Twenty-six hundred years ago, when Buddha introduced meditation, it was part of a thought revolution that civilized three-quarters of the world at that time. That revolution in thought led to science. Science then gave us knowledge and control of the physical environment to make our lives comfortable. But to get the insight into our fundamental nature science must now turn its attention back to meditation and thought revolution.
Wikipedia describes meditation as “a practice where an individual uses a technique, such as focusing their mind on a particular object, thought or activity, to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm state.” Dictionaries only provides substitute words like concentration, contemplation and reflection. None of this truly captures the meaning of the ancient practice of meditation.
Going back to Buddha’s words, and researching through them scientifically, we discover the following meaning.
Meditation is being there with total attention, and seeing things as they are.
Meditation is neither concentration nor contemplation. It is not focusing the mind on some object, thought, or activity. Instead, meditation is a completely detached mode of observation.
What happens when one meditates? How does it lead to a thought revolution?
As one meditates, one starts to see through the mind’s obfuscation. One begins to recognize things that have always been there in plain sight. Out of this come realizations into the nature of things. This is how fundamental discoveries in science are made.
But what does it mean to aim for enlightenment through meditation? What was the enlightenment that Buddha sought and attained?
Oxford dictionaries define enlightenment as “The action or state of attaining or having attained spiritual knowledge or insight, in particular (in Buddhism) that awareness which frees a person from the cycle of rebirth.” But this doesn’t completely explain the meaning of enlightenment. A sense of mystery seems to surround it. When we look at the original word for enlightened, Bodhi, it simply means “awakened”.
Again, going back to Buddha’s words, and researching through them scientifically, we discover the following meaning.
Enlightenment is the direct perception of the very nature underlying our being.
Enlightenment is not some vague spiritual awareness. Linking it to some mysterious cycle of rebirth does not explain it. Enlightenment is an insight into one’s own nature and its relationship to the fundamental nature of existence. It has to be perceived directly to be fully appreciated. This is the enlightenment that Buddha sought and attained.
So how does one go about being there with total attention, so one may directly perceive the very nature underlying our being?
The following chapters guide you one step at a time on this journey of meditation and enlightenment.
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