What is Meditation?

Meditation has become popular in recent years, right across the globe. There’s a simple reason for this: it works.

People who meditate regularly learn to access a sense of calm that is available even when life is challenging.

Meditation is a practice – something you need to do regularly to experience the benefits. At the same time, basic meditation techniques are simple to learn, and that’s the place to start.

If you don’t know meditation already, you can try our short guided intros anytime!

You can also learn in person at a Triratna centre or group.

Or you can join one of our daily live meditation sessions: twice a day, six days a week.

Click/tap to meditate with us online!Click/tap to meditate with us online!

Meditation isn’t a way to zone out and meditating doesn’t mean that your thoughts will just disappear (they won’t). You don’t have to sit cross-legged on the floor if that isn’t right for your body, and it’s fine to start with quite short practices. It’s also fine to discover that meditation isn’t the right practice for you right now.

But most people find that, in the midst of all the challenges life brings, practising meditation lets us touch something precious.

The basic practices can keep you going for quite a while, but, for Buddhists, meditation is part of a path that includes other elements and goes much deeper.

The material on meditation on this site is just a way to get started. It’s good to learn meditation from experienced people who have a wide perspective on the practice and can help you with the issues that might come up.

Anyone can meditate, whether or not they are interested in Buddhism, but in Triratna we see meditation as an aspect within the Buddhist path - just one way we can follow a path leading to the Awakening that’s represented in the figure of the Buddha. One basic expression of the path is as a Threefold Way which starts with Ethics. Meditation comes next and then Wisdom.

Learn more about Buddhism or about Triratna’s distinctive System of Meditation.


Resources


Talks and more guided meditations


Books to help you learn meditation

📖 'Change your Mind: A Practical Guide to Buddhist Meditation by Paramananda📖 'Change your Mind: A Practical Guide to Buddhist Meditation by Paramananda

Acknowledgments

🙏 With huge thanks to:

Garavavati and Ksantikara from London Buddhist Centre

Vidyamala from Breathworks

Vishvapani from Wise Attention

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meditation