Meditation

Meditation is a sacred practice. Shamans, gurus, priests, medicine men and other wise beings have practiced meditation for over 5000 years. In the 20th century, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi popularized one form of meditation he named Transcendental Meditation. This is a simple form of mantra meditation, easy to learn and to do.

We meditate by sitting quietly, eyes open, and concentrating on an image such as a mandala, or a candle, or sitting with closed eyes, and, in either case, repeating a mantra. A mantra is not a word. A mantra is a sound. Different sounds, repeated over and over and over again, affect energies within the body, each in its own way.

Lamrim is a graduated path to enlightenment comprised of 21 meditations. These meditations, which are said to contain all of Buddha's essential teachings, form the backbone of Kadampa Buddhism. Lamrim can thus be classified as a form of object meditation which means meditation upon an object, concrete or abstract.

The goals of lamrim, as with other forms of Buddhist meditation, are to obtain peace, happiness, enlightenment and freedom from suffering. The Kadampa tradition holds that a person can experience some benefits of this meditation method by practicing on one's own, but that progress is best made under the guidance of a qualified meditation teacher. Kadampa Buddhist meditation centers around the world offer instruction in lamrim meditation.

Whether a person believes that enlightenment is best achieved gradually, through a step-by-step method like lamrim, or holds the Zen view that enlightenment can occur spontaneously outside such a structure, this 21-step meditation method has much to offer. It allows the meditator to focus and concentrate on each aspect of Buddha's teachings, one at a time, making it possible to fully integrate each principle into his or her awareness, while simultaneously pursuing the goals defined by the method.