Apologies for the significant time that has lapsed since my last post. As always, life is full of demands and therefore some things have to be placed on the back-burner for a while.
I decided to step away from dietary discussions for a change and examine other topics of importance in cultivating a healthy brain. Certainly, interest in mindfulness and meditation has grown exponentially over the past 50 years with estimates that (in the west at least), some 15% of the population are practicing some form of meditation at any one time. Even in the scientific literature, we have witnessed an explosion in publications over the past two decades. For the period 1980 - 1990, less than 300 publications can be found on a search of the medical repository "pubmed" using the term "meditation." But this number jumps to over 5000 for the decade ending in 2020. Clearly, something about this practice has grabbed our attention.
So I thought I'd begin with a bit of background and history before we look into more specifics, bearing in mind that whole university departments are dedicated to meditation theory and practice. What follows will therefore be a very brief overview. Also, I will be covering Yoga separately, although this division is largely arbitrary.
SOME BACKGROUND
So what in a nutshell is meditation? This may seem like a straight forward question but as we will see, can be extremely difficult to answer.
The word meditation stems from meditatum, a Latin term that means ‘to ponder.’
The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health states that "Meditation is a mind and body practice that has a long history of use for increasing calmness and physical relaxation, improving psychological balance, coping with illness, and enhancing overall health and well-being."
(This is a very western definition but will be adequate for the moment.)
There are at least nine popular types of meditation practice (again from a western prospective):
mindfulness meditation
spiritual meditation
focused meditation
movement meditation
mantra meditation
transcendental meditation
progressive relaxation
loving-kindness meditation
visualization meditation
From a historical perspective, part of the difficulty in developing a coherent understanding is that the word ‘meditation’ has multiple meanings and can be applied to various sorts of religious practices described in the early Indian texts. The meaning changes within religious context and depending on historical epoch e.g. during the time of early Greek and Christian traditions, meditation referred to recitation, reflection and visualisation practices based on biblical texts whereas in the modern era, focus shifted to scientific study related to meditative techniques. As such, modern definitions focus less on the spiritual aspects and highlight the psycho-social attributes; "Meditation can be conceptualized as a family of complex emotional and attentional regulatory training regimes developed for various ends, including the cultivation of well- being and emotional balance." This has led to concern amongst scholars that in grouping together various endeavors under an umbrella term such as ‘meditation’ for the purposes of analysis, one has to ask whether, in today’s world and at the level of experience, there are any connections between the contemporary mindfulness of Kabat-Zinn and mantra recitation (mantar-jap) in Sikhism, or between yogic jumping techniques in Tibetan Buddhism and ‘Christian yoga’ in the USA, or between Daoist qi and yogic prāṇa. In the end, the primary aim is for the practitioner to desist from awareness of the outside world by focusing his awareness on an inner object, with the final goal, as described by Krishnamurti of 'cessation of thought'. What remains sure is that scripture upon scripture, treatise after treatise extols meditation as the quintessential method for attaining Nirvāṇa. HISTORY OF MEDITATION
One of the challenges encountered by Scholars of meditation are the translation difficulties, such as identifying words that may reasonably be translated as ‘meditation’ from different langdhyāna in Sanskrit, jìngzuò in Japanese, and shouyi in Chinese Daoist discourse are often translated into English with the word ‘meditation’, more technically they denote ‘absorption’ (dhyāna), ‘quiet sitting’ (jìngzuò), and ‘guarding the one’ (shouyi). As such, determining the history of meditation can be a tricky business. One of the first recorded references to meditation comes from the Upanishads. The Upanishads are Sanskrit texts of Hindu philosophy. They are the newest part of the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. The origins of the Upanishads are not entirely know, however, records dating back as early as 900 BC can be found. The term dhyāna (see above) can be found in both early Hindu and Buddhism writings. The origins of Buddhist meditation are not entirely clear. As is well known, Buddhism is said to have originate from the teachings of Gautama Buddha, sometime around 600 – 400 BC. Texts including the Vimalakirti Sutra (which centers around a lay Buddhist meditator who attained a very high degree of enlightenment) dating from 100 BC include references to meditation. Similarly, sutras of the Pali Canon (the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition) places meditation as an integral part of the path toward salvation. In ancient Buddhism texts, dhyāna refers to training of the mind, thought to translate as 'meditation'. Spread of Meditation The entry of Buddhism into Han China is said to have taken place via the Silk Road where Buddhist monks traveled with merchant caravans to preach their religion around 200-100 BC. However, references to Taoist meditative practices date back to the Warring states period (475-221 BC). 