meditation gems

my college has had the honor of holding meditation sessions led by bhante sathi, theravadan buddhist from Subhodaramaya monastry in kandy, sri Lanka, and counselor and teacher of meditation in sri lanka, britain, and the united states.

the following is a paraphrased synopsis by yours truly of sathi's teachings shared with a session group on february 21 (posted with permission of Triple Gem of the North, "a non-profit organization dedicated to the study and practice of the teachings of the Buddha" ):

Meditation comes in many forms -- in fact, there are at least 40 different groups of meditation techniques. Despite that there are techniques that serve a wide range of paranormal utilities -- e.g., extra-sensitivity to light and sound, telepathic communication, consciousness transgression, and so on -- many of today's technologies eliminate any common need for them. Yet, breathing meditation is one that still offers substantial benefits for which modern technology is unable to substitute. Through breathing meditation we autonomously attend to the matter of the ego, of the self, and come to understand the extent of control 'outside' influences have over us. This is the puppet concept. Once we recognize the nature of our ego, we understand the innecessity for control -- puppeteering -- by 'other' forces.

When we sit, our body for the most part does not move. However, our minds appear to travel everywhere, riddled with thoughts, of sounds we are hearing or of the past or future. Yet there is one moving 'bodily' thing that we can attend to as our sanctuary for awareness: our breathing. The breath reminds us of what is in the now, and we are called by it to return our attention away from the animated distractions of the 'mindlessly driven' mind. Once refocused, we recall this practice, this mindful breathing, as a manifestation of our intention for personal development.

We needn't wait for a formal group meeting time to practice breathing meditation. Although group meditation can be an excellent form of support for our cause, to take even five minutes out of our day to bypass other endless exercises (excuses) and perform breathing meditation independently can make a substantive difference in the long-term effects of this practice and awareness within our lives. ◊


...and as bhikku bodhi says in conversation with sathi concerning the nature of buddhism:

"Buddhism is not a matter of a particular culture, but of the truth. We should actually distinguish between 'Buddhism' and the Dhamma. Buddhism is a cultural, historical, and social phenomena; thus we can speak about Sri Lankan Buddhism, Japanese Buddhism, Thai Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism. Or we can speak about Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana Buddhism, etc. But Dhamma/Dharma is not about a culture, or about social phenomena, or about history, but about the truth."