Paper 1: Meditation in Buddhism

Nia Hope

Paper 1: Meditation in Buddhism

          Theravada Buddhism is known as the “lesser vehicle” because it states that there is one way to achieve Nirvana or the loss of all desires: focusing on an adherence to and meditation on the teachings of Buddha or the “awakened one”. Theravada Buddhism accepts all the teachings of Buddha’s first discourse, the Deer Park Sermon. In the Sermon, Buddha explains the Four Noble Truths, which includes Marga or the Eightfold Path. Three of the steps of the Eightfold Path are right effort, mindfulness, and concentration; these steps encompass one of the Three Practices, Samadhi or “concentration that unifies” (Matthews 114). Theravada Buddhist practice Samadhi by meditating on the three steps of the Eightfold Path in order to achieve Nirvana.

Theravada Buddhism emphasizes the role of Bhikkus or monks and the Monastic Order. Through meditation a monk strives to become an Arhat or a “liberated being”; this can happen after “many lifetimes” (“Theravada Buddhism”). Bhikkus also practice Vipassana meditation, which is “the meditation of analysis” (“Theravada Buddhism”). This form of meditation exists to help the meditator realize the Three Marks of Existence: Dukkha or all life is suffering, Anicca or all things are constantly changing, and Anatta or there is no individual self (“Theravada Buddhism”). Theravada Buddhism teaches that through meditation the meditator will achieve Nirvana.

Theravada Buddhists directly follow the practices of Buddha. Siddhartha Gautama became Enlightened and discovered the Middle Way, which is the balance between the overindulgence he received as a prince and the deprivation he gave himself through fasting. Theravada Buddhists mediate following the middle way; they find a balance between overindulgence and deprivation. They practice meditation for 17 to 18 hours a day and they “do not anything eat after lunch” (“Meditation in the Theravada and Mahayana Traditions”). Since Buddha taught Samsara or that one is trapped in a reel of suffering, Theravada Buddhists use meditation to escape from Samsara and eventually achieve Nirvana.

Zen Buddhism is a form of Mahayana Buddhism that teaches that through practicing meditation “one learns to know the truth about one’s own nature” (Irons), by understanding one’s nature a “person becomes a Buddha” (Matthews 123). During meditation Zen Buddhist use Koans or problems “designed to destroy ordinary logical ways of thinking” (Matthews 126) to allow them to experience Satori or Enlightenment. Here are some examples of Koans: “What is the sound on one hand clapping? Who were you before your mother and father were?” (Duval and Terkel).

Zen Buddhism gives various methods of meditation that lead to Nirvana. One method of Zen meditation is Zazen or “seated meditation” in which the mediator sits with both “legs crossed, the soles of the feet pointed up, the hands resting one on top of the other in the lap, the tips of the thumbs gently touching” (“Zen Buddhism”). Zen Buddhist “sit and walk in meditation” or Kinhi, and “at times experience moments of Satori” (“Buddhism”). Twice a year Zen Buddhist communities “hold intense period of meditation” about a week long, known Sesshin (“Zen Buddhism”). Similar to Theravada Buddhism, Zen Buddhism focuses on achieving Nirvana, the goal of Buddhism.

Word Count: 519

Works Cited

Alles, Gregory D., and Robert S. Ellwood. “Buddhism.” The Encyclopedia of World Religions, Revised Edition, Facts On File, 2006. World Religions, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/248642?q=buddhism meditation. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

Alles, Gregory D., and Robert S. Ellwood. “Theravada Buddhism.” The Encyclopedia of World Religions, Revised Edition, Facts On File, 2006. World Religions, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/249066?q= meditation theravada. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

Alles, Gregory D., and Robert S. Ellwood. “Zen Buddhism.” The Encyclopedia of World Religions, Revised Edition, Facts On File, 2006. World Religions, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/249112?q=practices of zen meditation. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

Duval, R. Shannon, and Susan Terkel. “Zen.” Encyclopedia of Ethics, Facts On File. 1999. World Religions, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/429038?q= zen meditation koan . Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

Irons, Edward A. “Zen Buddhism.” Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Second Edition, Facts On

File, 2016. World Religions, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/241705?q=zen buddhism. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

Matthews, Warren. “Buddhism.” World Religions. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008. 103-142. Print.

“Meditation in the Theravada and Mahayana Traditions.” The Shamarpa, shamarpa.org/meditation-in-the-theravada-and-mahayana-traditions/.