Meditation
There are many different traditions in meditation. Some are
some are philosophical traditions, some are psychological and others are religious. As I have studied the varied
practices in these different traditions, I find that there are two
main divisions of meditative practices:
-
practices which make us more conscious of our
surroundings.
- practices which make us less conscious of our
surroundings.
Example. Meditation is often used as a therapy for dealing with pain.
In the tradition which aims for greater awareness or consciousness of
our surroundings, one
feels the pain but it does not matter. This is often seen in the
practice of Zen.
In the tradition which aims for removing awareness of the physical world during meditation,
the practitioner is insensible to the pain. This is often seen in
practitioners of Raja yoga.
[I have sometimes thought that when Thomas Aquinas had the operation
on his ulcerated leg
and asked for a few moments to recollect himself and then
entered into a meditative state and appeared to feel no pain,
despite the fact that
there was no anesthetic in the 13th century, he may have been using
some of the meditative techniques of
the second tradition.
In my classes in Meditation: East and West, I teach only the traditions
of meditation which make us more conscious or aware since I
do not have sufficient expertise to guide someone exploring the
other traditions.
If students are interested in learning the other traditions, I can suggest some teachers or guides
but they are not something I teach or encourage.
Having stated that there is this double category in meditation, I now state that meditation practices, in either or both categories,
seem to fall into one of the following forms:
- Awareness meditation
- Contemplation
- Mantra meditation*
- Movement meditation
- Rational meditation
- Sounding/chanting
- Visualization
* Some might classify mantra meditation as a form of sounding
meditation, but since the mantra is not
always said audibly, I have listed it as a separate form.
The same practice, for
example, chanting , can be used by both
categories of tradition. Thus, it becomes important, when studying
a meditation practice
, to be aware of the whole framework in which it
is being taught.
Some additional resources can be found Here
Return to Faculty Home Page of Kate Lindemann
This page is under construction. Material will be
added during Fall, 1997 in preparation for the classes of Meditation: East and West
I shall teach during Accelerated Session 6 and the
Spring Sememster, 1998.
Kate Lindemann