Meditation

The Role of Meditation

There are many things in life that are beyond our control. However, it is possible to take responsibility for and to change your state of mind. According to Buddhism this is the most important thing we can do, and Buddhism teaches that it is the only real antidote to the anxiety, hatred, discontentedness, sleepiness, and confusion that beset the human condition.

Meditation is a means of transforming the mind. Buddhist meditation practices are techniques that encourage and develop concentration, clarity, and emotional positivity. By engaging with a particular meditation practice you learn the patterns and habits of the mind, and the practice offers a means to cultivate new, more positive ways of being. With discipline and patience these calm and focused states of mind can deepen into profoundly tranquil and energised states of mind. Such experiences can have a transformative effect and can lead to a new understanding of life.

 

What we teach

At Wellington Buddhist Centre we teach two meditation practices to newcomers.

Mindfulness of Breathing

This helps you to develop a serene, alert, focused state of mind, in which we can get beyond the usual chatter in our heads and start to listen to our deeper inspiration and wisdom.

The Metta Bhavana

The Metta Bhavana (sometimes called development of loving kindness), this helps you to develop positivity and warmth, to leave behind harmful emotions, and to connect with other people at a deeper level.

We combine these formal practices with the ‘non-practice’ of ‘Just Sitting’, which gives an open space in which we can absorb the effects of meditation.