What is Buddhist meditation? How to Practice for mental happiness.

Meditation is a means of transforming the mind. Buddhist meditation practices are techniques
that encourage and develop concentration, clarity, emotional positivity, and a calm seeing of the
true nature of things as they really are. Now we will discuss.

In transforming the mind, there are two types of Buddhist meditation namely Samatha
Bhāvanā and Vipassanā Bhāvanā. Samatha means tranquility that is the concentrated and
peaceful state of mind. Samatha meditation designs to produce the peace and tranquility of mind
and the power of will. The object of meditation is called Kammatthāna meaning working ground
for the mind.

The techniques are that encourage and develop concentration to penetrate into true nature of
things as they really are. Practically, mindfulness meditation is interconnect with Seven factors
of enlightenment, Eightfold Noble Path and also all karmic wholesome. Normally, as
overwhelmed by mental illness, the mind of mankind is not at the present. It always wanders
either to past or future, which potentially brings about problematic situation. The Baddekāratta
Sutta of MN emphasizes neither to regret from the past nor to yearn for future but to
psychologically concentrate at present.

Concisely, in Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta of DN, there are four strategies:

1. Physical Awareness has several methods like Mindfulness on breath (ānāpāna), physical
postures (iriyāpatha) etc. The first method is awareness on respiration of breathing in and out
whether long, medium or short and so on. Otherwise, to be mindful each physical postures either
when one stands, goes, sits or lies down thus one knows each such “I am standing, going, sitting
or lying down”.
2. Sensational Awareness is aware of each feeling. There are three type of feelings: pleasant,
painful and neither pleasant nor painful. When experiencing pleasant feeling, one knows “I
experience a pleasant feeling”; Likewise, “when feel painful or when neither pleasant nor
painful.”

3. Observing the mind means to contemplate on mind when it is with lust, as with lust; with
hate, as with hate; with ignorance, as with ignorance, and so forth.
 What is Buddhist meditation? How to Practice for mental happiness.

4. Analysis of mental object is consisting of mindfulness on hindrances, five aggregates, twelve

sense bases, four noble truths and seven factors of enlightenment. When sensual desire presents,
one knows “there is desire” and one keeps reflect on each existence, arising or vanish of lust
through senses.

Summarily, mindfulness meditation is the Heart of Buddhist Meditation. Indeed, it is to

convert hatred (dosa) to loving-kindness; Illusion (lobha) to contentment with contemplative
mediation on body, and then delusion (moha) to wisdom through awareness meditation on
respiration (ānāpānasati).