Study On Meditation
2nd January 2002
To study meditation one has to read many meditation books and practice meditation himself. One must also have a clear and analytical mind. By comparing all the various meditation methods, one has to understand the objective, standard, class and purpose of each meditation.
Take the Taoist and Kundalini meditation methods for examples. Kundalini meditation has to use breath control to force the internal energy to circulate the body. Taoist meditation has to use the mind to move the internal energy from one vital point to another and finally circulating the body. These two methods are in the martial art class. One is forcing the internal energy to circulate the body according to old masters. Old masters after achieving certain prowess would pass down their methods to their students. When the masters have that certain power, they consider their method to be number one. This is because they never experiment the spiritual meditation that is slow and steady. Even if they did experiment the spiritual meditation, they would consider them inferior and slow. Also in the past, there were many dangers and conflicts. So with the power of the meditation, they could defeat their opponents easily.
Buddhist meditation has many methods to calm the mind. I don’t have all the methods, so I generally speak on the common practice. Before meditation, the Buddhist meditating person prays to the statue/s of Buddha/s. He might sit down before the statue/s to meditate or in a quiet room. This spiritual meditation is lower in standard because the practitioner's mind is always lower than the statues. So how can he become a Buddha?
To become Buddha one has to tower above others. His mind should be above the Buddha statue/s. So once one prays to a Buddha statue, one can’t become a Buddha.
In Hindu meditation book, there is mention of Monism. This is a group of practitioners who don’t pray to any idols. Not much is mentioned about them, so I can’t go into details.
To calm their minds, practitioners use various methods. One is chanting. Taking verses from holy books, one can chant to achieve peace of mind. However chanting can also give one certain power. That is why some practitioners go into magic practice. So old masters passed down their achievement to their students and black magic becomes a form of self-cultivation. This shows good meditation can turn bad if you want fast result and power.
Meditation is in the awakening stage. One has to be aware of his surrounding. Those close eyes during meditation might go into sleeping stage. This can be dangerous because outside spirits can disturb you. This is why many pray to deity or Buddha statues before meditation to protect them.
Therefore open eye method is best. Common Buddhist meditation teaches one to look at the floor. One can chant sutra to calm the mind. If breathing is normal, this is a slow process and many practitioners are impatient, so they give up. However if you control your breath, the internal energy is forced to circulate. Heat is generated and one perspires. One feels better because of quick result and power. This results in martial art meditation because you gain certain prowess.
For spiritual meditation, one has to do the slow process. Let nature takes its course. When you and the One are in communion during meditation the One will control you and you will achieve your reward according to your fate. If you are not Maitreya Buddha, how you try to meditate will not make you become Maitreya Buddha. Each individual is gifted to achieve certain spiritual power. One has to use the power to help others and not for material gain. Just look at Falungong group. The members have to pay for books and pictures of their master enriching him and his assistants. For material gain, one will loose their spiritual power.
My way of expounding the scriptures is also a form of magic. By expounding the 4 lines stanza of the Diamond Sutra, I am telling the Truth or Holiness of the sutra. Anyone attacking me about this 4 lines stanza will be subjected to the magical power of the sutra.
By expounding the details of the Tent of the Covenant of New Testament, I am telling the Truth or secret of the Holy Scripture. People attacking me regarding interpretation of the Bible will be subjected to the Holiness of the Bible. Likewise I do the same with the Koran, Bhagavad-Gita, I-Ching, Great-Learning etc. In another sense, my magical power is the Holiness of the various scriptures.
The meditation taught in Red Swastika Association is about the same as mine. The practitioner sits on bench and places the palms at the knees. They have a prayer hall, praying to the five religions’ originators. Therefore they can’t achieve higher spirituality. In any way they are a great help to the Chinese people because they encourage family cultivation. So if they stop praying to the five religions’ originators and concentrate on the One at their forehead, they can go very high in spirituality.
One should take note of daily experience in a dairy so the progress can be known. If one drinks, one has to take note the effect of meditation on drinking. That goes to smoking, eating etc also. In this way one will know how much meditation has improved one’s lot.
Edited on 11th June 2008