3 basic types of meditation can be distinguished - concentrative, insight and visualization or Ding, Guan and Cun. Other key Chinese texts referencing meditation include;
Guanzi - earliest reference to deep breathing
Toa Te Ching - focuses on emptying the mind - apophatic meditation
Zhuangzi - favored by Confucius - exemplifies cessation meditation
Xingqi jade inscription – breath meditation inscribed on a dodecagonal block of jade – approx. 400 BC
Han Dynasty including Huainanzi, Heshang gong and Taiping jing
Numerous references from various dynasty's including Jin, Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming all incorporate meditation into their teachings
Later under the Republic of China, religion was suppressed. However, the Qigong movement has revived and popularized Daoist meditation once again. Meditation was introduced to a number of other civilizations during the middle ages;
Japanese Buddhism introduced meditation to Japan from the 7th century onwards. Zazen was introduced into Japan from China in 1227 AD, the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist monks. The aim of Zazen is just sitting or "no mind".
References to Jewish meditation date back to Genesis 24:63 where Isaac was described as going "lasuach" in the field – thought to refer to some type of meditative practice. Jewish Meditative practices included approaches to prayer, mitzvot and study.
Sufism or Islamic mysticism dates back to the time of the prophet Muhammad (570 – 632 AD). In Sufi meditation or Murāqabah (to observe) the practitioner attempts to open their heart to receive divine truths and spiritual enlightenment. By the 12 century, this involved meditative techniques including practicing breathing control and the repetition of holy words.
Although prayer has been an essential element of Christian philosophy since the earliest times, references to meditation abound in the old testament and is constantly mentioned in the Gospels as part of prayer. The term Christian meditation however, refers to a structured attempt to reflect upon the revelations of God. This originated from monastic traditions during the middle ages. Two distinct meditative practices existed, Lectio Divina (progressed from bible reading among Benedictine monks) in the west and hesychasm (involving the repetition of the Jesus prayer) in the east.
Buddhism and Meditation spread to the west Although contact with eastern Buddhism was recorded from Roman times, it wasn't until the 16th century that western intellectuals began discussing Buddhism. Jesuit missionaries to Asia sent back detailed accounts of Buddhist doctrine. With increased travel, meditation practices began to disseminate to the West (although were considered anti-Christian). Following the World Parliament of Religions in 1893, awareness of meditation spread with various masters such as Swami Vivekananda (who introduced Yoga) and Soyen Shaku (the first Zen Master) teaching in western schools. Subsequently, the 1960's witnessed a surge in western interest in meditative practices and the increase in secular forms. Rather than spiritual growth, these forms focused on stress reduction, relaxation and self-improvement. Both Transcendental Meditation and Hatha Yoga became popular secular alternatives
Many western Buddhist practices including the Theravāda- based vipassanā, originate from multiple sources but much can be traced back to Burma, as the birthplace of the first large scale Buddhist lay mediation movement. This was propagated to the west by a number of masters including the Thai forest monk Ajahn Chah (1918-92) and the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh (1926 - 2022) both having a profound impact on western meditation practices.
Transcendental meditation (TM) was particularly successful in the west. Started by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1955 in India, the movement spread rapidly with a number of teacher training schools springing up in the US. TM is based on the use of a silent mantra, practiced for 20 min twice daily. TM advocates claim that it improves awareness, reduces stress and leads to higher forms of consciousness. The many purported health benefits however, have still to be definitively proven. The technique has led to the establishment of a TM movement with schools and other business interests estimated to be worth 3.5 Billion USD. It has also attracted the attention of a number of pop-culture icons including Clint Eastwood, Oprah Winfrey and The Beatles.
