(The one who does not judge, by h.koppdelaney)
There are many forms of introspection and mental training that go by the name of "meditation," and I have studied several over the years. As I occasionally speak about the benefits of these practices, people often write to ask which I recommend. Given my primary audience--students of science, secularists, nonbelievers, etc.--these queries usually come bundled with the worry that most traditional teachings about meditation must be intellectually suspect.
Indeed, it is true that many contemplative paths ask one to entertain unfounded ideas about the nature of reality--or, at the very least, to develop a fondness for the iconography and cultural artifacts of one or another religion. Even an organization like Transcendental Meditation (TM), which has spent decades self-consciously adapting itself for use by non-Hindus, can't overcome the fact that its students must be given a Sanskrit mantra as the foundation of the practice. Ancient incantations present an impediment to many a discerning mind (as does the fact that TM displays several, odious signs of being a cult).
But not all contemplative paths kindle the same doubts or present the same liabilities. There are, in fact, many methods of meditation and "spiritual" inquiry that can greatly enhance our mental health while offering no affront to the intellect.
For beginners, I always recommend a technique called vipassana (Pali, "insight"), which comes from the oldest tradition of Buddhism, the Theravada. The advantage of vipassana is that it can be taught in an entirely secular way. Experts in this practice generally acquire their training in a Buddhist context, of course--and most retreat centers in the U.S. and Europe still teach its associated Buddhist philosophy. Nevertheless, this method of introspection can be brought within any secular or scientific context without embarrassment. The same cannot be said for most other forms of "spiritual" instruction.
The quality of mind cultivated in vipassana is generally referred to as "mindfulness" (the Pali word is sati), and there is a quickly growing literature on its psychological benefits. Mindfulness is simply a state of open, nonjudgmental, and nondiscursive attention to the contents of consciousness, whether pleasant or unpleasant. Cultivating this quality of mind has been shown to modulate pain, mitigate anxiety and depression, improve cognitive function, and even produce changes in gray matter density in regions of the brain related to learning and memory, emotional regulation, and self awareness.
Programs in "mindfulness-based stress reduction" (MBSR), pioneered by Jon Kabat-Zinn, have brought this practice into hospitals and other clinical settings. The Inner Kids Foundation (for which my wife, Annaka, has volunteered) teaches mindfulness in schools. Even the Department of Defense has begun experimenting with meditation in this form.
The practice of mindfulness is extraordinarily simple to describe, but it is in no sense easy. Here, as elsewhere in life, the "10,000 Hour Rule" tends to apply. And true mastery probably requires special talent and a lifetime of practice. Thus, the simple instructions given below are analogous to instructions on how to walk a tightrope:
Clearly, steps 3-5 entail a little practice. Happily, the benefits of training in meditation arrive long before mastery ever does. And falling, from the point of view of vipassana, occurs ceaselessly, every moment that one becomes lost in thought. The problem is not thoughts per se but the state of thinking without knowing that one is thinking.
As every meditator soon discovers, such distraction is the normal condition of our minds: Most of us fall from the wire every second, toppling headlong--whether gliding happily in reverie, or plunging into fear, anger, self-hatred and other negative states of mind. Meditation is a technique for breaking this spell, if only for a few moments. The goal is to awaken from our trance of discursive thinking--and from the habit of ceaselessly grasping at the pleasant and recoiling from the unpleasant--so that we can enjoy a mind that is undisturbed by worry, merely open like the sky, and effortlessly aware of the flow of experience in the present.
Meditation Instructions:
Those who are new to the practice generally find it useful to hear instructions of this kind spoken aloud, in the form of a guided meditation. UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center has several that beginners should find helpful.
In future articles, I will discuss the logic of meditation, the kinds of first-person insights it can deliver, and how it can contribute to our scientific understanding of the human mind.
Other Resources:
Books on Vipassana Meditation:
Mindfulness in Plain English, by Bhante Gunaratana
The Experience of Insight, by Joseph Goldstein
Wherever You Go, There You Are, by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
Retreat Centers:
There are many places where one can practice vipassana intensively on retreat. Such retreats are conducted in silence--apart from an evening lecture and occasional interviews with a teacher to guide one's practice. There is also a method of walking meditation that is as deceptively simple as the sitting practice described above, and one generally alternates an hour of sitting with an hour of walking throughout a retreat. In this way, one can practice for 10-14 hours a day without too much physical hardship.
In my experience, there is no substitute for doing extended periods of silent practice. In my 20's, I spent 2 years on retreats of this kind, ranging in length from one week to three months.
There are many centers that hold vipassana retreats throughout the year. On the East coast, I recommend the Insight Meditation Society; on the West coast, Spirit Rock Meditation Center.
As mentioned above, almost all serious instruction in vipassana comes in a Buddhist context. Nevertheless, one need believe nothing on faith to engage this practice. It stands to reason that if there is something of interest to notice about the nature of subjectivity in the present moment, one should develop one's powers of observation. Meditation, in this form, is simply a means for doing this.
