Meditation What leads you to feeling stressed? -Exams? -Parents? -Friends? -Teachers? -Your looks? -Your ability? -Problems in the world? What do you do to try & relax? Listen to music? Go for a walk? Exercise? Do another activity to keep your mind off things? Watch TV? What do Buddhists do? Buddhists regularly spend time stilling the mind. They think of life as a muddy pool with all the water and mud churned up together. What we need to do is let the mud sink to the bottom of the churned up water. Buddha & Meditation After rejecting the 2 extremes Siddhartha decided upon meditation to seek enlightenment It was only through mediation that he eventually became the Buddha The Lotus Flower The roots of a lotus are in the mud, the stem grows up through the water, and the heavily scented flower lies above the water, basking in the sunlight. This pattern of growth signifies the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment. What is Meditation? In 2s or 3s come up with a definition of meditation A state in which the body is consciously relaxed and the mind is allowed to become calm and focused Guided Meditation We are now going to do a guided meditation. Guided Meditation How did it make you feel? How do you think this would help a Buddhist? Could it help members of other religious traditions? What would the difference be? Characteristics of Meditation Noise: -it doesnt have to be completly silent to meditate but limiting the types of noise often helps concentration -instrumental music often helps people to focus -At the beginning of meditating people try to become aware of noise around them before releasing this awareness to focus on one thing Sense of touch At the beginning of meditation, people often become extra aware of the sense of touch, e.g. how their clothes feel, what pressures there are on the body Again, after this has been concentrated on, they allow this feel to release to focus on just one thing Awareness of the world Again, you may want to think about the world around you to start, then release this awareness Relaxing the body A typical start to many meditations is by tensing and relaxing each part of the body, one at a time This allows for totally relaxation to focus on one thing Focus Anything can be used a focus, but there are a few things which are popular -a candle -a mandala pattern -prayer beads -mantras