From - https://positivepsychology.com/history-of-meditation/ BUDDHISM and MODERN CONTROVERSIES
The biggest problem in Buddhist Studies is that nobody knows precisely what the Buddha taught. Recent studies suggest that the early texts appear to contain a number of doctrinal differences and it is not clear which formulations might be authentic and traceable back to the Buddha himself.
Some historical facts in question concern the mysterious figures who are said to have taught meditation to the Buddha-to-be (the Bodhisattva - the one who's goal is awakening or Bodhi), Alara Kamala and Uddaka Ramaputta. Alara Kalama is said to have been a hermit and teacher of ancient meditation. Uddaka Ramaputta was thought to be the Buddha's second teacher, following his departure from Alara Kamala. Although some believe these characters to be fictional, several Suttas contain stories about the Bodhisattva's visit to the teachers, with the Ariyapariyesana Sutta, being the earliest and most historically valuable biographical tract in the early Buddhist literature.
In early Buddhist literature the meditative states related to these teachers of the Bodhisattva are termed ‘formless spheres’. (from Pali canon - 3rd century BC)
the sphere of the infinity of space
the sphere of the infinity of consciousness
the sphere of nothingness
the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception
The persistence of these forms in Buddhist literature suggests the Buddha either taught a modified version of these practises or at least allowed his followers to practise this pre-Buddhist sort of meditation. A striking extract from the Maha-Saccaka Sutta: "(M I.249.4–18, from the MSS ) When my mind was focused in this way, pure, cleansed, free from blemish and defilement, soft, workable, still and imperturbable, I directed it towards the knowledge of the destruction of the corruptions. I understood suffering, its origin, its cessation and the path leading to its cessation, as it really is; I understood the corruptions, their origin, their cessation and the path leading to their cessation, as it really is. Knowing and seeing in this way, my mind was freed from the corruptions of desire, becoming and ignorance. When my mind was released, there was the knowledge ‘[it is] released’, and I understood: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, done is what had to be done, there is no more of this state’." There is some evidence that Brahminic meditation predated Buddhist texts but this is controversial. Some have argued that the Bodhisattva was taught a form of early Brahminic meditation. However, whether this influenced the Buddha's teachings is not known. And finally;
This has been a very short review of some of the historical aspects of meditation. For more detailed reading, I've included a few texts as references. In future, I intend to look deeper into the neurophysiological aspects of meditation to see if the many reported benefits of these practices are confirmed in scientific research References; Wynne A. The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Newcombe S, O’Brien-Kop K. Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies. 1st ed. (Newcombe S, O’Brien-Kop K, eds.). Routledge; 2020. doi:10.4324/9781351050753 Sujato B. A History of Mindfulness. How did meditation originate & what religion does it come from? MIND IS THE MASTER. Published August 18, 2019. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://mindisthemaster.com/how-did-meditation-originate-and-what-religion-does-it-come-from/ Loizzo J. Meditation research, past, present, and future: perspectives from the Nalanda contemplative science tradition: Interdisciplinary perspectives on meditation research. Ann NY Acad Sci. 2014;1307(1):43-54. doi:10.1111/nyas.12273 Giovanni. The History of Meditation (A 5,000 Years Timeline). Live and Dare. Published August 15, 2018. Accessed March 23, 2021. https://liveanddare.com/history-of-meditation-2/ A brief history of meditation. Meditation Association of Australia. Accessed March 23, 2021. https://meditationaustralia.org.au/a-history-of-meditation/ West MA. The practice of meditation. In: West MA, ed. The Psychology of Meditation. Oxford University Press; 2016:3-26. doi:10.1093/med:psych/9780199688906.003.0001 Kohn, Livia (2008a). "Meditation and visualization". In Fabrizio Pregadio (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Taoism. Routledge. ISBN 9780700712007.
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