Yes of course you are right, relaxation is important – deep relaxation of our being in fact not just feeling more chilled out! I guess part of my point was that if you seriously train in meditation / practice meditation it is unrealistic to expect to feel more relaxed in the conventional sense of the word.

I see your point about goals and in part this highlights my particular training in Chan (Zen) Buddhism rather than any other traditions. (Where the emphasis is distinctly away from goals due perhaps in part to the relationship between goals and attachments!) Perhaps it is semantic pedantry on my part but I would generally consider what you describe as intentions / directions / purposes rather than goals. (i.e. meditation does not lead to them and stop.) I guess in Tibetan traditions (from what I have read) there are also more meditation techniques that are seen as specific training methods / regimes with clear outcomes, although I would still argue that ultimately none of them are the ‘goal’ of meditation in the conventional sense.

In terms of your last statement, I personally have not heard of any master that upon enlightenment has stopped meditation practice… from Shakyamuni onwards… perhaps you have? After all meditation is also the embodiment of enlightenment.

All the best, Puerhan

I am inclined to agree with you on this one – I do not feel that the main goal of meditation is relaxation. But, this is largely due to my training as a Buddhist where mediation is about developing compassion, awareness, stabilization and insight into the nature of mind.

However, the masters and texts are constantly telling us (in one form or another) to relax! Saraha, Padmasambhava, Tilopa, Naropa, Shakyamuni – all their poems, teachings and songs are telling us to relax and then we will be closer to the nature of mind. So maybe relaxation isn’t such a bad word?

I do disagree with you however about the “goal”. I think Buddhist meditations certainly do have a goal. For example, Shamatha’s goal is to achieve single pointed concentration, tong-len’s goal is to achieve compassion. Ultimately, all meditations are designed for the goal of enlightenment, after which meditation is not needed.

Thanks again Puerhan.

TDM

This is a great topic and there are so many different aspects of it that could be the subject of entire posts in their own right!

From the perspective of a Buddhist Meditation practitioner, I’m quite curious about this line though: “There are many ways to meditate, but they all strive for the same goal: Relaxation.”

1. Many forms of Buddhist meditation are a practice and do not aim to achieve any goal as such. (Or certainly not a ‘material’ goal such as relaxation.) If there was a goal then once it was achieved meditation would no longer be needed or practised…

2.In as much as a Buddhist meditation practice might have a purpose or direction, it is not relaxation in any Buddhist teachings I am aware of, or certainly not as an end in itself. If relaxation results from the practice that might be a pleasant side effect but it isn’t a goal of the practice. (Some instructions actually suggest that you should be *relaxed first* before you can even begin meditation!!)

So perhaps, what is referred to as meditation in this post is more about use of meditation techniques for therapeutic purposes? (And narrowing the mind to a single point of concentration is *one* such technique that may be used.) This is certainly something that is fairly common in the UK / US etc. and no doubt is of huge benefit to many people. Perhaps more formalised in recent times with such methods as MBCT arising out of the work of Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn mentioned.

Never the less I agree that the benefits listed can and do result from practising meditation or meditative techniques. In terms of other studies, there are a number of articles about the effects of Chan (Zen) Meditation on the Dharma Drum Mountain website of Chan Master Shengyen that you may find of interest. (See also further links on right-hand side bar.)

Best wishes, Puerhan
PS & best wishes for {rose tinted glass} developing well too

I don’t believe meditation is a “state” as you say. It is an action. The Tibetan word “gom”, which means “to familiarize”, supports this. As such I believe that anyone can do it, contrary to what you believe.

Please be careful about making decisive comments such as “the author clearly does not understand meditation” – obviously the two of you have different ideas about what meditation is.

Thanks for stopping by again Robert.

TDM

The article is good in many ways but there are some things we should be clear about. The sentence above is quoted from the article. The author clearly does not understand “meditation”-which is not something anyone can even do-and has come to a rather flawed conclusion.
Meditation is a state that can be induced through dedicated periods of concentration practice and doing what we can to maintain mindfulness during our waking hours. This involves withdrawing our attention from those things to which it flows in a distracted state and thus being more attentive to what arises in one’s own being.
Frankly, there is a lot of confusion about this here in the west. Most of what people refer to as meditation is in fact a narrowing of focus to one thing,i,e: concentration practice. That, and and employing mindfulness at all other times of the day is all we can do .
The miracle of meditation comes about as a result of knowing WHAT to focus on. When we focus on the right thing, the left and right brain are not”repressed”. Their functions are simply irrelevant at that time.
What is the right thing?. Consciousness itself. That is a subtle skill and takes a bit of work before it can even be done effectively, but practice is the key.

While the state of meditation is best discussed by those with a subjective experience of the state itself, all real discussion is problematic. Meditation is a state of being wherein the mind’s true nature is witnessed, but its not a state that lends itself to language.

Robert