Types of Meditation

Learning Outcome Pupils will be able to describe 1.Samatha meditation 2.Vipassana meditation 3.Zen meditation

You’ve already seen in a previous lesson that there are different ways of meditating. You can do it sitting down, walking, eating on your own, with others and in many other ways. There’s no one way of meditating.

Samatha Meditation: Stilling According to many Buddhists, the thoughts of the mind are like a monkey that won’t stay still. What problems are there with not being able to control your mind? 1.You can’t control your tanha’s 2. Your bad roots are more likely to control your actions Important to Theravada Buddhists

Samatha Meditation: Stilling There are levels of ‘trance’ that can be achieved through this type of meditation. These levels are called Jhana. It’s thought that if you if you get very good at this you can gain psychic powers and you can levitate. But you can’t meditate to get these powers. That would be a tanha. Good morning

Samatha Meditation: Stilling What to think about when meditating: 1.Positive thoughts about all other beings. 2. How to help others who suffer 3. Sharing in the joy of those who are happy 4. Experiencing love for everything equally

Vipassana Meditation: Revealing This is about seeing reality for what it really is. This includes the reality of the world and the reality of ourselves. We need to peel back the layers of ourselves to reveal what we are really like. As the 3 Marks of existence show us, we are easily decieved about the way things are.

Vipassana Meditation: Revealing Vipassana is thought to be more important for achieving Nibbana than Samatha, as Samatha gives temporary peace, whereas Vipassana provides true understanding which lasts even when you’re not meditating.

Zen Meditation: Quizzing This is more important to Mahayana Buddhists It uses a variety of methods to provide insight One method that Zen B’s use is the Koan. This is done by asking questions that have no answer. Examples of this are: What is the sound of one hand clapping? If a tree falls and no- one can hear it, does it make a sound?

1. Describe some of the aims of meditation (4KU) 2. How can meditation help to develop the Buddhist’s understanding of anicca and anatta? (6KU) 3. What is the meaning of the term ‘mindfulness’? (2KU) 4. Describe the two types of Buddhist meditation (Samatha and Vipsanna) Give examples for each. (6KU) 5. How important is meditation in Buddhism? In which respects? (4AE) 6.What does meditation have to offer non-Buddhists? (3AE)

Buddhism The Human Condition – o The 3 Marks of Existence o The 1 st Noble Truth (Life is Dukkha) o The 2 nd Noble Truth (Dukkha is caused by Tanha) The Goals - o Karma o The 3 rd Noble Truth (You can stop Dukkha by stoping Tanha) o Nibbana The Means – o The Three Jewels o The Noble Eightfold Path / The 4 th Noble Truth o The 5 Precepts o Meditation and Prayer