Meditation
It is said that all happiness, ordinary and sublime, is achieved by understanding and transforming our own mind. The mind is not a physical thing that has thoughts and feelings -- it is the totality of our conscious and unconscious experiences.
The mind can be compared to an ocean, and momentary mental events such as happiness, irritation, fantasies, and boredom to the waves that rise and fall on its surface. Just as the waves can subside to reveal the stillness of the ocean's depths, so too is it possible to calm the turbulence of our mind to reveal its natural clarity. The ability to do this lies within the mind itself and the key to a still mind is meditation. Anyone regardless of race, nationality or belief can always enjoy the benefits of meditation. With training, it is so simple even a little kid can do it.
Meditation will increase our physical health by reducing blood pressure, stress, lowering our heart rate, and making us a naturally calm and stable person. It opens our mind up to new possibilities, and thus more wisdom. Meditation keeps our mind crystal clear and allows us to be a leader. We can see the whole picture of everything around us, and thus we can make the best decisions. People will then be inspired by the clarity of our minds. The art and habit of meditation are the only things that will allow us to do this. That is why it is the basis of all real knowledge.
Dhammakaya Meditation is the simplest form of meditation and is one of the most ancient techniques of meditation in the world. Its simplicity, originality, and effectiveness have made the method among the most popular meditation techniques in Thailand, and its international popularity is growing fast. It is about self-discovery, relaxation, and purification of the mind. As such, the practice of this technique is not in conflict with any religion or creed and is open to anyone to try. In brief, what we do when we meditate is to comfortably focus our mind inside of our body, at the center, which is in the middle of our abdomen or stomach, and keep it there for longer periods of time. We achieve happiness and inner peace through the birth of inner feelings of goodness, purity, softness, delicateness, refinement, and freshness. This is the result of a mind that has come to a full stop; by bringing everything to a point of stillness inside our body in the middle of our abdomen, the center of the body. We deliberately choose to do just this over everything else and that is how we succeed. This is the great benefit of meditation on the spiritual level.
Also, it produces positive, wholesome, and purifying energy. It makes us want to do good things with the body, speech, and mind. That is why we spread loving-kindness at the end of the meditation session; when our minds are still. It produces the highest efficiency at that point. We visualize good energy in our center in the form of a sphere. The sphere is bright and clear as a diamond. Start with any size that you feel comfortable with: bubble, basketball, tennis ball, ping pong ball, etc. When the mind is still, then the sphere will be able to enlarge so that we can cover and encompass things with this pure energy and bring them into our center. This way we help to create peace on all levels in our environment and world.
Although Dhammakaya Meditation was developed as a technique by the Lord Buddha, its practice is not limited to Buddhists. People from many religious backgrounds have experienced the benefits of Dhammakaya Meditation and have found no conflict with their profession of faith.
Stilling the mind is an art, and it is the key to mastering Dhammakaya Meditation. There are many other ways to still the mind, which suit different individuals for different reasons. If you would like to explore more in detail about this technique, we’d suggest that you come to learn the meditation and receive personalized guidance that best fits your unique character from experienced teaching monks and staff at our meditation center.
