Types of Meditation

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Types of Meditation
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Learning Outcome

• Pupils will be able to describe
• Samatha meditation
• Vipassana meditation
• Zen meditation

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Youve already seen in a previous lesson that
there are different ways of meditating. You can
do it sitting down, walking, eating on your own,
with others and in many other ways. Theres no
one way of meditating.
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Samatha Meditation Stilling
Important to Theravada Buddhists
According to many Buddhists, the thoughts of the
mind are like a monkey that wont stay still.
What problems are there with not being able to
control your mind?

• You cant control your tanhas
• 2. Your bad roots are more likely to control your
  actions

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Samatha Meditation Stilling
There are levels of trance that can be achieved
through this type of meditation. These levels are
called Jhana. Its thought that if you if you
get very good at this you can gain psychic powers
and you can levitate.
Good morning
But you cant meditate to get these powers. That
would be a tanha.
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Samatha Meditation Stilling
What to think about when meditating

1. Positive thoughts about all other beings.

2. How to help others who suffer
3. Sharing in the joy of those who are happy
4. Experiencing love for everything equally
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Vipassana Meditation Revealing
This is about seeing reality for what it really
is. This includes the reality of the world and
the reality of ourselves.
We need to peel back the layers of ourselves to
reveal what we are really like. As the 3 Marks of
existence show us, we are easily decieved about
the way things are.
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Vipassana Meditation Revealing
Vipassana is thought to be more important for
achieving Nibbana than Samatha, as Samatha gives
temporary peace,
whereas Vipassana provides true understanding
which lasts even when youre not meditating.
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Zen Meditation Quizzing
If a tree falls and no-one can hear it, does it
make a sound?
What is the sound of one hand clapping?
One method that Zen Bs use is the Koan. This is
done by asking questions that have no answer.
Examples of this are
It uses a variety of methods to provide insight
This is more important to Mahayana Buddhists
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Meditation Questions
1. Describe some of the aims of meditation
(4KU) 2.  How can meditation help to develop the
Buddhists understanding of anicca and anatta?
(6KU)   3. What is the meaning of the term
mindfulness? (2KU)   4. Describe the two types
of Buddhist meditation (Samatha and Vipsanna)
Give examples for each. (6KU)   5. How important
is meditation in Buddhism? In which respects?
(4AE)   6.What does meditation have to offer
non-Buddhists? (3AE)
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Buddhism

• The Human Condition
• The 3 Marks of Existence
• The 1st Noble Truth (Life is Dukkha)
• The 2nd Noble Truth (Dukkha is caused by Tanha)

• The Goals -
• Karma
• The 3rd Noble Truth (You can stop Dukkha by
  stoping Tanha)
• Nibbana

• The Means
• The Three Jewels
• The Noble Eightfold Path / The 4th Noble Truth
• The 5 Precepts

• Meditation and Prayer