. Eventually one just follows the breath and abandons the counting. At the end the power of concentration ultimately leads to `Samadhi` or single-pointedness of mind.

During the practice of Zen Meditation many thoughts comes in mind, especially when one is in crisis. One should let the thoughts to go away automatically and concentrate on breath but one should never use Zazen to suppress the thoughts. After one attains the deep Samadhi at Zazen, he/she breathes at a rate of only two or three breaths at a minute while normally a person breathes fifteen cycles a minute. Respiration, heart rate, Metabolism slows down in Zen Meditation. The whole body comes to a point of stillness that is not reached even in deep sleep. Once one adapts Zazen properly, he/she should practice `Koan` study or Shikantaza(just sitting). This should not be looked as gain or promotion. Whatever step is practiced in Zazen, it is performed for complete trance.

In Zen Meditation, it is also very important to be patient and persistent. Zazen is practiced for the greater purpose to learn and to uncover mind and to finally see who we really are. Buddhist Meditation

Buddhist meditation is basically a mental exercise. Prayer is a form of discursive meditation, and in Hinduism the reciting of slokas and mantras are employed to tranquilize the mind to a state of receptivity.

Buddhist meditation is a form of psychological concentration that guides ultimately to enlightenment and spiritual freedom of the mind. In Buddhist religion, meditation occupies a vital place and has developed characteristic variations in different Buddhist traditions. The purpose of Buddhist meditation is to learn the flow of mind, its functions and its powers and furthermore to distinguish between self-hypnosis, the development of mediumistic states and the real process of mental clarification. To identify the direct perception and the cluster of the mental perspectives are the object of Buddhist mental concentration. It admits to gain more than an intellectual understanding of the truth of life, to liberate the soul from the delusion and thereby put an end to both ignorance and craving. The Buddhist meditation is the source of a temporary retirement and the basis of the unique and authentic perseverance of the mind to free it from attachment, establish courage and discretion of soul.

There are basically two types of Buddhist meditation that focuses a lot on Samatha and Vipashyana.

Samatha is the connotation of a pre-Buddhist Yogic form which Buddha practiced extensively. This meditation is calm abiding or tranquility supplier. It is the development of serenity that is a prerequisite to any further development. Even Lord Buddha incorporated some other forms to Samatha meditation.

Another form of meditation in Buddhism, `Vipashyana` connotes a clear seeing or special insight which involves intuitive cognition of suffering and impermanence. The more complicated meditations are practiced once the primary forms of meditations are performed and the results of these meditations are attained.

After the primary meditations the practitioners of meditation move towards more complicated forms like `Samadhi` or one-pointed meditation. It involves intense focusing or consciousness and brings about four `Dhyanas` or absorptions. Buddha refers to `Samadhi` and the `Dhyanas` in the eight step of eight-folded path. `Dhyana` is referred as `Jhana` in Pali, `Ch`an` in Chinese, `Son` in Korean and `Zen` in Japanese.

There is significant diversity in Buddhist meditation in different Buddhist schools. For example, in the `Theravada` tradition alone, there are over fifty methods for developing mindfulness and forty for developing concentration, while the Tibetan culture has thousands of visualisation meditations.

The Buddhist Meditation types, be it classical or be it contemporary, are always school specific. Only a few teachers attempt to synthesize and categorize practices from multiple Buddhist traditions. The most popular types of Buddhist Meditation follows the classification of Western Buddhist order Meditation teacher Kamalashila who represents `Five basic methods` as a `Traditional set of meditations, each one an antidote to one of the five principal obstructions to Enlightenment`. The types of Buddhist meditation include Anapanasati or Mindfulness of Breathing which is one of the most universally applicable methods of cultivating mental concentration. This, unlike the Yogic systems, does not call for any interference with the normal breathing, the breath being merely used as a point on which to fix the attention, at the tip of the nostrils. Another is Metta Bhavana (including all four Brahma-Viharas) that connotes the thoughts of universal, undiscriminating benevolence, like radio waves reaching out in all directions; sublimate the creative energy of the mind. With steady perseverance in metta bhavana a point can be reached at which it becomes impossible even to harbour a thought of ill-will. The rest of Buddhist meditations are Contemplation of Impermanence, Six Element Practice (earth, water, fire, air, space, consciousness) and Contemplation of Conditionality.

The Contemplation of Impermanence includes "Contemplation of a decomposing corpse," Reflection on death and "Reflection on the Tibetan Book of the Dead`s `Root Verses`. In addition, Kamalashila added three other meditations most importantly Visualisation, Shikantaza or just sitting and Walking Meditation. The whole theme of Kamalashila`s guide and various methods of meditation either fall under Samatha or Vipashyana. In such a scheme Kamalashila identifies `Anapanasati` and `Metta Bhavana` as `samatha` meditations. The `Vipashyana` meditations include contemplation on impermanence, six-element practice and contemplation of conditionality.

