Thursday 15 May 2008

Buddhist Meditation



METITATION - THE ONLY WAY



(N.B. Instructions quoted from Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda, a well known Sri Lankan Buddhist monk, who spread Buddhism throughout the world living in Malaysia over 50 years).

Benefits of Meditation

Reap the Benefits

Today many people from all over the world, irrespective of their religions, have become aware of the benefits to be gained through meditation. The immediate purpose of meditation is to train the mind and to use it effectively and efficiently in our daily life. The ultimate aim of meditation is to seek release from the wheel of Samsara – the cycle of birth and death. Even though it is a most difficult task, positive benefits are obtainable here and now, if one is serious about meditation. One should not be enslaved by the prospects of these benefits and lose sight of real aim of Buddhist meditation. The benefits of meditation can be summerised as follows:-
  • If you are a busy person, meditation can help you to get rid of tension and to find relaxation.
  • If you are a worried person, meditation can calm you and help you find peace of mind.
  • If you are a person who has endless problems, meditation can help you to develop courage and strength to face and overcome them.
  • If you lack of self confidence, meditation can help you to gain the self-confidence which is the secret of success in life.
  • If you have fear in your heart, meditation can help you to understand the real nature of the problems that are making you afraid – then you can overcome the fear in your mind.
  • If you are always dissatisfied with everything and nothing in life seems to be satisfactory – meditation can give you chance to develop and to maintain inner contentment.
  • If you are skeptical and uninterested in the religious way of life, meditation can help you to go beyond your own skepticism and to see some practical values in religious guidance.
  • If you are frustrated and heart-broken due to a lack of understanding of the uncertainty of life and the world, meditation can truly guide and help you to understand the fleeting nature of worldly conditions.
  • If you are a rich man, meditation can help you to realise the nature of your wealth and how to make use of it not only for your own happiness but also for others’ happiness.
  • If you are a poor man, meditation can help you to develop contentment and not to harbour jealousy towards those who have more than you.
  • If you are a young man at the cross-roads of your life, and you do not know which way to turn, meditation can help you to the right path to reach your chosen goal.
  • If you are an elderly man who is fed-up with life, meditation can bring you to a deeper understanding of life; this understanding in turn will relieve your pains and increase the joy of living.
  • If you are hot-tempered, you can develop the strength to overcome the weakness of anger, hatred, and resentment to become a more calm and sober person.
  • If you are jealous, you can understand that negative mental attitudes never contribute anything for your sense-disires.
  • If you are addicted to drinking or to drugs, desires, you can learn how to become the master of your sense-desires.
  • If you are a narrow minded person, you can develop understanding that will be beneficial both to you and your friends and family to avoid misunderstanding.
  • If you are strongly influenced by emotions, your emotions will have no chance to mislead you.
  • If you suffer from certain disorders such as nervous breakdowns and mental disturbances, meditation can activate the positive forces in your mind and body to regain your health, especially if they are psychosomatic problems.
  • If you are a weak-minded person or one who maintains inferiority complex, meditation can strength your mind to develop courage to overcome your weaknesses.
  • If you are a wise person, meditation will lead you to supreme wisdom. Then you will see things as they are, and not as they appear to be.




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