Meditation is an introspective practice that is integral in the Buddhist spiritual path. In the teachings of the Buddha, the path towards enlightenment (or freedom) requires a commitment to concentration and freeing our mind from the attachments of everyday life.
Meditation can help foster a sense of inner peace and connection with our body. In addition, the health benefits of meditation are also being highlighted including reducing stress, blood pressure, and improvements in mood.
Though Buddhist meditations are gaining greater awareness and popularity, it can be hard to know where to begin with a meditation practice. While apps such as Headspace and Calm have made meditation more accessible, they are often removed from the spiritual context from which these practices originated. Given the immense diversity of sects within Buddhism, there are numerous styles of meditation that can facilitate different aspects of our spiritual journey.
Buddhist meditation techniques have certain aspects in common – they can help us foster a sense of focus, cultivate equanimity and balance, and allow us to deepen our sense of empathy or distance ourselves from reactions that do not serve us.
This list is by no means comprehensive (there are many different meditation styles), but hopefully this can serve as a starting place to demystify and contextualize the different ways we can begin to meditate.
Here are five styles of meditation to try within the Buddhist tradition:
Vipassana Meditation
Vipassana Meditation refers to the practice of “insight meditation,” and is one of the two broad categories of Buddhist meditation (the other being Samatha). Vipassana meditation consists of three components – living in accordance with your moral code, fostering concentration of the mind, and ultimately cultivating a detached observation of reality. This form of meditation, as practiced in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, fosters a close attention to the sensations within our mind and body and is focused on cultivating clarity and wisdom. It is one of the predominant forms of Buddhist meditation practiced in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. There was revival of this form of meditation by the Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma in the early twentieth century who inspired the practices of prominent Western Buddhist teachers such as Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein of the Insight Meditation Center.
Samatha Meditation
Samatha meditation, originating from the term “samadhi” which means “concentration,” is a form of meditation focused on fostering calm or tranquility within the mind. This style of meditation is practiced by cultivating concentration on an object within the mind. One of the most common styles of samatha meditation is anapanasati, or concentration or mindfulness of the breath. However, any object, such as a flower or candle, sound, or mantra can also be the object of concentration.
By focusing deeply on this object, meditators can foster a deep level of concentration which can lead to calm within the mind. This form of meditation is often practiced prior to and in conjunction with Vipassana meditation in numerous schools of Buddhism including Theravada, Tibetan and Zen Buddhism.
Metta Bhavana Meditation
Metta is the Pali term for “unconditional loving-kindness” and is a form of meditation intended to foster goodwill and compassion towards all living beings. This meditation begins by asking practitioners to first send compassion and love towards themselves and slowly increase the circle of goodwill towards their loved ones, towards people they do not like, and ultimately towards all people. This form of meditation can help us foster a sense of ease and equanimity and is a tool that allows a practitioner’s generosity and care to be extended to all living beings.
There are six stages of metta bhavana which include:
- Ourselves
- A good friend
- A “neutral” person
- A difficult person
- All four
- Gradually the entire universe
We practice this meditation by repeating the phrases, “May I be happy.” “May I be healthy.” “May I be safe.” “May I be at ease,” first to ourselves, to our friends, and gradually to people in our community.
Zazen Meditation
Zazen, a form of seated meditation, is at the core of Zen Buddhist practice. Zazen meditation is thought to be a practice that connects the body, breath and mind. Long periods of zazen meditation usually take place at the zendo (meditation hall) and can occur alongside kinhin (walking meditation). The zazen meditation practice has a formal structure – it begins with ringing a bell three times (shijosho) and concludes by ringing the bell once (hozensho). Before and after, practitioners will perform a gassho bow to the cushion, to teach other and zen teacher.
Zazen is usually performed on a zabuton (traditional mat) and can be performed in several different meditation positions including such a kneeling posture (seiza) or lotus position (kekkafuza).
Kinhin Meditation
Kinhin is a form of walking meditation practiced in Zen Buddhism. It was thought to have originated in China in the Caodong school (a branch of Chinese Chan Buddhism). In the Caodong school, walking meditation was a part of their tradition and involved mindful walking with a focus on the breath.
In the early 12th century, kinhin meditation was brought to Japan by monk Dogen Zenji and it was utilized as a complement to zazen. Incorporating walking meditation in addition to seated meditation was thought to balance the energy of the body and cultivate deeper insight.
Anu Gorukanti, MD, is a public health practitioner and pediatric hospitalist. She is also the co-founder of Introspective Spaces, a social venture committed to building reflective space and community for women in healthcare. She was a member of the Sacred Journeys and Witness fellowships. She cares deeply about the well-being of her colleagues in healthcare and is passionate about healthcare reform to create equitable and compassionate care for patients and communities. In her free time, she loves to photograph landscapes, learn to dance, and spend time with her wonderful husband, friends, and family.