(And for any readers who may worry that I have been insufficiently critical of the religion of Buddhism, I recommend the following essay: Killing the Buddha)
Follow Sam Harris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SamHarrisOrg
The only place where the "odious TM cult" exists is in someone's imagination. Do you actually know any TM meditators, teachers, or TM org staffers? If you did you'd surely not find them "odious." Maybe you should do some open-minded, non-judgmental mindfulness on the underlying assumptions behind your harsh accusation.
I've been doing TM for decades and never have I engaged in "Hindu incantations." I find the TM org to be the extreme opposite of a cult -- no "leader" to follow, zero abuse or dishonesty. I suggest that you, an empirically minded person, look to the real evidence (not Internet gossip) before posting such statements.
Looking forward to your future articles. Uh, I think.
If you are interested in find the source of such methods and their purpose and the freeing of the Soul within
Tell us how you really feel, Sam....
But it is an amazing exercies to enlighten ones who know not what concentration or meditation is all about. Beyond words and intellect
Also, discussing TM as part of a "contemplative" tradition shows a complete misunderstanding of what the TM program is, since the most basic introductory talk on the TM technique explains that contemplation and concentration are the hallmarks of almost everything that is not the TM program.
The real problem here is the lack of clear definitions of what "meditation" is, and the discerning reader would do well to peruse a typology of meditation types recently published by Dr. Fred Travis which explains how, when we say the word meditation, we are really discussing apples, oranges, and quantum physics. And the latter is a bit more profound. See: http://drfredtravis.com/downloads/Travis_preprint.pdf. And for the straight story on TM, see www.tm.org
I'd like to see authors like this being more respectful toward other meditation traditions. I thought the days of such intolerance were behind us among people of this caliber. Mindfulness has helped a lot of people, as has TM, and there is research supporting both. It's not "mindfulness" to dismiss one as "cultish" -- especially when it's not -- and then promote your own favored meditation. TM teachers I've known honor all the great traditions of meditation. I wish Harris would follow suit.
"The first religion started when the first scoundrel met the first fool." Voltaire
I found Mr' Harris' article offering an excellent approach for anyone interested in starting out with meditation.
Anyone who wants to learn TM can now get financial help:
1. Scholarships for Students
David Lynch's foundation offers student scholarships for those who can’t afford the fee.
Tel/Fax: 323-874-2467
http://www.davidlynchfoundation.org/scholarships.html
info@davidlynchfoundation.org
2. Low Interest Loans
Citi-Bank's CitiAssist program now offers very low interest loans to anyone learning TM, with up to 15 years time to repay.
You apply online and take the course at any TM center. Open to adults or students of any age.
Details here: http://www.mum.edu/tmcourse/
3. Employee Benefit
Many companies pay for half or more of the TM fee for employees. Ask your employer. Here's a partial list for the U.S.—
US Post Office, IBM, Motorola, General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Toyota, Tower Companies, US Veterans Admin., AirTel, Bank of America, ESPN-Star Sports, Eveready Industries, GE Capital, Hero Honda, Hewlett Packard, Siemens, and Xerox.
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Those who are looking for logic in meditation have missed the point.
We'll see when those future articles are published.
That experience frees the body and mind for desires, emotions and reaction to senses. True staring at a candle can do that. The contrast of viewing light with the eyes to closing the eyes and seeing the light within the body too is maturity.
But "Hong Sau" as with all energizing, concentration, and meditation is evolutionary with practice. Yes, I move directly into "OM" meditation with brilliant light within of the Astral Star. But when I lose my way, when materialism takes my attension. "Hong Sau" is there to pull the spirit out of the material realm into a single pointed consciousness that perfects the meditation on "OM"
Wouldn't a mind that is truly discerning experiment with the practice as it is given and note the results? Religion has certainly closed many minds and proponents of it have blocked progress and caused great harm. Having said that, science often looks like a religion as well - complete with high priests and their esoteric knowledge of the mysterious nature of reality. Science also has and continues to do harm. At least religions make an attempt to address the issue of doing harm. Proponents of science rarely publicly question whether the result of their work will do harm. A meditation practice that isn't supported by ethics is just more selfish "feel good" behavior justified because scientists say "its good for ME."
Wouldn't a mind that is truly discerning experiment with the practice as it is given and note the results?"
Exactly.
Faved.
I respect Sam Harris in several ways, but also note that he has a chip on his shoulder (aka prejudice) regarding anything religious or spiritual, which creates a blind spot a mile wide, in terms of the information he is able to access and understand, and therefore convey, to his reading and viewing audiences.
And, as you point out, the answer to this issue is simplicity itself: he simply needs to hit "reset" in terms of this attitude, and approach all matters in the same way he presumably approaches his core discipline of neuroscience: by utilizing the scientific method.
There are esoteric spiritual traditions connected with every major religion, which are essentially scientific in nature. The fact that they use the same symbol-sets as the mainstream religion they're connected with does not mean that they are unscientific, deluded by primitive beliefs, or anything of the type.
Their approaches are actually quite elegant:
They use the same symbol-sets as the mainstream religion, but imbue them with the meanings, and/or clarify the meanings, which help practitioners to escape the delusions of conditioned thinking, and enjoy the benefits (peace, freedom, clarity, wisdom, love, etc.) promised by all spiritual traditions that are available to those who consistently practice effective techniques.