Guide to Enlightenment: Why Meditation?

Model (naadam.co); Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

What is "meditation"? It is the misleading translation of the Buddhist term bhavana. In English, to meditate means to revolve or turn in mind, in essence, to contemplate.

But meditation first means easing into absorption, the levels of "right concentration" or profound samadhi.

Purifying concentration forms the foundation of insight-meditation or vipassana, the unique means the historical Buddha taught to gain liberation from all disappointment.

Meditation, a collective term for Buddhist liberation practices, is better translated as "cultivation," development of the mind and heart or consciousness and compassion.

Earliest human form of the Buddha

At the monastic complex (vihara) a better question than "Do you meditate?" is, What is your kammatthana, your "field of endeavor," that thing you're developing with a meditation subject.

First we were cultivating virtue for concentration, which purifies the mind and heart. With concentration, virtue becomes easier. Both support insight because a pure mind becomes happy, and a happy mind soon becomes attentive and concentrated (undistracted).

Such a wieldy mind, taking a single object of concentration, becomes absorbed. Emerging from that, purified and full of zest, one turns to the insight practices.

What is the gradual path of progress?

For mental absorptions only temporarily purify consciousness. With the addition of insight-meditation practices, there may come a sudden awakening to the Truth.

That is the first stage of enlightenment called stream entry -- entering the stream that leads invariably to full enlightenment within seven lives. Such an awakening to Truth is born of practicing dependent origination through mindfulness exercises.

The Buddha gave gradual instruction in sutras or discourses. This description of the path to enlightenment and nirvana is the essence of that instruction, a grand overview. What are the practical details?

At home in Afghanistan (ancient Scythia)

For those, find a good teacher solidly based in the original teachings (the Dhamma) of the historical Buddha, known as Shakyamuni (the "Sage of Shakyas" or Scythians) born Prince Siddhartha Gautama.

Sila, bhavana, and prajna refer to virtue, which leads to the removal of remorse and worry, cultivation, which leads to bringing many beneficial things (kusala karma) into being (like mindfulness, profound learning (suta), and purifying concentration), and liberating wisdom.

If ignorance is the greatest problem, wisdom is the key to enlightenment, to awakening from all our worries and disappointments.

Saving Mes Aynak ("Shakya Land," Scythia)