Moreover, Buddhist meditation practices include Theravada Buddhist meditation that is ramified into Anapanasati, Metta, Kammatth?na and Vipassana. The Zen Buddhist meditation practice includes Shikantaza, Zazen and Koan. Vajrayana Buddhist meditation practices incorporate Mandala, Tonglen and Tantra. In addition to that some more related Buddhist practices add Mindfulness and Satipatthana. The traditional preliminary practices to Buddhist meditation include prostrations, refuge in the Triple Gem, five Precepts and chanting.

Since the primordial era, the sages and practitioners of meditation have been recommending this process of bring peace and tranquility of mind in addition to reach the soul to the point of universal serenity.

[edit] Mantra Meditation

A Mantra is a hymn or verse which when chanted creates a vibration that has an effect on the mental and psychological consciousness. A Guru traditionally gives the Mantra but in absence of a guru the practitioner can select the mantra. The important criterion for selection of a mantra is, it must have verbal and phonological appeal to the mind when enchanted verbally.

Chanting the mantra creates powerful vibrations, which attract divine forces as directed to the right `Chakras`. The enchanting of Mantra mystically heals the spiritual, physical and psychological part of the body. It is important to utter the mantra properly and rhythmically so that the words carry a meaning to the enchanter and listener and both can enjoy its essence.

Mantras have specific meaning in ancient philosophical context. But the power lies not in the meaning of word but through the vibratory effects of the sound that is produced when uttered verbally. When mantras are spoken mentally, they also produce tranquil effect.

A Mantra should not be confused with religion. A mantra is always referred to Hindu gods but people from other religion can also enchant it for the peace of mind. Mantras have an important role in Buddhist religion and meditation. A mantra should not be enchanted in a translated form as this will have no vibratory effect and the strength of mantra also goes.

To perform a Mantra Meditation it should be repeated for a fixed time each day. Repeating a mantra too much is not right for a sensitive or psychic person as it might adversely affect their mind. Normally a Mantra is uttered for about ten to fifteen minutes a day but there is prolonged enchanting of Mantras during puja and havanas.

Mantra Meditation has various forms. Transcendental Meditation introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is an important example of Mantra Meditation, where the practitioners are provided with personal mantras.

Mantra Meditation is easiest and safest for any person and can be practiced by anyone at any time under any condition. The most common way of practicing Mantra Meditation is `Japa`. Japa literally means `rotate`. It is performed by repeatedly uttering the Mantra with the rotation of Japamala. A Japamala is a collection of 108 prayer beads, tied together in a string where each bead is turned after mental or audible recitation of the mantra. Using a Japamala for Mantra Meditation is very effective. It anchors the mind with meditation and does let it distracted by wave of thoughts. The Mantra uttered with the rotation of Japamala provides the person a concentration of mind and it cannot be out of control. This is the reason why Japamala meditation is recommended for the beginner practitioner of Mantra Meditation.

[edit] Advantages Of Meditation

• Meditation relaxes your body by lowering the consumption of oxygen, decreasing respiratory rate and heart rate and improving blood circulation.
• The mental exercise of meditation is especially beneficial for people with high blood pressure.
• Indulging in meditation helps the body fight against chronic diseases, like arthritis.
• Meditation lowers the risk of high cholesterol levels and cardiovascular diseases.
• Those who meditate on a regular basis develop immunity against various kinds of allergies.
• Meditating improves the flow of air to the lungs. It may also increase the lung capacity, if done on a regular basis.
• Apart from helping a person lose weight, meditation enhances his energy, strength and stamina as well.
• Indulging in meditation, after an operation, is beneficial, because it promotes quick healing.
• Meditation serves as a natural cure for headache and migraines.
• Besides harmonizing the endocrine system, meditation relaxes the nervous system as well.
• Meditation is highly recommended for sports persons (especially athletes), because it can help improve their performance.
• Studies suggest that meditation can be a natural cure for people with the problem of infertility.
• Meditation provides significant relief from various breathing problems, like asthma.
• A person who indulges in meditation, regularly, has a better control on his/her mood swings and behavior. He/she also succeeds in building better self-confidence.
• Meditation is a surefire way to get rid of addictions, such as smoking, drugs and alcohol.
• You can acquire better control on your own thoughts by indulging in meditation.
• Meditation is a great stress buster, because it rejuvenates the body and soul and gives emotional stability as well.
• A visible effect on meditation on the human mind can be seen in the form of an increase in the ability to concentrate.
• Meditating on a regular basis can help a person increase his/her learning ability.
• Nothing is better and easier than meditation, when it comes to resolving the problem of phobias.
• Meditation provides food to the brain. It helps increase the capacity of a person to think creatively.
• The people who indulge in meditation reap the benefits of lowered levels of cortisol and lactate, two chemicals that are associated with Stress. In short, meditation helps a person get rid of undue stress and tensions.

[edit] See Also

Alternative energy resouces
benefits of yoga
yoga