Greetings all,
Could someone please briefly describe the types of meditation the Buddha taught? I think there are three, but I'm not sure.
How do I know which one is right for me?
Which is one is better to learn without a teacher? Any book suggestions?
Do they all count as right concentration (the eighth step of the Noble Eightfold Path)?
Meditation Types
- Bhikkhu Pesala
- Posts: 4646
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:17 pm
Re: Meditation Types
That depends on the context: maybe two as concentration and insight, or forty types of meditation depending on the meditation object used.
Buddhist Meditation and its Forty Subjects (link corrected)
An Introduction to Meditation would be somewhere to start.
Buddhist Meditation and its Forty Subjects (link corrected)
An Introduction to Meditation would be somewhere to start.
Last edited by Bhikkhu Pesala on Tue Nov 29, 2011 7:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- theravada_guy
- Posts: 208
- Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 2:06 am
Re: Meditation Types
Samatha bhavanatheravada_guy wrote:I think there are three, but I'm not sure.
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Samatha" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Vipassana bhavana
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Vipassana" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Metta bhavana
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?tit ... meditation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Meditation Types
Hi theravada guy,theravada_guy wrote:Greetings all,
Could someone please briefly describe the types of meditation the Buddha taught? I think there are three, but I'm not sure.
How do I know which one is right for me?
Which is one is better to learn without a teacher? Any book suggestions?
Do they all count as right concentration (the eighth step of the Noble Eightfold Path)?
with regard to the Noble Eightfold Path I think the eight factors are called 'limbs' rather than 'steps', which makes sense in that we need to (gradually) develop all of them at the same time. (Don't be overwhelmed by what I just said, as they actually seem to come together, in that they all support each other and begin to feel 'natural' over time.) It's good to bear that in mind as we set out on the journey. People sometimes think that the Dhamma is just about meditation, but actually it's about living every moment of our lives in accordance with Dhamma - to whatever humble extent we are able - and this brings a peace that the world cannot give.
To the Buddha-refuge i go; to the Dhamma-refuge i go; to the Sangha-refuge i go.
- theravada_guy
- Posts: 208
- Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 2:06 am